10g or 55g Marine

[Bcgirl304]

So I really really want to make a marine tank. I have never done a Sw tank and I am totally dumb when it comes to it. I have done some reading about it and it is really overwelming. I have a empty 10g tank right now, I have a 55g brackish tank right now. But i am also nervous and not sure about this. So I was thinking of just taking my 10g to the SW to experiment and get comfortable and in the grove of keeping it up maint and everything. Before i turn the 55g into a salt water and move my GSP into it. But the only concern I have is anything I purchase for the 10g tank can i Move to the 55g when I turn it SW evetually? I don't want to put a bunch of money in to the 10g and not be able to transfer everything i have to the 55g. Which i know i will have to buy alot more additional stuff for the 55g anyways. So pretty much I am asking should i go full blown with the 55g or start my 10g out and see how it goes.


Also I am not sure of everything I need to acomplish a good SW tank. I thought about starting to buying stuff one by one so i don't throw tons of money at it all at once. I read on some sites but I am not sure of brands and what I need to start a SW tank is anyone has a link or anything that can help me. I pretty much wanna make a check list of everything i need before starting it. Sorry guys there are no good SW LFS in my area, and there is also no reef clubs or anything

Please help me if you can I know I sound like I have no clue and I dont!!!!

[SammyDee]

IMO Id go with the 55g. Smaller SW tanks are harder to keep stable being theres less water volume. I would highly recommend use of a sump and in- sump skimmer. If the tank isnt going to be drilled you need an overflow box+ tubing. A return pump is used to push the water back into the tank from the sump. If i were you and you wanna learn what all the equipment does and how it works and setup. On youtube look up LAFISHGUY he's a maintenance guy for LA fish tanks. Or I think LAFISHGUYS.COM is there site but youtube is better quality. Anyways the guy is very informal and easy to understand. He goes thru every little nook and cranny of what and why. Check him out he help me big time. I used his vids for research and help me to understand the basics/mechanics of a SW tank. Its easier to watch it done then read pages of it...


Heres a good one to start with...mind he is using a drilled tank but you get the just. I love this guy I wish he had a TV show on Real TV but hes got 100s of episodes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn9a1Arvn-Y

Hope this helps.

[Mek0ng]

Good advice sammy

40g is considered a min starting size for beginners. A 10g is going to need to be topped off with freshwater daily or more, the evaporation is going to drastically swing the salinity in a relatively short amount of time compared to larger tanks.

Start with a sump, you will be glad you did.

For overflows do not go with a over flow like CPR or octopus, the wall style overflow is prone to lose siphon and cause a flooded tank. Go with a U tube style over flow like Eshopps:

U tube style:

wall style:

If you are planning on having live rock, make sure you have a 2nd tank for the GSP to live in as the display tank with live rock cycles. You can not add live rock to a existing tank with out causing the tank to cycle again. Ammonia and nitrite WILL raise no matter how cured or little rock you add at a time, its always a gamble.

[Bcgirl304]

questiion about this "sump" deal.. Am i going to take to have a extra tank under it to pump the water into everything I has the sump under the tank? sorry I am sure thats a dumbo question but i am seriously like SW retarded. Or will it hang on the back like a filter?

[Mek0ng]

How a sump works

http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html

you can make one out of the 10g tank or a bucket, no reason for it to be that expensive, the only real costs of it are the overflow box and return pump.

[Bcgirl304]

wow your good.. that makes sense now

thank you

wanna just fly over here for a month and put my tank together

[Mek0ng]

wanna just fly over here for a month and put my tank together

If you pay airfare, room and board, sure!

[Bcgirl304]

Bahaha I wish it was oh so simple!

[Pufferpunk]

IMO, overflow boxes are eventually going to do just that--overflow. i just don't trust them. Either get the tank drilled or forget about a sump. Is it just the single GSP? I kept mine in a 55g tank just fine for several years without a sump.

[jdak]

IMO, overflow boxes are eventually going to do just that--overflow. i just don't trust them. Either get the tank drilled or forget about a sump. Is it just the single GSP? I kept mine in a 55g tank just fine for several years without a sump.

+1 As long as you don't max your bioload, you don't need huge filtrating. Considering you keep up with water changes. My puffer tank does have a sump but my reef has been running for years with pumps and skimmer.

[SammyDee]

Id have to disagree about the wall style overflows. I heard and read many times they're the best. Infact I have a CPR wall style overflow and its the bomb. I never have an overflow ever. It soo easy to keep clean to. I can shut the tank off/on and it works without manually starting a syphon. It has an aqualifter(9$) its like a reverse air bubbler. It sucks air out of the overflow from the top making it impossible to have a overflow. Plus i love how its got black plastic inside. It keeps algae from growing it like clear ones do. The U tube overflows are the ones I dont trust at all. CPR is nice IMO bc its a one piece unit, no tubes or anything. IMO it was the cleanest looking overflow and most dependable rather than drilling my tank...

[SammyDee]

Has anyone watch any of the LAFISHGUY episodes? I love this guy. He got a sweet job and some sweet tanks.