Newbie starting 1 feet set up

[fotoudavid]

Hi guys,

Am itchy to start an 1 feet set up after reading here and there, but a bit lost in so much informations....

I have a 1 feet tank, with ohf and lights, but unsure of how to keep it low temperature. Also, i know i need surface skimmer, protein etc....... but how about wave maker, 1 feet also need? Should i just start a bigger tank say 2 feet, for easier to control stability? I do not intend to have any bottom sand.

Thanks in advance.

Regards

[Slimymadness]

hi david,

welcome to the forum. I am sure you will find reefing a rewarding and enjoyable hobby for years to come if you can do things right by follwoing the advice of the bros here as well as lots of reading.

lets see about your questions:

1 feet tank: the size is ok, but of course bear in mind that the amount of livestock you can keep in pretty limited. No big fishes and just one or two nano fishes. also, check the tank thickness, 10mm is recommended but u can do with 8 i guess. saltwater has higher density than freshwater thus the tank might not support the weight if it is too thin.

ohf: ditch these, they are a yesteryear's product and not meant for marine. It is better to have a canister or even better, a sump.

lights: depending on what are u planning to keep. lighting for fish only tanks can just be basic but if u are looking to keep soft corals and lps etc, T5 minimum. for 1 ft size, it is hard to find T5 for your tank, 24w T5s are the smallest and they are meant for 2ft tank.

low temperature: some bros here use fans to keep water cool, but bear in mind the high evaporation rate. chillers are relatively affordable nowadays. why not invest in a chiller to keep your livestock happy? unless of course you are planning a fish only, then they can tolerate high temps compared to corals.

surface skimmer, protein etc: protein skimmer helps to skim out the organic waste in the water, it is a necessity unless u employ other methods of nutrient control, zeovit, macroalgae, scrubber etc. surface skimmer helps eliminate the unsightly film on your water surface, it is just an extension of your filtration system.

wave maker: water movement is paramount for a tank. imagine you in a room with no air circulation, it will be stuffy and uncomfortable.

bigger tank say 2 feet, for easier to control stability? of course a bigger tank will give you better control and ultimately, more space for corals! but it is all up to individual choice. for me, i regret my 2 footer cos i am running outta space for corals hahaha.

I do not intend to have any bottom sand: barebottom or sandy bottom are all up to individual choices. bear in mind that some fishes such as wrasses, needs sandy bottom though. so do your research about the things you wanna keep and try to create the best environment for them.

keep posting questions and do lotsa reading and you will get a very rewarding hobby for years to come!

cheers

[tunicate]

Maybe can tell us what fishes, inverts, or corals you intend to keep?

[samuel88]

Hi guys,

Am itchy to start an 1 feet set up after reading here and there, but a bit lost in so much informations....

I have a 1 feet tank, with ohf and lights, but unsure of how to keep it low temperature. Also, i know i need surface skimmer, protein etc....... but how about wave maker, 1 feet also need? Should i just start a bigger tank say 2 feet, for easier to control stability? I do not intend to have any bottom sand.

Thanks in advance.

Regards

low temp: find a cooling spot in your house, or cooling fans, or i've seen a person use his house fan to blow directly at his tank (not on the surface of the water cause it causes alot of evaporation but at the side of the glass) its best to keep ambient temperature low.

wave maker for a 1 feet tank i think a little hard to find, while water movement is good, but don't get too strong either. like until the fish have to constantly struggle. or if u keep LPS later the flesh get ripped from the skeleton. and not all corals like strong flow, some like gentle flow. i use a 400l/h HOB filter for filtration and water movement for my 20litre tank.

of course a bigger tank is better, if you can spare some extra $$$ and space why not.

[fotoudavid]

Thanks for all the replies, really appreciated.

Decided to decomm my 1.5 ft and convert to marine. I have a eden 501 flow rate at 300l/hr, shd be good. am planning a hof with skimmer. 2 filter haha.

will buy a small chiller i saw in C328, need check again, and also buy some live rocks and sea water. hmmm... live stocks wise not sure, but get the set up first is priority. also invest on protein skimmer as well.

[Zoa guy]

You can actually use fans to cool the temp but the evaporation rate will be high so u can either to top-off manually, get a ATO or use gravity drip system. For skimmer...if u have space get a prizm if not a tunze nano doc or boyu wg308 or a small airstone skimmer...for small tanks u may not need a wavemaker but that really depends...

[tunicate]

Firstly, marine requires 10x-20x of total volume circulation per hour. I'm afraid 300L/hr may not be enough. Let's say a typical 1.5ft tank has a volume of about 42L, thus would need a circulation of 420-840L/hr.

You can do something like this too for protein skimmer.

Below is the modified HOF with skimmer for my office nano. (The plastic bottle behind contains skimmate overflow from the skimmer cup) Let me know if you're interested & need more details.

[Zoa guy]

then just add a mini powerhead or a stronger filter

[fotoudavid]

Thanks Tunicate, in fact i will add a HOF with surface skimmer, so should be able to create good flow.

[tunicate]

Hi fotoudavid,

If you compare with those marine setup with sump & all the equipment within, a HOF with skimmer is considered a bare minimum. I'd like to add a refugium for chaeto or algae scrubber but is not able to due to physical constrain. Hence, have to resort to more frequent WC. My next office tank will definitely come with sump.

[xaine]

in fact i will add a HOF with surface skimmer, so should be able to create good flow.

hi fotoudavid,

The surface skimmer cannot be mixed up with protein skimmer, the surface skimmer would just be used to clear the water surface of floating particles. In the marine world, the use of the protein skimmer is to utilise foam to attract dissolved particles and export it from the water. A little reading up on protein skimmer would help.

[ahdon_80]

Hi, have you set up?

Anyway, for your information I have found 1ft T5 lighing in Aquamarine, think it is 16W. (Blue & white).

I have used surface skimmer before, very troublesome. Always have to monitor the water level.

Even worse if you have fans blowing, maybe every few hours the surface skimmer will be 'struggling'/ Good luck..