Reef Marine Tank

[imported_abyss113]

yeah the tropical test kits pretty much have the same tests i think on them but you really want a liquid type test as its so much more accurate and lasts longer you get a good kit on ebay for around 25 i think it was and does most of the liquid tests im looking at getting when i need more

but yeah stuff looks good i keep ending up on that sellers page myself actualy think its where i got my 1200l pump from

 

[Ryanfaescotland]

I use this one API Freshwater Master Test Kit which was reccomended by heaps of folk on the fish tank forum. They do a salt water one as well but not sure how it differs. It's about £30 - £40 in the shops but you can get it on Ebay for nearer £15, well worth the money for all the stuff it tests.

I just got the 3rd tank from the friend at work but it is a lot smaller than I expected. She said it was huge but it's only about 40 ltr! Thinking about showing her my cock if that's what she goes about telling people is huge lol! Don't think I'm going to use it but will keep in handy in case I need to seperate any fish at a later date.

 

[imported_abyss113]

it will be good as a hospital tank for the marine type anyway as its handy to have oneand yeah thats the kit i meant

 

[Ryanfaescotland]

Well things are coming through in the post now but need to decide on what to put on the base. Sand seems to be the option of choice in marine tanks but there is so many options for bloody sand it's unreal!

 

[imported_abyss113]

tell me about it there is sooo many types and colors and live sand and dead sand

in the ends i went for 3mm sand its got a nice size to it and makes easy to clean if i need to but using a sieve

my crabs had grown MASSIVLY over the few weeks ive had them i also have about 30kg of live rok and some new crabs in there

i placed some new shells for the crabs to move into and one of them has picked the BIGGEST DAM SHELL possible hahaha ill get some pics up at some point

 

[Ryanfaescotland]

I've went with Pets at Home sand in the end. Didn't really want to since it doesn't have the size on it and it is more expensive than the stuff online (£1.38/Kg as opposed to £1.00/Kg) but I really wanted to get some sand in the tank so I can start setting things up and since my work stops me going into any of the better local stores I just went ahead with it. Looks really fine grained so possibly 1mm which is what I was hoping for but not certain. Looks like I should have also rinsed it off for longer as my tank is just full of dust just now! It might settle but I need to add more as I've hardly covered any of the base (well that I can feel, I can't actually see anything just now!)

I here crabs are meant to be good for the sand as they help keep it clean. Will need to see about getting a few of them. Need some live rock as well but not got much choice but going into a pet shop for that so it'll need to wait till next time I'm free.

 

[imported_abyss113]

yeah it will settle in around 20 minutes or so does get really cloudy once you stir it up but yeah the crabs are great for keeping the ground clean and snails especially got a few last week aswell and they are doing wonders for the live rock

keep an eye out on gumtree for live rock as it occasionaly pops up but make sure its in the water if its out the water its not live rock

 

[Ryanfaescotland]

[attachment=1:3prs6ngs]Sand.jpg[/attachment:3prs6ngs]

After 10 hours lol! Think I'll need to empty her out again.

 

[imported_abyss113]

hehe oh crap its maybe becuase you have fine sand and i pretty much have gravel

there is 4 pieces of life in this pic can you see them

 

[lkc]

fish, crab and coral are the obvious 3.

It also looks like there's dismembered ******** on the sand/gravel but I really hope that's not the case...

 

[imported_abyss113]

Hehe yup the other crab you can just see his purple and red legs in what I'm guessing what you see as ******** haha

 

[Ryanfaescotland]

You gotta have a bollock in a fish tank, it brings...emmm...good luck?

That rock you've got looks great as well, where was that from?

(Being an I.T. guy I should probably know this but how do you put big pictures in the forum so you don't need to click them first?)

 

[imported_abyss113]

photobucket has an option for a clickable tumbnail or clickable full size so it does it for you

 

[imported_abyss113]

got the rock of a guy who was selling his on so he could get a larger tank £60 for all the live rock the crabs and the snails wasnt to bad of a bargain id say

just did a water change 10 minutes ago and looking cleaner again

 

[imported_abyss113]

ok i took the plunge i know its early and im probably gonna pay for it but my water levels are 100% correct so thought id get some life for the tank

Current Live Stock

1- Maroon Clownfish <-- called - Fry
2- Domino Damsels <-- called - Mango and Chutney
3- 3 standard hermit crabs <-- called - skeletor,tank and audrey
4- 2 Blue hermit crabs <-- called - Fruit and Salad
5- 1 Anemone <-- called - squiggles
6- 1 Turbo Snail <-- called - jorge
7- Sand Shifting Starfish <-- called - ninja

 

[Ryanfaescotland]

I don't think there is a marine tank in existence without a clown fish haha!

Is the star fish in any of the pictures I can't spot him?

Where did you go for your fish?

I finally got enough sand in mine to cover the base and be about an inch deep which I think is enough. Although even after rinsing the second batch out fro ages before adding it to the tank I still think I'm going to have to fill it with water (not all the way mind you) and drain it a couple of times before it stays clear. My protein skimmer arrived in the mail today so just a couple more bits and pieces to arrived before I look at adding in the decorations and water.

EDIT - My filter didn't arrive today, my protein skimmer did.

 

[imported_abyss113]

you wont be able to see the star fish really as its a sand shifting starfish so it hides under the sand untill it wants fed and then crawls out for food but he looks epic ill annoy him to get a photo of him haha

 

[Ryanfaescotland]

That's me just got round to adding salt to my tank. Bloody £30 for salt! Crazy! Still got enough to last me a while, hopefully, been adding like a mo-fo and only at 1.013 SG but it is building, I added quite a bit last night so waiting till tonight for it to dissolve since I'm near my target 1.023. Before I done that though I emptied out the tank again as it was still not settling, thankfully though I bought a garden hose so refilling is a lot easier, must remember to treat the water before putting anything in it though O.O

Almost all my kit has arrived from Ebay now and is setup. Looks really good, the pump is a little noisy but we're already adjusting to it so I'm sure it'll become an un-noticed background noise soon enough. Still waiting on my filter though which never arrived but I contacted the seller that I bought everything from and they are sending out a new one so should be here soon. In case you are interested I went with these guys InLife.

Still need to buy some rocks and some plants for the tank but they can wait till later. Not going the live rock route at this point, it's just too expensive for me at the moment and since I'm not having any coral it's not a huge issue. Means my poor clown fish won't have an anemone to live in but say-lavy

More pics soon!

EDIT - Just looked over the older posts and realised you did warn me about the price of salt and live rock, I think it must just not have registered in my head just how much it would add up to.

EDIT 2 - Not 10 minutes after posting this my missus called to tell me my filter has arrived! Woohoo!

 

[imported_abyss113]

dobbies does live rock at 12.99 a kilo but keep an eye out on gumtree it pops up every so often

 

[imported_abyss113]

ive added a few small additions to the tank but im looking for a bigger tnak now for the living room now haha