A Few Questions For Marine Keepers ;O)

A few questions, i know i have said i will keep bettas again, but i think i will definetly go for a Marine Tank now.

The betta tank has been broke down:
So i have;-
*Tank- 65L Juwel Rekord
*Lighting- T8 15W
*Heater- 150W Fluval

That is basically all i have just now, but i will be setting up the tank some time next year.

Some answers i wanted to know are;
1.) I have calculated i will need 7KG of Live Rock, i saw most places online selling them in a package so like 5KG or 10KG, the 5KG i saw were around £45, is that a decent price? Where do you buy your LR from? Can i buy 5KG first then the 2KG after?
Also just seen on Ebay, people selling "Live Rock", but its out of water, surely then its not Live Anymore?

2.) I have a 15W light on that tank, i know i will need to upgrade to keep corals. im interested in Zoas, Polyp, Mushrooms. So is it advised that i get a T5 Starter or PC's?
And what wattage will i need?

3.) Sand? Live sand is a gimmik i heard, so what would be best to use?

4.) My current Live stock, would be 2 Percula Clowns (ofcourse ) and maybe a Blenny. Along with the CUC.

5.) I went to the Local Marine Shop and its £25 per 20L of RO Water, am i right in saying, i will be saving money if i have my own machine thing? hows this CLICK HERE

6.) What salt would you advise?

7.) What Test-Kit should i buy? The API master Test-Kit?

Sorry for all the questions, i am really serious about starting a little marine tank, so help would be Fab

hi betta 246,
as you might be aware i have started a marine tank earlier this year
wil try and help you out if i can ok.
firstly ok i have to keep popping back to questions why didnt i write them down? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
ro water at my lfs its 5p a litre i have seen it for 12p litre so check that out first,
the api master kit yes liquid you get a much better reading than strips.
look also on ebay for a refractometer this gives you a reading of your sg (salt gravity )which you will need to have when doing water change,
i use tropic marinpro reef salt its about £15 a box 8.8lbs lasts along time never had a prob and the forum im on alot use this too.
clowns and blenny fine as far as im aware nice combo,
ok sand i use but no you dont have too, as your lr is your filter
so up to you,
ok need to go and check out your tank not sure on it,
could you put measurements on if poss,
lighting if you ask anywhere they will say need much more lighting ok
prob got a point as corals need and grow by light but you can upgrade later,
i have only got 11w in mine atm hoping to upgrade
well my mushrooms and toadstool have grown (i will put pic`s up later for you ok,
will let you know about lr got to go and check,
this is pricey but its your filter at the end of the day,
selling it on ebay as lr it is but as its out of water you may get a cycle you can add lr at dif times as lond as no fish in as could make mini cycle
ok let you read this will look at my notes (how sad am i ?)
any questions just fire there are others on here that know about marine too [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

heheheh bless ya... TG.

Are you on the UF forum, i registered sometime ago but ive forgot my password.

Apparently T8 lights are fine for the corals i have suggested, but obviously it will be worth Modifying it to T5's, so i could keep more if wanted.

The tank measurments are... 60 x 30 x 42cm

What brand of sand do you use?

And i might not have the Blenny, Just the 2 Clown Fish

Hi there

Working on what you have already, and looking at trying to keep the costs down to a sensible level, here's what i would suggest.

Normal coral sand is fine, as you have worked out, Live sand isn't worth the money at all, as it cant possibly be live in a bag.

Live rock is something I wouldn't order online to be delivered tbh. You need to be able to see it and check it over. Make sure there are no Aptasia attatched to it (pesky anemones which are bad). Also smell each piece, if it smells of eggs put it back as its not yet cured. I would aim for around 8-10kgs. Live rock is expensive, normally £9 - £10 per kilo but as this is your life source its worth getting the best.

T8's will be ok for certain corals, but obviously T5's are better.

Look up the "Berlin" filtering method. Its basically using the live rock as a filter, by adding a couple of internal pumps to create water movement. Two Koralia 1's will be ample, or a Seio 1 and a Koralia.

