New to Marine, help needed on all levels

[mise]

Hi all.
Wanted to ask for some help.
Im purchasing an Aquaone tank which is 155 litres(40 gallons) and im wanting to do a marine tank with it utalising coral, anemone's and fish. Am thinking of having around 5-6 fish(if possible).

Big problem is being a designer tank i cant put a protein scimmer on it. I have seen a similar marine set up at a pet shop near myself with the same tank and the guy said because of there being no protein skimmer they just do a water change every fort night. Now im not so sure i want to go along this route myself because i dont want to have to tamper with the setup too often once its all up and running.

Anyone have any thoughts or advice?

By the way not sure on the corals or anemone's ill get but am thinking a pair of clown fish, a tang and maybe 3 other medium or small fish.

Anyone want to shed some light on matches with the fish or the anemone's?

thanks in advance

 

[wattsd]

I'm not sure I understand why you can't put a skimmer on it. I don't think I know what a designer tank is either. I am sure you can rig something up so you dont' have to change the water every "fort night".

 

[pbecot01]

I personally would do water changes more often then every two weeks anyway.

By a designer tank, I'm assuming you mean the hood doesn't leave room for a skimmer. 1. This hood almost certainly doesn't have enough light for corals ... but if it does, and it is possible since your LFS is using one... 2. You should be able to mod it in some way to give yourself the tiny bit of space you need to install a skimmer.

 

[Gealcath]

Could alos use a sump to hold the skimmer.

 

[mise]

what i meant by designer tank is http://www.aquaone.com.au/curvedglass_aqtanks(ar620_ar980).htm

its the ar-850.

The guys at the store said that a skimmer couldnt be put on it. Wouldnt i be right in saying even with a skimmer that you would have to water change more regurly anyway?

 

[wattsd]

You wouldn't have to do water changes any more than someone else with the same size tank. Water changes aren't something that need to be done unless water parameters are undesireable. I do a water change regardless of water quality at least once every 2 weeks to reintroduce micronutrients and to remove solid wastes which collect on the sand bed. Once you set up your tank, you can determine how often water changes are necessary, and if you find that you have to do water changes more often than you would like, you should be able to add equipment, ie skimmer, to help with water quality. I would never buy a tank that prevents me from adding equipment.
As Gealcath said, you can use a sump. BUT, if the tank isn't drilled, and there isn't room for a skimmer, the chances of there being room for the sump's equipment are not very good. (Non-drilled tanks need to use a U tube to remove water from the tank, this is typically done by hanging a prefilter box inside the tank((to prevent fish from getting sucked in)), and also one on the back of the tank. This equipment can be just as large as a HOB skimmer)
Have you already purchased the tank?