Desperate to go marine.

dwarfgourami7

dwarfgourami7

Steve the angelfish
Nov 13, 2006
382
0
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England! uk
I really want to go marine. I have enough knowledge from freshwater to go marine and half of the equipment. What can really stop me in my tracks is the bills. How much will it cost for: protien skimmer (good one) enough live rock for the tank to look good and any other extras that can put a dent in my wallet i have tank, filter, heater and simple lighting but i think the lights need improving. Im going for FOWLR and shrimp crabs etc. What else do i need? Also how much on the electricity does one pay for the upkeed of a 30G tank marine? My dad pays the bills so it cant be more then keeping my current tanks as they are (will sell 18G for money for marine conversion)
 
OH also forgot to mention. Is all the equipment quiet. The tank is in my bedroom so it need sto be quiet. I currently have a fluval 3+ internal running and i can easily sleep with it on. Its the protein skimmer that worries me. Do i need a sump? stump? i forget which one. I dont want one as they look complicated expensive and difficult to keep i was hoping on keeping my 3+ and also use a eihem (spelling) classic whatever that has a minimul tank size of 50G so there is better filtration.
 
for a 30g tank you will need 15kgs of live rock if you wanted it to filter your tank & that been the case you would need your tank turning over 10times an hour min.

live rock is around £11kg so £155 in total for 15kgs but if using your filter you could start with 5kgs then add over time
power heads 2xmaxi jet 600 around 17 each but you could probably get away with a 400 ( £14 ) & 600 with you using a larger filter

if your not wanting corals are just the odd mushroom then lighting is not a problem just a marine white depending on what your using now i guess a 3ft t8 thats around £15 & needs changing every yr are so depending on brand & things within your tank wanting light etc

Protein skimmer well its only a 30g tank like my self & you can run them skimmer less without a problem just do a 10% water change each week & there's a product called purigen by seachem witch will help if your not using a skimmer & purigen is £10 per pack needs changing every 6-9months
but if you do want a skimmer then your looking at a £70-£100dint in your wallet & really with your tank size you don't need a skimmer plus some can be noisy

the running cost for a 30g protein skimmer less tank would not be much more than running a 30g tropical tank if only using the normal 12hour lighting but with fish only this can be cut to 8-10 hours

salts can be expensive around 10-17 per 4kg box witch treats 120ltr water instant ocean is a cheap good salt for fish only/shrimps/crabs plus its the cheapest

yes marine set ups are rather silent just a slight buzz/hum & no you do not need a sump...
 
Yeah. I agree you don't need a sump for 30 gallon... although it would never hurt to have one. Having more quanity of water (especially for small tanks) can help you maintain stable chemistry. Like you said, it may be costly (depending on whether you buy a customized one/prebuilt one/ or make one out of small fish tank, etc) but it's definitely not that complicated. The only problem with your situation may be the noise. There are ways to get around it, but until you figure it out, that overflow box may keep you up some nights...

IN CASE you'd like to know more about it...

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-01/gt/index.php

It pretty much tells you everything you would ever want to know about sump.

Good luck!
 
My $0.02 -
HOB skimmer (needs no sump, not as quiet as a skimmer in a sump)
Sump/Skimmer (better, quieter, easier to take care of/clean... more $, is your tank drilled?)

FOWLR - don't sweat lights

LR - $$$
RO system for good water, salt mix etc. $$ over time.

Livestock - $$$. Otherwise, it really isn't all that much more demanding than a good FW setup.
 
Thanks for the brilliant feedback. Do i need an overflow box if i dont have a sump? I was just hoping if i have 2-3 top quality well maintained filters going would that be ok?
 
Excelent. Ok heres the plan.Im going marine in about a year (i know long wait)
Heres why.
Time to sell 18G
£12 pound pockey money a week (£624 a year)
Still like freshwater so im gonna stay into that for a year.
Im going to buy equipment over the year filters etc and keep them in boxes in the cupboard until i have everything required then i will set up.
Ok one more question. My dad says saltwater corrodes everything in and out the tank because he knew this guy who kept marines but everything in the same room as the tank that was metal corroded and rusted. I thought thats nonsence but i need and experts anwser (thats you guys) to prove him wrong.
 
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