Making a start in Marines...

[ChrisCummins]

Hi,
I'm setting up a 12gal marine tank. I have a rough idea of what I want to do with it. It will start life as a FOWLR system, with mostly a few inverts and maybe one fish, either way, very lightly stocked. Then, after my birthday in May, I should hopefully have enough money to get some decents PC's for about 6wpg, a skimmer, some more live rock and some corals.

At the moment, I will use ocean rock as a base rock to which I will add live rock as I can afford it. I have a 440lph powerhead and a rubbishy 220lph filter for circulation ATM and this morning I'm going to cycle down to the lfs and pick up:

1) A 600lph powerhead - Ã"šÃ‚£15
2) Some more coral sand - Ã"šÃ‚£3.05
3) Some more siliconefor gluing powerheads etc

I've ordered a hydrometer, and at the weekend I'm going to get some Kent Marine salt. How much do you reckon I'll need to run the 12 gal till May?

Here is some pictures of what my tank looks like at the moment. I'm just using a desk lamp for lighting until May when I'll get some proper PC's and then I'll start adding corals.

Base rock:


Pump:


Rubbish filter:


My budget to start off with is Ã"šÃ‚£45. The live rock (Ã"šÃ‚£13 a kilo at lfs) will be added progressively until I have built up enough. Should I add ammonia to the tank to fishless cycle or will the live rock add some by itself? (I'll probably be buying it at very small bits at a time).

Could I add a very small cleanup crew? Hermits and cleaner shrimp? As far as stocking goes, heres just an outline I would like to eventually end up with:

All live rock
Soft Corals and Mushrooms
Hermits
Cleaner Shrimp
Clown Fish
Goby or similar
I really like the look of mandarin's.

Anyway, enough of that dreaming, for now, I'll cycle down to the lfs tommorrow and pick myself up another powerhead and some sand, (I HATE cycling with sand in my backpack... the things I do for my fish lol) and some silicone. At the weekend, I'll get some salt.

Then, I'll have a long hard read through the book that a member on another forum's lending me, and have a read through the back issues of Advanced Aquarist and Reefkeeping magazines and get all the water stats stabilized.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[mg426]

I would use the live rock to cycle the tank.to get you syarted.But beware as to adding uncured rock after you tank has cycled. The desk lamp is most likely going to do a very good job of growing algae. I would try to check the color rating of the bulb. best to have 6500 or higher.might not be such a good idea about the manderin either. they are picky eaters and I dont think 12 gallons will support one so good.

 

[RhodeIslandReef]

I would put some kind of filter or something over the bottom of that powerhead or you'll end up getting all sorts of stuff sucked up there.

 

[ChrisCummins]

Ah yeh good point RhodeIslandReef, I'll stick a sponge there.

Yes mg426, the desk lamps are superb algae growers, but until I get corals, I won't actually need the light except for viewing?

With regards to the mandarin, I was just naming fish I'd seen at the lfs and liked the look of. I also like the look of boxer shrimp and gobies. He also has a jellyfish!

All help apreciated!

Thanks,
Chris

 

[RhodeIslandReef]

Wouldn't use a sponge unless you plan on cleaning it off daily, they are nitrate farms. A DIY idea for you is a film canister with a ton of holes punched into it. Just to stop snails and things from getting in there when you get some.

The Mandarin I would definately stay away from. It will definately die. Unless you have an established tank with literally thousands of Pods for it to eat, you won't be able to feed it.

 

[BurntOutReefer]

you're ok using the sponge for awhile......a little nitrate isnt going to hurt your FOWLR.......dump the sponge after you get your skimmer......

 

[ChrisCummins]

Should I use activated carbon sponge? Then its mechanical and chemical filtraion.

Also, why is it that nitrates are so bad? Surely they're better than ammonia and nitrite?

I've just filled up with water to stabilize temp (24C right?) and current. I've made a DIY guard for the powerhead out of an old aquatic plant pot.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[One Eyed Bunny]

Yeah, the sponge will be fine. With a 12gal you really would only need to clean it every other or every three days. With such a small amount of fish/inverts you'll have in such a small tank, it wouldn't be an issue. Now, if you had a 50gal I'd think twice about a sponge.

 

[RhodeIslandReef]

You are correct, nitrite and ammonia are worse than nitrate. Fish can tolerate small levels of nitrate. But you'll see most reef keepers prefer to keep nitrate also non-existent.

I prefer no filtration on my tanks besides LR and macro algae. I also have a plenum setup in my tank.

 

[gibbswagon]

good luck

 

[ChrisCummins]

Thanks for the advice and kind words everyone, now I just need to raise Ã"šÃ‚£50.....

Thanks,
Chris