Newcomer

[FionaFiona]

Hi everyone,

I m new to this hobby. Planning to have a 2 feet tank. I already got the tank, some sand, and natural sea water bought from the fish shop.

Can someone advise me:

1) Where to get good live rocks?

2) what skimmer should I get for a 2 feet?

3) what water pump should i get?

4) is a sump tank really necessary?

[hondaker]

1) Where to get good live rocks?

You can get live rocks from the fish farms(Pasir Ris, Lim Chu Kang, etc)

On a budget, can camp at pasar malam forums, there's a lot of reefers selling live rocks also, cheaper than getting brand new.

2) what skimmer should I get for a 2 feet?

Any budget? If no, deltec is really good, but my 2.5 feet is on a Weipro 2011, doing good so far. Key is regular maintanence.

3) what water pump should i get?

You mean for water circulation? For a 2 ft, might wanna take a look at Seio SuperFlow, 820 or 620 or a combination.

4) is a sump tank really necessary?

Not necessary, but it is good to have, since you can hide your skimmer, and various other equipment in there. To me, it all boils down to whether you have the space for it.

Hope it answers some of your queries

Cheers

[flying carpet]

The first thing is to plan our budget and the type of setup that you desire. The smaller the tank the more fragile the water parameter.

[iantoh]

hi there bro,

1) good live rocks may be found at henry's (marine life- hong leong shopping centre, west coast), or at coral farm- lim chu kang lane 6f) these two lfs sell fantastic live rocks at $16 per kg. for a two feet tank, i think thats still affordable in the long run as the rocks leech less nutrients and pose less nuisance algae issues over time. if youre looking at more affordable rocks, most of the lfs at pasir ris farmway2 are pretty good, in particular, irwana, at about $6 per kg. id suggest not cramming up your tank with live rocks to allow for better flow patterns throughout the tank, insofar as to prevent detritus build up.

2) for a two feet tank, id recommend the red sea prizm skimmer. the deluxe version is best, if not, at least with the add on surface skimming attachment if you are not incorporating a sump tank, because with marine systems, organic wastes float rather than sink (as in freshwater), so its crucial that the tank have some sort of overflow apparatus to draw water from the surface for skimming or filtration. try visiting henry at marinelife. he will give you lots of good advice, and you can check out both of his display tanks that are roughly two feet cube tanks with sump. and one of them uses a normal prizm skimmer. the other uses a schuran, though a schuran skimmer will cost more.

3) a single seio M820 should provide adequate dispersed flow within the tank. go for M620 if youre keeping corals which prefer less flow. i recommend the seios because they produce a dispersed water flow, rather than a concentrated stream.

4) a sump tank is useful because it lets you hide equipment, and on top of that, allows you to make modifications to your filtration set up over time without having to redo things in a major way. (for example, if you decide to addd a fluidised reactor or ca reactor in the future, it will be easier; likewise with a chiller). go for as large a sump as you can if you can afford the space as a larger volume of water translates into more stable parameters. if youre placing your display tank over a table, you can hide the sump under the table. if youre using a normal steel or wrought iron stand, then i guess your sump size will be limited.

all the best for your upcoming tank. do try to read and research more ya, and search this website's archives for information on deep sand beds or bare bottom systems, cycling, stocking, etc.

cheers,

ian

[Mr CRABS]

i prefer getting live rocks from reefers here because there are more mature...more healthy...Ofcourse you see if you like or not la...

[Qxnviolet]

Erm, sorry to hijack this thread...but why are LRs from ML n CF so exp compared to other places?

[iantoh]

hi bro qxnviolet, when you see the liverocks from CF, youll understand. theyre well cured, with patches of coralline. and theyre clean and good for immediate use, as opposed to rocks which arent so well cured or collected from as pristine areas, that will cause at least an initial algae growth spike.

cheers,

ian

[Qxnviolet]

hi bro qxnviolet, when you see the liverocks from CF, youll understand. theyre well cured, with patches of coralline. and theyre clean and good for immediate use, as opposed to rocks which arent so well cured or collected from as pristine areas, that will cause at least an initial algae growth spike.

cheers,

ian

Oh okayz....thanks for the info!~

[colinsoon]

hondaker see girl foto first thing reply le. tsk tsk tsk...

