Another Newbie Needing Advise

[supremo]

Hello Senior Reefers!

I am supremo, totally new to marine fish tank keeping. I have been working with freshwater aquariums for about 6 months now. Honestly, I didn;t buy anything because a friend migrated to Australia and gave me his 3ft IOS tank with LH for free. Now, after surfing the net, I found that there is this forum which may be able to help me. Following bawaters artcile as a guide:

1. tank Size - 3ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft (IOS) because this is what i have

2. substrate - okey, i'll follow the suggestion and put in 5 inches of #0 aragonite sand. but because it is only 18 inches with overflow which makes my water level only up to 16.5 inches, i will only have around 11.5 inches of water depth. is this okey?

3.Water Quality -okey, i'll buy the coralife salt, follow the mixing instructions and buy the hydrometer. i have attached a pipe to my existing 1000L/h pump used by the IOS to extend the output as a horizontal rainbar on the other side of the tank, will this do for water movement?

4. Filtration - as per item 2, I will have the sand as a substrate. Plus Live rocks, according to my calculation, my tank should have around 40 gallons of water, if this is the case that would mean I need 20KG of Live rocks, now i wonder how much water that displaces

Now for the protein skimmer, a Prizm will cost me $200. What I dont understand is how come some are only $35, even if I add the cost of an Air Pump say around $15, that would only be $50, only 25% of a Prizm. Does this mean it is only 25% effective?

My IOS, hmmm, seems like i don;t need it anymore. Let me see, I keep the Pump where it is but no filter media anymore. hhhhmmm...wasted space then

5. Lighting - there's alot of links provided, let me look that up myself

6. Type of Fish - since it's going to be my first attempt. I'll get the Percula Clown to get immediate approval from the rest of the family and justify the money spent

I will follow the cycling as discussed in the article and even in the adding of the prawn and eating the rest

I need advise in all the unsure ( ) stuff i have in my post. Sorry for the very long post.

Hope to get help so I could be a reefer too

[bwilly]

veri blur by your long one.

but seem oki to me. just ensure the cycling is proper

b4 u introduce new fishes. Add 1 or 2 everytime.

cause each introduction in the first place, will be

heavy bioload (1fish - 100%, 2nd fish 50%, 3rd fish 33% increases)

on your tank.

[metals99]

yeah even with your tank condition real stable like me i add 1 fish every 2 weeks

the last one was a maroon clown very healthy now.. bought it at shop when i met bwilly..

[bwilly]

as for 3ft, u can get abt 7-8fishes I reckon.

depending on type n size of fishes too.

ya. man. I got three maroons now. hehe..

plan to shift the big bully to the fowlr tank,

but duno will it be sad without the anemone.

[Razo]

Now for the protein skimmer, a Prizm will cost me $200. What I dont understand is how come some are only $35, even if I add the cost of an Air Pump say around $15, that would only be $50, only 25% of a Prizm. Does this mean it is only 25% effective?

i saw some china brand skimmer at 15.00...

[diabolus]

1) no comments

2) #0 coral sand and aragonite sand are totally different. Especially the price. Get the normal #0 sand and get some #1 too...i bot 50kg for my 3ft tank, 3 bags of #0 and 2 bags of #1. Petm@@t sells them @ $6 per bag, call to cfm stock.

3) Marine salt is rather subjective, some ppl swears by coralife(like bawater) and some tropic marine. Based on the reefers here...tropic marine is the brand most of them use. The idea of good circulation during cycling period is a good PH in the water itself. this helps to dissolve the salt residues that remains. The rainbar should come in handy after the cycling period.

4) the amount of live rocks you need depends on the way u want to aquascape your tank. as a rough guide...0.6kg per 1 gallon of water.

5) no point spending on a cheap skimmer and it doesnt do the trick...have to buy again. Invest in a good one if ur wallet allows it. if not, the most bang for bucks skimmer IMO is the Weipro. You should be looking at the 2011 or 2012.

Since you have a inbuilt IOS...u might want to have a sump. Read more about it by doing a search on it.

You also did not mention abt the neccessary testkits you have to get...

as wat other reefers suggest, do introduce livestocks to your tank slowly.

cheers!

ps: the info above are based on wat ive understand and read so far...it might not be right so pls, if in doubt...ask for a second opinion. Cos im still cycling my tank

[supremo]

thanks for all the replies. this forum rocks!

going back to my points:

1. ok

2. ok, i'll follow the advise and use normal sand

60% #0 and 40% #1

3. salt, if tropic and coralife are good, then i'll use the price to decide

4. i estimate my tank to be around 40 gallons, with this in mind i would need 24kg

at .6 kg/gallon. i have totally no idea how much rocks that is but i just guess it

should still fit in my tank, right?

5. weipro brand eh? okey, i'll check out the price. does this come with built in powerhear (or does it use airpump). if not, how much capacity (l/h) should i use?

does the l/h also apply to airpumps?

it was mentioned that since i have IOS then I could have a sump. does this mean i convert my IOS into a SUMP? my original query is that most sites that i researched says that DSB, LR and Skimmers are all I need for FOWLR. Does this mean i could convert the IOS chamber into a sump?

again, any inputs are greatly appreciated. i do not intend to rush into it without really understanding what to do so please keep the suggestiions and/or comments coming please.

[supremo]

saw the other post. so i use the IOS for mechanical filtration only. this means wool ony right?

[riot]

Hi supremo!

You should get sufficient live rock to make some nice land scaping without blocking the circulation. Try to maximize sand bed surface area by keeping most of the rock work off the sand- prop a few base legs and then a flat piece over, or use PVC and eggcrate to build a scaffold. The main idea to maximize water circulation- no point having lots of LR if water is not circulated and it cant filter. Also maximize exposure of sandbed.