With salt, the cheap makes tend to require the addition of additives like PH buffers etc, so go for a middle priced variety.
For that size tank I would buy the RO water. A decent RO unit is around £80 and has to be plumbed in for best results. The water pressure needs to be very good or it wont work. There is also a lot of waste water from an ro unit, so if you're on a water meter its worth bearing in mind. The price yr local shop has quoted is well expensive though:( Its normally 10 - 20pence a litre so they are just ripping people off

You would be better off spending £80 on a protein skimmer. The hood may need a bit of cutting, but well worth it.

Test kits - got to be Salifert kits. They are by far the best, apart from their ph kit. You will need test kits for - Ammonia, NitrIte, NitrAte, Ph, Calcium, Phospahtes, Magnesium and hardness as a minimum.

P.S. I have a Seio pump and a wavemaker from my tank if you eventually need them:)

You've got all the great advice above hon, Alex is going through the same process, we have the coral sand, tank, filter and this month getting the salt, refractometer, heater and perhaps the live rock. Cant wait to get this baby cycling!

Thanks Van!!

Will quickly google the Seio pump and wave maker and get back to you

hehehe, Amy, can you make a journel?

LOL Welllllll it is going to be Alex's tank though I think I will picture it as we go, not sure if asked this already but have you joined ultimatereef? There is good beginners advice there also and some REALLY good journals, particular ones about people and their journals and their own setups and additions.

Soooo...is is sounding good so far the marine side?

Here's the Seio pump
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

And the wave maker
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

yep, im on that forum too

@van, how many LPH is that powerhead, and will i still need to add a Koralia?

The one i have here is 2400 lph. Yes you will need 2 internal pumps. One at either end as its very important to get water movement throughout the tank. Any areas that are still is where toxins can build up.

Koralias or Seio's are both good pumps.

ok, so on another forum, i just found out i need min. 1300 LPH.

Im sure the orca's only come with one powerhead? And is there such a thing as overkill in powerheads?

Yeh, you can blast it too much, but you'd have to go way over the top with Koralia 3 or 4's in yr size tank.

The idea with using pumps in the Berlin method is to get as much movement around and through the live rock as possible. The pumps do nothing else but move water basically.

hi betta 246,
looks like you are on your way nicely here,
nice measurements on your tank ive got one
the same that i was going to do marine when
its empty,
but im hoping santa may bring me a new tank???? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
i think van has covered what you have asked
so now just shout if you need anymore help
i will keep an eye out for you,
but im still learning too and would only tell you
if i was sure ok,
as forlive sand i think thats a rip off???????????
tell me how does it stay live in a bag on the shelf(think not)
just get coral sand as van says ok
keep us all posted please

[img:78e9][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.][You must be registered and logged in to see this image.][/img]ok here is a quick pic of my tank
hopefully you can see my toadstool and mushrooms
they are under a pl 11 watt bulb and growing lights on 8hrs a day

OMG Your tank is Lovely! Thats what im aiming for... Hopefully!!

And sorry for sounding really stupid but what did you say Van? I dont understand it.

Ok so i got told i will need 2 Koralia Nanos, they are a whopping price, so i got linked to a Ebay seller, that sells them for around £14 incl p&p, but its 3000LPH. My tank needs 1300LPH. If i get 2 of those it will make 6000LPH, oVERKILL Big Time! So would i get away with 1 or do i have to look around again for something more suitable as the 'waves' need to come from both sides.


Sorry for all the questions. Marine tanks are slightly confusing.

the koralia nanos eant 3000lph they bout 1000 as i had 1 myself or u could get a koralia 1 think there bout 1500lph

o and get prepared aswel for when its all set up and u want a bigger tank aswel lol ive had a rio 125 setup for bout 6 to 8 weeks now and today i went and purchased a second upgrade tank but im happy with a 4x2x2 with sump lol

have you got any piccies?


I know the Koralias are not 3000lph, i was talking about this click here

Would i be able to get away with just 1 powerhead or do i need two.

And also another question. Is this suitable? Click here

the pump id got for 2 lower powered 1s over 1 big 1 really the lighting kit looks fine but depends on the t5 tubes u buy

will post some pics when i get round to it lol

cool. thanks