Any marine fishkeeprs on here?

wippers

wippers

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Gareth
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I have kept freshwater tropical fish about 25 years ago and dabbled a little with marine fish back then with mixed results. I am looking to get a new marine system and would like some advice on where to start.

I am looking for a cube tank and have seen a few that I like the look of but have no idea how good these systems actually are. I'm looking for something that hopefully when fully up and running won't need too much looking after (fingers crossed). Does any one have any thoughts on any of the following:

Red Sea Reefer 170
Nice design but has a sump system which I'm not sure about. I like the idea of a sealed external filter system like the Eheim.

Evolution Aqua eamarine 600 cube
I really like the look of this and has the filter system at the back of the tank. Is this likely to be good enough?

Aqua One 195 or 275
Nice quality and can be used with a sealed filter system but no open top.


I also like the new (new to me anyway) LED systems that are common now by the looks of it. How good are the cheaper ones compared to the £600+ ones?


I am looking to spend around £1500 for the system (plus livestock) and would welcome any suggestions based on what I have seen before I end buying something I will regret.
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I really like the idea of an open top tank but does this cause problems with fish jumping out?
 
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I have 2 marine set ups Gareth, Interpet River Reef 94 LED(94l) is my set up and I converted an Aqua Nano 40 (55l) for the good lady..

first things first, they are not as hard to run as some people might make out, they are just more costly should something go wrong and you lose your stock..

what are you planning on keeping? fish and coral or fish only? soft, lps, sps corals? try to work that one out as some corals are more demanding than others and could need upgraded lighting depending on what set you buy..

have you a local fish shop nearby? unless you purchase a RO unit you will be buying RO or salt water from a shop so having one local is nice..

live rock is £8-£12 per kg and you should work on 1kg per 10l of water so with the tanks you are looking at a fair amount £££s
 
just seen the bottom of post RE open top..

yes some fish can jump out, Firefish can but remember fish will usually only try this if unhappy with water quality.. main reason I am not for open top is evaporation is greatly increased.. my tank is fully lidded and suffer 0 evaporation my wifes is open with a glass top so evaporation is very little.. I prefer my tank light wise being enclosed (the wifes is a hang over type)
 
Cheers David. I'm planning on keeping some small fish (Clownfish, Damsels, Mandarin) and at some point I'd like to try some of the easier to keep corals. I've been looking at the man-made porous rocks that have sort of flat bits where you can place the corals. They're not cheap but I quite like them and they won't have any unexpected critters hidden. The lighting seems to be an expensive shell out (excuse the pun) but the Evolution comes with a pretty decent LED, although it's just white and blue light so no fancy playing around like you can with the more expensive LED set ups. I think I'm swaying towards the Evolution systems purely for ease of set up and looks, but not pushed the button on anything yet. Budget looks to be heading more for £1600 though with a few extras I'll need (sand, water, test kits etc).
 
Ooooo watching with interest. It was only earlier this morning I was having a good clear out and came across my mums old 200litre fish tank. I like a good fish tank and thought I'd "do it up" I've given it a good clean and it's turn out really nice. I'd love to start a marine tank with live corals, but to be honest I wouldn't know where to start or even how much it would cost to set up. I might just stick to a tropical set up for now, I can manage that lol.

Every time I go to my local garden center I'm always amazed by the marine fish there. They have all sorts from clown fish to poisonous ones and even sea urchins
 
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strumstrum said:
just seen the bottom of post RE open top..

yes some fish can jump out, Firefish can but remember fish will usually only try this if unhappy with water quality.. main reason I am not for open top is evaporation is greatly increased.. my tank is fully lidded and suffer 0 evaporation my wifes is open with a glass top so evaporation is very little.. I prefer my tank light wise being enclosed (the wifes is a hang over type)
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I think I'll have to chose carefully which fish so they don't end up on the floor. I will have to look into getting an RO unit if evaporation is going to b high.
 
CaveDweller said:
Ooooo watching with interest. It was only earlier this morning I was having a good clear out and came across my mums old 200litre fish tank. I like a good fish tank and thought I'd "do it up" I've given it a good clean and it's turn out really nice. I'd love to start a marine tank with live corals, but to be honest I wouldn't know where to start or even how much it would cost to set up. I might just stick to a tropical set up for now, I can manage that lol.

Every time I go to my local garden center I'm always amazed by the marine fish there. They have all sorts from clown fish to poisonous ones and even sea urchins
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Paul I used to keep freshwater tropicals many years ago and never really had the confidence to start marine but I'm going to take the plunge this time and give it a go. Most people in the specialist aquatic shops are saying that if you pick your fish and/or corals carefully then they are relatively easy to keep as long as the water quality remains good.
 
wippers said:
Paul I used to keep freshwater tropicals many years ago and never really had the confidence to start marine but I'm going to take the plunge this time and give it a go. Most people in the specialist aquatic shops are saying that if you pick your fish and/or corals carefully then they are relatively easy to keep as long as the water quality remains good.
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Cheers. I've kept freshwater tropical fish before I moved house. I'll go in to the garden center and speak to someone there about what they have and see what they can do for me regarding a marine set up. Would be a nice thing to have.
 
I used to keep a couple of nano reefs, which developed into a nano reef system (interconnected display, sump and algae tank). In the end though I enjoyed designing the system and photographing the inhabitants more than routine maintenance. And work pressures meant I just didn't have the time to enjoy it. I still bounce around UR from time-to-time and I've been helping a friend design a larger system.

I'll disagree with @strumstrum about the need to prevent evaporation. In my (rather low tech) approach to reefing there were only positives associated with evaporation - it's a massively efficient means of exporting heat from the system, it requires very good ventilation to cope with it which means that air flow across the tank and gas exchange is at a very good level.