[hondaker]

i posted before she post her pic ok?

dont accuse me

haha

[Maxstar81]

colinsoon,

trying to start something !?

hondaker,

where is the photos U taken....

I wanna see my ex.

Sorry

FionaFiona,

Welcome 2 E club.

Lots of options already but just 2 let U know.

LR might come w/ bristle worms that might give

U a nasty stinging burn. Pls be careful when handling (gloves!?).

They also come as cured & uncured. To me, i prefer

uncured to get nature's goodness but that means

getting the bad stuff as well. Read up b4 deciding.

[leochngyh]

I think better you check the tank thickness before you start to put anything in. My past experince really kill me, get the normal FW tank and later it warp and have to start all over again. All fish die expect on boxer shrimp.

[loster]

hi bro qxnviolet, when you see the liverocks from CF, youll understand. theyre well cured, with patches of coralline. and theyre clean and good for immediate use, as opposed to rocks which arent so well cured or collected from as pristine areas, that will cause at least an initial algae growth spike.

cheers,

ian

furthermore, ML LR came from deep water... light in weight... so there will have no "funny algae" or crabs on it... and if your LR is not expose much light, the coraline algae will still grow because those coraline algae can grow well in deep water,

[Firestarz]

Eh .. warp ? .. Like how? .. arent the water pressure the same for FW n marine? the only way i can think of is the LR pushing against the glass.

[itchyhand]

The first thing is to plan our budget and the type of setup that you desire. The smaller the tank the more fragile the water parameter.

Can go a shop at pasir ris. Am I right flying carpet?

[rogerboi]

Colin .. notti notti ...

[FionaFiona]

colinsoon,

trying to start something !?

hondaker,

where is the photos U taken....

I wanna see my ex.

Sorry

FionaFiona,

Welcome 2 E club.

Lots of options already but just 2 let U know.

LR might come w/ bristle worms that might give

U a nasty stinging burn. Pls be careful when handling (gloves!?).

They also come as cured & uncured. To me, i prefer

uncured to get nature's goodness but that means

getting the bad stuff as well. Read up b4 deciding.

Did you say "worm"??? Eeek.... i hate worms!

Guess I'll buy those cured ones.

Thanks everyone!

[Qxnviolet]

Haha, worms are part and parcel of the reefing experience. I guess if you get your LRs from the LFS, there is a great chance that there'll be worms. Anyway, hope you'll enjoy your new found hobby....

[colinsoon]

haha... hondaker is a nice guy.. he is the best around singapore sia... some say ubin... wun get angwee 1 lor.. haha..

[Qxnviolet]

haha... hondaker is a nice guy.. he is the best around singapore sia... some say ubin... wun get angwee 1 lor.. haha..

Haha, thats supposed to be the spirit mah....one big happy community. By the way, Fiona, post up some pictures of your tank if you are free. Or even better start a thread for your tank in the member's Tank's n specs thread, its easier for people to give you advice. A picture speaks a thousand words yeah?!

[dreamzcape]

hmz lucky read this thread...was wondering whether henry had liverocks or not....never really got round to asking him.

[Qxnviolet]

Hrmz, say some LRs at Henry's some time back...but like not alot...maybe i went when the stock was low...

[hondaker]

haha... hondaker is a nice guy.. he is the best around singapore sia... some say ubin... wun get angwee 1 lor.. haha..

haha, hey bro, thanks for the food btw, my clown asked me to thank you on his behalf

[colinsoon]

haha welcome welcome... haiz. my tank got dying episode, fishes dat were pigging out on my food the night before dying the very nxt day... haiz. my tank now left with 7 fishie fishie... sadded... anyway sorry fionafiona for hijacking the thread... i am juz a very sad boy suffering from a very bad time...