Also, dont think you can convert your IOS into a sump. Doesnt come with a bulkhead or bottom drilled right? I suggest you keep the IOS, and place your skimmer intake within that IOS, and any other mech / chem filters there. That way your main display area is neat and uncluttered.

Just my two cents.

Cheers

riot

[bicolor]

supremo wrote :

my original query is that most sites that i researched says that DSB, LR and Skimmers are all I need for FOWLR.

sorry i am new at here

just information sharing that i heard somebody will not recommend to use DSB for FOT. due to if u keep big fish, may effect the DSB function and cause problems

just information sharing. if i am mistake pls correct me

[supremo]

hi riot,

thanks for the input. yes, that's agreat idea. i'll need to get a

skimmer that could feet in one of the 6"x6" chamber in the IOS.

For the other one, I'll devote it solely for mech and chem filtration.

regarding the platform, do you have a pic of how you did it? i mean

based on my calc the LR tht I have to put is several KGs, which means

my platform should be strong enough to support that. anyway, i'll think

of something and maybe post it here for people to comment.

cheers!

[supremo]

hi bicolor,

thanks for the input too

i do only intend to put small fishes. breeds that probably

grows to only around 2" so that i recon could fit 7-8 of them

in my 3ft tank.

i'm currently rearing LH so big fishes are done for me

[supremo]

started canvassing the prices today already

[SharkBait]

IMO,you dun need that much LR.Just enough to scape your tank nicely.too much LR would take up swimming space for your fishes.The weipro 2012 is selling for around $65 but it doesnt include a pump.

[supremo]

Hi Sharkbait,

Thanks for the input

Okey, I'll open the issue of the LR for more comments and at the

same time do some more research myself.

As for the 2012, i've been trying to search the product website

but couldn't find any english sites. so in the fear of sounding

ignorant, does it use airpump or powerhead? and then again

how much power do i need to drive the 2012 for a 3ft tank?

thanks again reefers! your inputs are a great help to newbies like me

[diabolus]

you'll never find anything on the weipro skimmer in the WWW.

the 2012 is sufficient for a 3 ft tank and its venturi driven....so u'll need a powerhead.

no. 65 sugei tengah if my memory didnt fail me was selling the 2012 for $57.

pump have to purchase seperately.

[bwilly]

oki, I have been using weipro 2012

for my 3ft. its been skimming kopi.

pump I use is weipro 3000. suppose

2300+L/hr. good enough.

petmart got sell weipro. can sign credit card too.

price. tik abt $60 or so.

[bwilly]

paisei duplicate.

server problem or my ISP side?

**

oki, I have been using weipro 2012

for my 3ft. its been skimming kopi.

pump I use is weipro 3000. suppose

2300+L/hr. good enough.

petmart got sell weipro. can sign credit card too.

price. tik abt $60 or so.

[Dispar_Anthias]

thanks for all the replies. this forum rocks!

going back to my points:

1. ok

2. ok, i'll follow the advise and use normal sand

60% #0 and 40% #1

3. salt, if tropic and coralife are good, then i'll use the price to decide

4. i estimate my tank to be around 40 gallons, with this in mind i would need 24kg

at .6 kg/gallon. i have totally no idea how much rocks that is but i just guess it

should still fit in my tank, right?

5. weipro brand eh? okey, i'll check out the price. does this come with built in powerhear (or does it use airpump). if not, how much capacity (l/h) should i use?

does the l/h also apply to airpumps?

it was mentioned that since i have IOS then I could have a sump. does this mean i convert my IOS into a SUMP? my original query is that most sites that i researched says that DSB, LR and Skimmers are all I need for FOWLR. Does this mean i could convert the IOS chamber into a sump?

again, any inputs are greatly appreciated. i do not intend to rush into it without really understanding what to do so please keep the suggestiions and/or comments coming please.

Hey for a 3 feet tank suggest the model 2012 or 2013 for the weipro skimmer which you might be using for your tank... Dun think it come with a pump.........

[supremo]

again. muchos gracias!

now i;ve got figures, being a match person i appreciate

seeing actual numbers. so 2300L/hr eh. cool now that

will narrow down my search. 2012 or 2013, i'll check out both.

based on my original post, i assume the recommendations took into

consideration that i wont have a sump and will FOWLR.

[Fireclown]

I'll add my comment on weipro skimmers too since i'm using one. I'm currently using weipro 2014 for my 3ft. IMO, the price difference between 2013 or 2012 is only about a few dollars (if i'm not wrong) so you might want to get a bigger one as overskimming is better then underskimming. As for the pump, some pump makes alot of noise IME because or the backflow into the PH, even though the flowrate is the same but of different brand.

my 2 cents...

[supremo]

okey, another well appreciated 2 cents

so what brand do you use and how's the sound level like?

[supremo]

another question.

i checked out some LFS near my place (east). i saw some rocks,

it looks like those stuff that i see inside the tanks of some members

here but LFS keeps them on the floor and is arid dry. are these

live rocks? Or are they supposed to be in the water while in the shop.

i just thought they mat be conning me in selling an ordinary rock

to a noobie like me.

and aside from size and shape, is there any rule of the thumb stuff

when buying/selecting LR? anything to share?

[SpiderOne]

stuff a 1 way airline valve into the venturi intake. heard this helps

[pospeh]

you'll never find anything on the weipro skimmer in the WWW.

the 2012 is sufficient for a 3 ft tank and its venturi driven....so u'll need a powerhead.

no. 65 sugei tengah if my memory didnt fail me was selling the 2012 for $57.

pump have to purchase seperately.

The Weipro is the same as the Won Brother skimmers sold in the US (which is itself a clone of the SeaClone)

Here is the link.

http://www.wonbrothers.com/

Go to skimmers on the upper right hand corner.