Advice needed on new aquarium

[mark.siddle2448]

Hi All. First time on here and hoping to get some much needed input from you guys on my new marine system I am in the process of setting up.

I have had a nano marine aquarium in the past but it wasn't too successful!

This time I am converting a tank I once had as a tropical freshwater.

It a aqua oak large cube aquarium holding approx 150 litres.

I think I've got my head around most of the equipment apart from the filtration.

I really don't fancy drilling the tank unless I have to.

I already have a decent large external canister filter.

My thoughts are to use this, a hang on bubble magus q3 skimmer and then live rock and wave maker.

What's everyone's thoughts on this? Would it be enough? If so what media should I put in the canister?

Look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Thanks

Mark


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[mcgyvr]

Personally I would skip the canister filter (or only use it during maintenance/cleaning)..

Live rock, saltwater, heater,powerheads and sand if you want is all you need for a tank that size.. A skimmer is fine too if you want..
The lighting if you are planning on any corals,etc... fish don't need anything special for light.. Just enough for you to see/enjoy them..

Rely on water changes alone to maintain low levels of nitrates/phosphates and to replenish trace elements/maintain proper alk/cal/mag levels,etc...

Then you may also want to get an ATO (auto top off) which is used to put fresh water back in automatically to account for evaporation (yes fresh water.. salt does not evaporate)

Having an RO/DI filter system is very useful too and its initial cost will easily be returned vs having to get saltwater or RO/DI water from the local fish store,etc...

 

[farfromsea]

Why was your first reef tank not successful?

Most people advise against keeping a canister filter if you're going to do a reef tank (with coral) because it tends to be "dirty" and a source of nitrates but if you're going to diligently take care of it, then it could be fine.

Cannot advise what to do with a canister filter because I do not have one.



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[Stolireef]

First, you have to decide what kind of tank you wish to keep. Do you just want fish and live rock (abbreviation is FOWLR) or do you want keep corals? If corals, do you want only soft corals (no calcerous skeleton) or do you want to keep stony corals (usually divided into large polyp stony (LPS) and small polyp stony (SPS).

If you want to just keep fish, what kind of fish do you want? Do you prefer peaceful and calm or a more aggressive tank?

Once you've made these decisions, you can then determine your equipment needs.