Some questions.

[LemonEddy]

Am thinking of starting a saltwater reef aquarium and have been looking around online and have a rough idea hoe i would start. Would need some advice about the lights tho. I have a tank size 60 × 30 × 45(l x w x h). Am wondering what kind of lighting and what watt should i get if i want to keep corals. They are like the most expensive item after i looked around many LFS.

Would i been needing a chiller? If yes what kind? (I assume sg climate i wont beed a heater)

And any idea if a OF Nanoskim protein skimmer works well and would be good for my tank? It says it is suitable for tank below 300liter.

Thank you guys!

[pcw]

Hey, the lighting systems more commonly used in the hobby are t5s, metal halides and LEDs. With regard to wattage, it really depends what type of corals you are looking to keep. Most soft corals (e.g; mushrooms) should do fine in dimmer light while SPS corals are likely to require much brighter lights. Then there are also Non-photosynthetic corals (e.g; sun corals). So really, it depends on the corals you intend to keep.

If you're okay with doing top ups every day then using a fan to cool the tank via evaporative cooling should suffice. However, do note that its very troublesome and also may cause your parameters to fluctuate beyond the threshold of the corals should you forget to top up. With a fan, you're looking at a drop of roughly 2 degrees celsius below room temperature. Whether a chiller is a necessity is once again, dependent on your target livestock. Most zoas and mushrooms should be okay at 28-29 degrees but SPS corals may not grow well and/or exhibit good coloration. So really, it depends on the corals you intend to keep.

[LemonEddy]

Okays! Looking into it. I might DIY a colling system too. Thank you so much for you advice!

[pcw]

DIY cooling system? With a fridge? ._.

If you're interested, check out auto top off systems to help you cope with your evaporation if you're gonna use fans as a DIY cooling option (:

[LemonEddy]

Sth like this. MAKE A LOW COST AQUARIUM COOLING COOLER SYSTEM:

Facing a different problem now. Cycling my water and it seems like the ammonia is too high. (Above 8ppm according to my test kit) is this sth i should worry about and do a water change? Or should i just wait for it to fall? ...

[ShadowHunter]

Sth like this. MAKE A LOW COST AQUARIUM COOLING COOLER SYSTEM:

Facing a different problem now. Cycling my water and it seems like the ammonia is too high. (Above 8ppm according to my test kit) is this sth i should worry about and do a water change? Or should i just wait for it to fall? ...

If you are using new live rocks, ammonia tends to be very high due to the die offs of sponges, algae and other organism. You can perform weekly water change and once the nitrogen cycle is stablished the ammonia and nitrite should be zero.

[Planted]

Look around forums for chiller sales. Don't limit yourself to 1. but for marine equipments, here still best. Get a good skimmer to save you much time.

Anw, for your ammonia etc. Dose beneficial bacteria. Helps to speed up cycling. then let nature take its course in your tank.

[taufiq85]

Hi.....in my honest opinion try to get the best equipment that u can afford because it will last u a long long way. My advice for chillers....better to get a proper one and do not diy unless u know wat u are doing. Temperature fluctuations can cause severe irreversible effects to ur livestock which may lead to fatalities. If i were u i would save up as much as i can and while saving up at the same time do some research on marine chemistry, marine biology and marine aquarium equipment....trust me all the readings will do u gd in future. If u really need help u can pm me i dun mind sharing my knowledge.