Overall I'd rather deal with the top-up with an ATO and keep a window open for ventilation than have to install a chiller to deal with over-temperature and be fighting increased acidity due to poor ventilation and gas exchange.

If I was doing it again, I'd concentrate on nice LPS corals and inverts. Keep fish to a minimum except maybe a pair of Banggais and a scooter, both of which I admit to having a soft spot for ;)
 
yeah test kits start adding up as do things like Balance, Buffer and phosphate binder, and I recommend a refractor over a hydrometer..

I had corals before fish and snails/crabs before that, corals are a wonder to watch I have a LPS torch coral and when I feed it brine shrimp and you see its tentacles close up to take the shrimp to the coral skeleton its just amazing to watch.. I also enjoy watching my beautiful purple firefish sitting in the current opening its mouth taking in the copepod zooplankton... I tell you when the system is all running good it can pretty much look after itself.
 
on the smaller modern set ups I don't know of anyone @Alastair that has a problem with heat and on a bigger system surely you would be having a chiller anyway but all good points.. my levels are always good so I can only go by that; I certainly would not want to be without my purple firefish I absolutely adore. my wife has a bangai in hers and I have a pyjama cardinal, I think they are the 2 nicest cardinals..

remember @wippers that salt does not evaporate so when you top up use RO; salt is for changes only or if you need to raise levels.

if I was setting up again I might reconsider sand, not for dirt as the clean up crew sort that both on top and below; its just sand is a pain whenever you disturb the tank; still I love watching the crabs messing about on the sand and I plan on a blenny at some point which do well on the sand bed so I guess you have to work out what is important to you.. I also probably wouldn't go for the recommended for my tank Kent skimmer but I have it now and it seems to foam and skim well but the min/max level is hardly anything you have to tweak after water changes which doesn't help me as I have adopted the little and often routine.
 
Thanks for all the info so far. I'm trying to absorb it all before taking the plunge. From your knowledge can you see any issues with the Evolution Aqua? My only concerns were whether the filter will be good enough, although I will have to put my trust in the manufacturers knowledge and experience.
Out of interest, are there any aquarium classified sites anywhere?
 
wippers said:
Thanks for all the info so far. I'm trying to absorb it all before taking the plunge. From your knowledge can you see any issues with the Evolution Aqua? My only concerns were whether the filter will be good enough, although I will have to put my trust in the manufacturers knowledge and experience.
Out of interest, are there any aquarium classified sites anywhere?
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Ultimate reef forums have a classified section.
 
wippers said:
From your knowledge can you see any issues with the Evolution Aqua? My only concerns were whether the filter will be good enough, although I will have to put my trust in the manufacturers knowledge and experience.?
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IMHO it seems overpriced, and I that sort of size I would defo be going for an external sump system over an in tank sump.

have you a local fish shop nearby? see if they have a Clearseal Reef Space on display, I think your money is much better spent on something like that, then with tip top trendy lighting and all the runnings of the tank you will still not be near the cost of the Evolution, which does not come with a skimmer BTW which would mean higher than regular water changes, especially when stocked with fish.

EDIT: just noticed the capacity of the Evolution :eek: defo overpriced IMO
 
Cheers for the info David. I've had a look at one of the Clearseal systems and they are not too much cheaper if I go for the sumped version of the Evolution. I think I'm going to move away from the plug-and-play Evolution system and go for a sumped one (their equivalent to the Red Sea Reefer) as I'm really impressed with the quality and by going with a sump version I'm not limiting any future upgrades. Now I have the new problem of working out what else I need to buy to go with the pretty bar bones Evolution Aqua sump system. Any ideas?
 
Cheers David. I'm looking specifically for a cube tank (due to space) which for some reason are more expensive (no idea why). The Clearseal one in our local shop was a 500mm cube at £500. The Evolution one is 600mm cube at £649. I think the Evolution systems are a bit overpriced but the quality is the best of the bunch for me. One thing I need to check though whichever tank I go for, is what else I need to buy and the costs involved. This is what I think I will need:

Pump (4000lph) - £100.00
Heater (200w?) - £25.00
Filter media - no idea
LED Lighting - £360.00
Wavemaker - £120.00
Skimmer - £140.00

Does this look about right?
 
wippers said:
Cheers David. I'm looking specifically for a cube tank (due to space) which for some reason are more expensive (no idea why). The Clearseal one in our local shop was a 500mm cube at £500. The Evolution one is 600mm cube at £649. I think the Evolution systems are a bit overpriced but the quality is the best of the bunch for me. One thing I need to check though whichever tank I go for, is what else I need to buy and the costs involved. This is what I think I will need:

Pump (4000lph) - £100.00
Heater (200w?) - £25.00
Filter media - no idea
LED Lighting - £360.00
Wavemaker - £120.00
Skimmer - £140.00

Does this look about right?
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have a word with your LFS to price you up a bundle, not sure where you got a price of £120 for the wavemaker? £40 is more like it, skimmer is about right you can pay more you can pay less, not going to comment on lighting as that is way out of what I would spend but I know you can be looking at that price for the form over function LEDs.. pump price is on the high side too, this is all good of course as it means you will not be spending as much as expected..

filter media is another for the LFS, I do not use any apart from sponge, it is the way I was instructed and seems to be the norm, the live reef does most of the work and the water changes and skimmer does the rest.
 
I'll get in touch with the LFS and see what deals can be done. The wavemaker price is from Maidenhead aquatics for a pair of controlled units https://fishkeeper.co.uk/product/hydor-koralia-1600-smart-wave-kit

At least if I'm a bit top heavy on some of the prices it will be worst case scenario and maybe a welcome surprise when I finally take the plunge. :) The LEDs I like are Kessil ones which come with the Evolution full set up systems although I might have to lower my sights a bit on those though and get something a bit cheaper.
 
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