New tank setup - Please can anyone help

[angief]

Is this the right place to be asking this question? I have just setup my first salt water aquarium after having tropical tanks for more than 5 years. Everything went well and I am now trying to get the water flow correct so that there is enough oxygen in the water. I have 2 filters, the first is a Fluval 404 which is the bio chamber and the second is a fluval 304 which will be the chemical filter once I switch it on in about a month. What I can't work out is the best place for the outlets to sit. Should I put them above the water level , level to the water or under the surface. I have tried it above the surface but this seems to be very noisy and I have also tried it under the surface which is nice and quiet but I am worried that this will not produce enough oxygen.Does the outlet have to break the surface to create the bubbles which make the oxygen? As you can no doubt guess I have never used external filters before..I am also unsure of what temprature to hold thetank at, I have been told 79, 77 or 78. For the time being i am going to have a fish only tank as I am new to marine fish and i don't want to push my luck until i am used to looking after the fish properly. Please can someone give me some advise. I would really appreciate it.
Thanks a lot.

 

[joe5_15]

with to filters you can put one in the middle of each half and that should be enough oxygen but the correct water flow will help alot like your talkin about and for temp just dont let it get to cold or to hot but the temp should be 74 to 80

 

[captained]

I have to qualify that I'm not a real expert, but I understand that oxygen exchange only happens at the surface. You can probably get a spray-bar for the return on one of your canisters that wouldn't be as nosiy and do a good job of rippling the surface for exchange. Also, protein skimmers will oxygenate (sp. ?) the water, and I would go that route vs. 2 cannisters.
Finally, you can get an O2 test kit to find out what the levels are and see how much (if any) you need to change anything.
As far as temps...ask 20 people get 20 answers. I go 78 since its a middle of the road number

 

[coraltrapper5020]

What size tank? Skimmer? Powerheads? They all need to be a part of you tank set up. The fuval is your main source of filter not water movement. On in each side of you tank will do fine. point them at each other to get stronger currents. To oxgenat you tank just add a powerhead in your tank mid way down and point it at the surface to get it moving.

 

[angief]

Thanks peeps for replying so fast. They aren't so quick to reply here in England. My Tank is 35 gallons and I haven't bought my skimmer yet as the guy in the shop advised me to get the bio chamber going for the first mont then add the skimmer when I switch on the chemical filter. As for a power head he has made no mention of this to me, infact he told me that once I get the skimmer and sterilizer that's all I need. Can I use the out lets from the 2 filters to oxygenate the water. Currently the flow is under the surface but it does break the surface creating bubbles. I have my temp at 77.9 at the moment, cant't seem to get it dead on 78..

 

[angief]

Thanks peeps for replying so fast. They aren't so quick to reply here in England. My Tank is 35 gallons and I haven't bought my skimmer yet as the guy in the shop advised me to get the bio chamber going for the first mont then add the skimmer when I switch on the chemical filter. As for a power head he has made no mention of this to me, infact he told me that once I get the skimmer and sterilizer that's all I need. Can I use the out lets from the 2 filters to oxygenate the water. Currently the flow is under the surface but it does break the surface creating bubbles. I have my temp at 77.9 at the moment, cant't seem to get it dead on 78..

 

[angief]

OOps sorry ther seems to have been a hitch from this end, I didn't mean to reply twice.

 

[diatom]

Angie~
As long as you are getting some good rippling on the surface of your tank from the outlet of your filters your oxygen should be fine. Your temp should be fine...it's a little low but when you up grade your lights (and you will) it will shoot up plenty fast.

 

[chris r.]

Do you really need a Uv ster.?

 

[angief]

Hey Chris, guess you are new to this too huh. Yes I have read some of the replys to your questions... The reason for the Uv sterilizer is to kill any parasites that the fish may be carrying when you buy them from the shops. It will also help to prevent things like white spot. I guess you could do without one but I really want to get this right as like everyone has said it's very expensive, I have spen almost £1000 ($2500) and I still need to buy the skimmer, sterilizer, lr (not quite decided on that one yet) and most important a few fish...

 

[biggdriver]

The uv can be a good choice for a fish only tank but Rarely is used in a reef tank...I bite my tounge.. Someone here will surely try to set me straight..I was in the retail pet business for almost 7yrs and the most common mistakes people have made ..( especially in fish only tanks) was to NOT HAVE A QUARRANTINE TANK.. A new fish put into an established tank can be a disaster..New fish should be quarrantined for at least 2 wks and watched for any signs of parastites or bacterial infections.It is much easier to treat the smaller quar. tank ,,,and less expensive....not to mention keeping the diseases out of the main tank..Of course if this is the first fish in the tank you won;t have to worry about the spread of anything to others in the tank.I don;t ( and many of the people on this board) recommend cycling a tank with a live fish..Use a dead shrimp from the local grocery..It will clycle the tank just as well..One other note,, to help speed up the cylce get some substrate from an established tank and add it.. this will greatly reduce the cylce time....And Please remember never rush adding other fish..Yes a full tank of colorful fish looks nice but rushing into it and adding too many too fast is the sure recipe for a crash..
This board seems to be the best place to gain usefull knowledge and I can only wish I had found it sooner...Never be afraid to ask...

 

[blueh20]

Biggdrivers has given you good advice. The only thing I might add is make sure the fish you add are compatible and I like to choose fish that have been in the stores tanks for a week or so and are eating. Research your inhabitants and take your time. Good Luck!

 

[fshhub]

chris and angie, uv are good for a fish only, yes, they do work good, but IMO htey work way too goo, they kill many things, some of which you can do without in a fish only, but others are mandatory must haves, they do not discriminate at all, bacteria you need is one of the biggies, and i would never consider one for a reef(or anything with filter feeders) and a quarentine si a much better and cheaper option, plus you have a tank handy, incase you need to hospitalize some fish down the road
HTH

 

[angief]

I must say I am well impressed with the replys so far, just wish the Brits over here were as enthusiastic as you guys are. Thank you all for the advise I will take note and rest asured I will be asking LOTS more questions. Thanks guys.