Newbie's pre-purchase questions

G

gambcl

AC Members
Apr 8, 2008
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Hi folks, hope you don't mind if I ask some questions before trying to work out what I need to buy to setup my first tank (of any kind).

I am thinking of the Juwel Lido 120L or the Classica Aquacurve 50L for a saltwater tank. I am veering toward the Lido because of the bigger size and I should be able to put more than a couple of fish in it.

Can you recommend how much live sand/rock to put in a tank that size?

Also, I know the tank comes with lighting, heating and an internal filter, but are they suitable for a marine setup? If not can anyone recommend replacements?

Would I need to buy plants when I start my tank's cycle?

Finally, as this tank would be in the corner of our living room, I was curious just how noisy it might be with al the pumps, filters, skimmers, etc. Also would the tank produce a lot of moisture and/or smell?

A lot of probably ridiculous questions I know, but I have been reading around and there are so many different opinions out there that I thought it would be good to ask the "real" owners.

Thanks for any advice,

Charlie.
 
Couple questions back at you... what are you planning on doing with the tank? FOWLR or Reef? There is a big difference in cost between lighting, filtration, etc. Also, what are you thinking along the lines of "plants"? There are not very many plants that can go into a FOWLR or Reef setup, but lots of corals. Let us know which direction you want to go and we will do our best to help you pick out the right equipment. A lot of people say "well, fowlr at first, but reef later...", but again, the cost in setup/equipment is so different that is just like saying "freshwater first, then saltwater..".
 
Hi, thanks for the reply.

I would love a reef setup, presumably I could build it up gradually rather than having to
buy a whole load of coral at once.

If we work on that basis, any suggestions regarding my original questions?

My main concerns are:
* I really don't know what kind of filters/pumps/skimmers would suit this tank.
* Ditto for lighting.

It does come with filter, heater & lights but they might not be suitable.
http://www.juwel-aquarium.de/en/lido437.htm

As I mentioned I am also concerned about if there will be any significant noise, and also
smell (created by filters or collected waste)?

Thanks for the help,

Charlie.
 
Actually, the lighting seems pretty good on that tank. It all depends though. It states they are T5 lights.. now if they are regular T5 then not so good, but if they are T5HO then you are good. With a "nano" style tank your pretty limited on adding things to it. You can do it, but it is not that easy and makes the tank look ugly with extra pipes and other things hanging on.

Noise shouldn't be a problem. Most of the time it is either loud fans or noisey overflows that cause the most noise.. then crappy pumps. With that tank there won't be any big pumps to worry about.

Smell is easily overcome by using carbon to remove the smell.

Personally, I do not like that tank setup for a reef. Great tank for a Fish Only tank though. Ideally you would want to have a sump/refugium under the stand for filtration and that stand doesn't look big enough for that. The tank is pretty much the same size tank I have so just look at my link in my signature to see what I do to maintain that size of a tank for reef.
 
I was also once tempted by an all in one tank but it turned out that there were lots of limitations (current equipment didn't work for reef tank) and the cost wasn't much better than buying things separately. I liked the flexibility of picking out each piece I wanted (filter, protein skimmer, lights) on my own rather than getting an all in one that I would eventually want to replace equipment on anyway. Just my humble opinion. Now, if the lights/equipment work for what you want...for example if you wanted a FOWLR - maybe an all in one is the way to go.
 
The only reason I am liking the Juwel Lido 120 is its dimensions, it is *exactly* the right size/shape for
the location where I want to put it.

I really don't mind replacing the lights/filter if needed, but as a learning exercise could someone
tell me why the included lights/filter are not appropriate and recommend something that would be?

Assuming I don't have room for a refugium, I was planning to use the included internal pump/filter and buy
a protein skimmer and maybe upgrade the heater to a 200W (comes with a 100W unit).

Any thoughts on this? As I said I really don't mind pulling out the included stuff and replacing them
with more suitable equipment.

Thanks,

Charlie.
 
If you really want to go reef, it is possible to get a big canister filter and place that under the stand instead of a sump. You can also get a Hang on Back refugium as well as a hang on back protein skimmer. Lighting, ideally you would want to get a metal halide fixture instead of the T5s. The heater that comes with it should be fine. I have tried a 150w, 100w, and 75w on my tank and the 100w is perfect. 75w runs to much and the 150w is hard to get it to adjust low enough to keep the water at 78. You have to set a 150w heater at the lowest setting (72 I believe) just to get it to stay between 78-79. It is just to much heater for that small of a tank. A 200w would cook your tank.
 
With regard to the heater, be sure to get Titanium and not a cheapie...it's the last thing you want breaking on you.

If you can't go with metal halides (they are expensive as heck but awesome) then get T5HOs. I also highly recommend the refugium...they have a good hang on the back one around 200.00 and up depending on the size you need. I think they are by a company called CPD. It's a aqua-HOB refugium.

I hear you about the size of the tank being right on...just seems like a waste to purchase all of that equipment with it if you are just going to to replace it. The place I got my aquarium had a really wide variety of sizes and shapes. Many places online do to just in case you want to check it out.
 
Or go like me.. I have a stand already made and I am getting my tank custom made to fit my stands dimensions. My tank will be 68G and will be 30"x22"x24". Most LFS can order custom tank sizes, although you usually pay at least 3x as much than a standard tank. My tank is going to run around $500, I can get a 120G 4' tank for $200, but I like you, I want the perfect size.
 
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