Want to try marine think 30cm cube tank.

[^RaCe]

Hi all experienced seniors. I am planning to convert my current gw 30cm cube into a fowlr and some easy to keep coral tank. I have zero experience with marine but have been in fw for quite awhile. How is a marine tank's maintainance compare with a high tech planted tank because I cannot keep up with the maintainance for the latter.

 I have a fluval c3 and a zetlight 6500k for this tank. Can I reuse this light or I have to invest in new light?

Also, I would prefer not using a fan as I know the water evaporation is crazy on a tank this size. What can I keep? Prefer a setup that needs water change every 2 weeks.  Is it possible?

What other equipments do I need for a easy to maintain tank?

[Mike Stone]

Hi, FW and SW is completely different ball game. To start with, both your FW filter and 6500k light cannot be used for SW.
Since you going for FOWLR with minimal coral, you need a proper skimmer as a filter, you can buy a cheap and good skimmer if you have a sump, otherwise HOB skimmer such as Reef Octopus will be a good choice.
For lighting, I will suggest you getting AI Prime for 30cm cube tank or some cheaper full spectrum light.
Temp should be below 28deg if you keep fishes and softies, if you go LPS, temp preferably 26-27 deg. You will need chiller to support this requirement without crazy water evaporation. Try to get a cheap Hailea chilller if Budget is a constraint.


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[Mike Stone]

A good way is also to use fan and couple it with ATO to keep water temp at 27-28.


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[reefbuilder]

Best to count the cost first before diving in. I know of many who gave up halfway because they were not prepared for the cost involved. I noticed you mention that you cannot keep up with the maintenance of the planted tank. Did you mean the cost or the time spent. IMO maintenance of SW tank is not a breeze either.

[nasotang]

SW tank maintence is alrigjt

if u keep bioload low

[^RaCe]

And.......i took the plunge over the wwekend while wife and kids went overseas for a month.

Also had a bro who pmed me and gave me lots of tips and guidance that gave me the confidence to dive in to the salty side!



Bought rocks, skimmer, nsw and some equipments in Pasir Ris.



Minutes after i got everything setup. Filter and lights were from my FW setup.




And then i chanced upon a good deal in Pasar Malam and faster hoot this maxspect nano. Thanks for the bro who let me have it and sharing his reef keeping tips.

[^RaCe]

And.......i took the plunge over the wwekend while wife and kids went overseas for a month.

Also had a bro who pmed me and gave me lots of tips and guidance that gave me the confidence to dive in to the salty side!



Bought rocks, skimmer, nsw and some equipments in Pasir Ris.



Minutes after i got everything setup. Filter and lights were from my FW setup.




And then i chanced upon a good deal in Pasar Malam and faster hoot this maxspect nano. Thanks for the bro who let me have it and sharing his reef keeping tips.

[Mike Stone]

What skimmer are you using?
Is the rock artificial rock? Is it porous enough?


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[^RaCe]

What skimmer are you using?
Is the rock artificial rock? Is it porous enough?


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Its a bubble magus qq1 hangon.

Not sure if the rock is porous enough or not. Guess will have to wait to find out.

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[^RaCe]

Sorry, didn't realise the pics are all in the wrong orientation

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[Dechew]

I think ur light is meant for fw.

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[reefbuilder]

The later pics shows a maxpect nano light so it should be ok.

[reefbuilder]

Welcome to the reef world. Rock looks like an artificial one - DE Rock?

[^RaCe]

Welcome to the reef world. Rock looks like an artificial one - DE Rock?

Thanks for the welcome.

Not sure which brand of artificial rocks they are, but i bought them from iwarna.

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[kilo]

41 minutes ago, ^RaCe said:

 

Thanks for the welcome.

Not sure which brand of artificial rocks they are, but i bought them from iwarna.

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I recognize those rocks. Those are DE Rock. Iwarna selling those now too. Saw them on Monday

I am using them as well in my current tank... porosity minimum. you need to make sure your hang on filter have bio-media inside 

i am using a fan to cool my tank so you need top-up water every day. With your current setup, water change may be weekly and your number of fish should be low or else you bioload will shoot up

Enjoy your new tank!!!

 

[kenyee]

Nice cube..hope to see more updates yea..cheers n happy reefing

[Mike Stone]

Your bio filtering will be a concern, try cycling the tank and if the ammonia did not reduce to zero in 3 weeks, you will have to add bio media .


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[^RaCe]

Your bio filtering will be a concern, try cycling the tank and if the ammonia did not reduce to zero in 3 weeks, you will have to add bio media .


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Thats exactly what i'm doing now. And yes, i do have biomedia in my hof. Thank you.

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[kohanson]

Tank looks good and what is the current temperature? You might want to add a fan and add some mushroom corals to your tank as I am currently keeping mushrooms in my tank and temperature is at around 28 degrees. Mushrooms have been opening fully everyday. Can also try covering your back glass with black oyama so that it can hide your cables.

[^RaCe]

Tank looks good and what is the current temperature? You might want to add a fan and add some mushroom corals to your tank as I am currently keeping mushrooms in my tank and temperature is at around 28 degrees. Mushrooms have been opening fully everyday. Can also try covering your back glass with black oyama so that it can hide your cables.

Thanks for your advice! Already have a little ans 1000 fan from my fw setup that i'm using for my tank. Been testing the the salinity due to evaporation and there's no change with 2 days of evaporation.

Mushrooms are definitely in my list. Will be stocking the tank with easy to keep corals.

As for background, hopefully can get some nice coraline to buildup there but even without, i'm fine.

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[^RaCe]

Little update of my tank after 3 weeks since i took the plunge into the salt water. Sorry our the ugly placement of corals because i still cannot decide where to place them.

[NiVleKsg]

Looking nice. BareBottom Nano Tank!

[^RaCe]

Looking nice. BareBottom Nano Tank!

Thanks! No more updates on your tank?

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[oceanics]

Nice n neat tank! Personally I feel that small tank kind of difficult to maintain. Used to have one but upgrade to 2 feet after 3 months due to cannot put in more LS haha...You can do 20% - 50% WC weekly to maintain water parameter 

Btw your BM skimmer noisy? 

[^RaCe]

Nice n neat tank! Personally I feel that small tank kind of difficult to maintain. Used to have one but upgrade to 2 feet after 3 months due to cannot put in more LS haha...You can do 20% - 50% WC weekly to maintain water parameter 
Btw your BM skimmer noisy? 

Hard to maintain or no space? Got difference you know? Hahaha. So far i find it ok. Everyweek only take me less than 15min to vaccum tank floor and water change.

If my fan is on, i cannot hear the skimmer. I tried turning off the fan, got to put my ear right next it to hear a soft humming sound. No microbubbles after 1 week of use. And incase you wanna see the skimate....




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