Fresh to Marine.
Richard Periut
As you may recall, I was a victim (or my fresh water tank) of some
infection which wiped out most of my fish, with he exception of a few
danios (which I'm going to give to a friend of mine.)
My question to this group, is the following:
I have a 20 gallon tank, with gravel and an Eclipse system. I also have
a sponge Tetra filter that is powered by an ordinary small pump, along
with a heater.
I'm planing on starting a saltwater reef setup, along with some popular
marine fish and other animals.
Can I use my old equipment, along with a protein skimmer to run he
aforementioned setup?
After that, should I buy an uncured rock, let the ammonia load decay
itself (while the biological filter sets in) and then gradually add some
fancy fish and corals (along with some fancy shrimp, mini lobsters,
maybe an dwarf octopus?
Any help is very much appreciated.
Regards,
Richard
Jerry Baker
The fish load in a marine tank needs to be MUCH less than a freshwater
tank. Marine animals are much more sensitive to waste products than
freshwater. A 20G reef tank will need about 80 - 100W of light to keep
it going. I don't think you could safely put more than a couple of fish
in that.
--
Jerry Baker
Remove "fishies" to reply
Richard Periut
Not even with a rock, and a protein skimmer?
Jerry Baker wrote:
--
We are all eternal, infinite, and substance...
Jerry Baker
>
> Really?
>
> Not even with a rock, and a protein skimmer?
That's correct. You might want to have a read:
http://www.eco-quariums.demon.co.uk/marine.htm
http://www.aquariumservices.com/fish_features/reef_tank_basics.html
http://www.waterzoo.co.uk/Marine/marine_aquarium_basics.htm
http://www.exotictropicals.com/encyclo/marine/information/saltwater.htm#inhabitants
Richard Periut
I went to the sites you pointed me to, and learned a great deal of info.
Actually, my tank is a 15 gallon (I always thought it was a 20), and I saw some mini
reef tanks as small as 10 on some sites.
I would be happy to have a mainly reef tank, with three inches of fish in it for
activity. How about crabs, corals, shrimp, et cetera? Are they included in the 1 inch
per gallon rule of thumb?
Also, I have an Eclipse system, can I use this along with some live rock and a skimmer,
or would I need a canister filter as well?
Do sponge filters work as part of biological filtration? Or is this for freshwater?
Your response is greatly appreciated since I'm overwhelmed by the amount of information
on the internet, and I'm finding conflicting results.
I'm even considering purchasing a 29 acrylic tank I saw on line, but that would add to
the cost of setting up the tank.
Thanks to you and the others for the wonderful advice and feedback I have received.
TIA,
Rich
Jerry Baker wrote:
--
Net Max
cheers
Net Max
"Richard Periut" <rpe...@nj.rr.com> wrote in message
news:3C4CA404...@nj.rr.com...
TurtleSteve
a lot. You can post on the beginner forum and ask all of your
questions.
Personally i'd suggest buying a bigger tank. In saltwater, the tank is
the cheapest element. I'm running a 38 gallon and I don't think it's
big enough. The smaller the water volume, the faster changes take
place. If something dies, a contaminant is introduced, etc. the effect
is much greater on a small amount of water than a larger amount. A 15
gallon with no sump to increase water volume is flirting with disaster.
It's been done successfully, but I wouldn't try it. Many of the
beautiful nano-reefs you see have a large sump hidden somewhere.
--
Steve
--
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