thinking of buying a small setup with a view to add the fish to a larger tank i already own i am a new starter to salt water

[madyotto]

hi
i am a skilled freshwater tropical fish keeper and (breeder hobby only)
i have been offered a small tank setup approx 40-50 liter tank with 4 clown fish approx 3-4 CM in length
the setup includes a light, filter, thermostat, and hydrometer all for £60 GBP
now because i am new to this i have some questions for you all PLEASE
1. how difficult would it be to change this setup to a 3FT tank
what difference is there in the needed equipment
EG.
filter size needed in liters an hour
thermostat wattage
bulb type if a change is necessary
also the current tank and most marine i have seen have a hovering light on a stand but the tank i want to migrate to has a closed hood type light does this make any odds if so what are the pro's/con's
2. how important are a protein skimmer and wave maker i guess this is fish dependent? pro's/con's plz
3. what equipment would i have to add to use/make and external filter system like you would normally see in the cabinet under the tank in the sense of getting the water from the tank to the filter and then what type of pump would be needed to return the water to the tank
4. how compatible are sea horses with clown fish
5. what foods will i need and will my freshly bred brine shrimp do from time to time
and any other novice tips will be very welcome
PS. i am very competent in the use of testing kits ETC and should be fine with this
i thank you in advance for any replies

 

[flower]

Hello and welcome to the site,
The set up you purchase is fine as long as you have at least a powerhead to circulate the water. Seahorses are not at all compatable with clown fish. Brine shrimp is not the best food. Live brine is a nice treat but not as a steady diet. Frozen mysis shrimp is a good type of fish food.
A sump system (under the cabinet) requires you to drill the tank or add an overflow box and it sounds like a cube type tank that you are looking at. Unless you intend to keep coral the fish lights are fine. You get your equipment for the right amount of gallons of water your tank will hold....I don't know what that is according to tank size...3 foot???? I think skimmers are important, they pull out gunk you can't even test for.

 

[madyotto]

brill info there
i did only intend on the brine shrimp as a treat as i already have a brilliant setup for breeding them
also how hard is it to breed/grow the mysis shrimp (how expensive are they?)
i will defo use a protenie skimmer if i do migrate to my 3FT tank
also is there much diffrence in the price of saltwater flakes to freshwater if there is any for salt water i have no clue on salt water at all but i learn very very fast
ps the 3ft tank is aprox 120 litre i think. is it the same table to work out the size of filter needed that i would use for freshwater
and could you help me understand how the overflow system would take the water from the tank i have seen one in a video but fail to see how it could work without a pump as it would have to get the water from the overflow box over the top of the tank ?
thanks for your reply

 

[sweatervest13]

Hi and Welcome to the site!!
40-50 liters is a very small SW tank. It is kinda hard to keep the parameters stable with a tank so small. I would def use the larger 3 foot tank you have access to.
Having lots of FW experience is good, but SW is very different. You will have a great head start with all your FW experience.
For filters in SW you would usually double what the size says. So for a 30g tank (120L ish) you would need a filter rated for like a 60g tank (240L ish). Now Flower mentioned a SUMP set up. That is the preferred way to go in SW. It lets you filter everything under the tank in the sump, gives you a place to hide all your equipment (heater, skimmer, return pump), and it allows you to increase your water volume.
The sump set up consists of getting water from your DT tank (DT= Display tank) to your sump tank usually located underneath the DT's stand (can be located in a fish room) by a drain line. You can have the tank drilled and use a bulkhead with some PVC to have the drain line dump water into the sump tank. The sump call be designed many different ways but most will have a three section sump. A skimmer section, a refugium section, and a return pump section. Water will be pumped back to your DT from the return pump via the return line (PVC or likewise). Here are a couple of pics to help explain. Remember, there are lots of different ways of doing things. There is no 1 right answer and no wrong answer. Good luck and keep us posted. We love pictures!!!!
The line on the left is the drain line going to the sump with is located in the adjacent room (fish room!!). The line on the right is the return line that has a Mag 18 pump to return water to the DT.

This is just a pic of my sump. The skimmer section is on the far left, then the fuge, then the return section which holds the return pump. I also run an algae scrubber (the tall PVC deal with the lights).
I hope this helps explain the sump system.
Good luck!!

 

[madyotto]

thanks for the time taken but for me drilling the tank is a big no
is there any chance someone could post pic's of an overflow box setup so i can avoid drilling the tank plz
or just brifely explain the working of the overflow box

 

[sweatervest13]

Quote:
Originally Posted by madyotto http:///t/391081/thinking-of-buying-a-small-setup-with-a-view-to-add-the-fish-to-a-larger-tank-i-already-own-i-am-a-new-starter-to-salt-water#post_3466620
thanks for the time taken but for me drilling the tank is a big no
is there any chance someone could post pic's of an overflow box setup so i can avoid drilling the tank plz
or just brifely explain the working of the overflow box
LOL. Sorry, I should have mentioned about overflow boxes. They basically use a box that goes into the DT and then have a U tube that will help get the water to a drain line (then the rest is the same as I explained). The U tube uses a siphon to get the water to the sump. Some will use a small lifter pump to keep the siphon going. Google CPR overflow boxes, try doing a youtube video as well. I think that will give you the best info. Lots of folks use things like these, drilling your tank is a bit scary. The preferred way to to buy a tank that is drilled already. These are called Reef Ready tanks. HTH!!

 

[madyotto]

Quote:
Originally Posted by sweatervest13 http:///t/391081/thinking-of-buying-a-small-setup-with-a-view-to-add-the-fish-to-a-larger-tank-i-already-own-i-am-a-new-starter-to-salt-water#post_3466622
LOL. Sorry, I should have mentioned about overflow boxes. They basically use a box that goes into the DT and then have a U tube that will help get the water to a drain line (then the rest is the same as I explained). The U tube uses a siphon to get the water to the sump. Some will use a small lifter pump to keep the siphon going. Google CPR overflow boxes, try doing a youtube video as well. I think that will give you the best info. Lots of folks use things like these, drilling your tank is a bit scary. The preferred way to to buy a tank that is drilled already. These are called Reef Ready tanks. HTH!!
thanks for the info
as my smallish budget is holding me back a little i was wondering what are the pro's/con's
if i wasn't to use a external sump and build one into my 3FT tank using some perspex at one end to house the pump, filter media and protein skimmer
this would almost definitely save me a good few £100
also if i was to do this with my 120 liter then how often would i have to clean all the filter media and protein skimmer (i would guess monthly?)

 

[flower]

Setup for a SW tank is much more expensive then a FW tank. Also gone are the days of $6.00 fish. The cheapest SW fish costs $15.00 on up to into the $100.00s for a fish. My Pot belly seahorses will cost me $145.00 each for example, I once purchased a flame angel for $119.00. The Clown fish cost me $18.99 each.
Personally...I recommend you purchase your fish online. This site and a few others sell fish with a 14 day guarantee. In the pet store you do not get any guarantee at all. With such expensive critters it only makes sense to quarantine new fish, and get a 14 day guarantee.
The fish food is about the same. Don't feed pellets or flakes, stay with frozen mysis or make your own using raw seafoods and a blender...then freeze it.