kenman Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 Hi, i live in England and im just wondering weather it would be possable to set up a small 3-5 UK Gallon tank... i was thinking: Tank: 33.5L x19.5W x23.5H cm, made from acrylic, thats 3 UK G alltogether. Heating: Hydor mini heater, for use with tank from 1-5G, (i have one allready, that i use for my betta tank, and they work great.) they are flat, and can be positioned next to the tank edge, or even under the sand. they are 7.5 watts Filter: Hagen elite mini, good turnover of 220 litres per hour, so 10 times+ per hour, for a small tank. Liverock: thinking maybe 1-1.25KG... the things i dont know are weather this could work, or weather ill need tonnes of specialised equipment etc... also what lighting i could use, could it be a desk lamp that is positioned over the top, or would it need to be specialised lighting etc. I know i couldnt keep any fish in that tank, or any corals (i dont think...with out specialised lighting), but if i could have maybe a couple of shrimps, a sanil and a hermit crab, then that would be great. im not planning on spending hundreds of pounds on this, but if i could have a go, then id love the oppertunity. For RO water: my granny (who is about 10 mins up the road) has a rainwter collecter outside, and shes got loads allways in there, but the inside has algae etc....would the water be harmful??? i could put it through a sieve, to get rid of any particles etc.? If that wouldnt be suitable, then use disstilled yes?- but isnt that quite expensive... i have an LFS that specialises in marine, so i can get all LR and livestock from there. If anyone has any surgestions, or info/advise, then id much appreciate it. Thanks for any help, Mikey Link to comment
BigRed25X Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 you should be able to go to the store are get a gallon of distilled for a dollar lol but that is here in the US you can also buy lights (for close to nothing, try the corallife 10w 50/50 bulb for about $10) that would be suitable for LPS like zoanthids and mushrooms Link to comment
kenman Posted July 5, 2006 Author Share Posted July 5, 2006 Really? Cool. would that source of RO be ok do you think? i mean its not muddy, or dirty, its compleatly clear.... what do you think i could keep? i was thinking: 1x scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp 2x turbo snail 2-3x red legged hermits... would that be ok, or abit over stocked? im presumeing i cant have any fishin there, as its too small. Mikey (thanks for your help ) Link to comment
BigRed25X Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 2 turbos are a little big for my taste but they would be fine..fish wise you might could go with a small yellow clown goby or something like that...now the water is another story..I dont know if i would try it cus it would have some unknown things in it that could be harmful so I would probably stick with the distilled Link to comment
Argent Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 if you have an LFS where you can get LR and livestock -- you might also be able to purchase saltwater from them (that's what I do with my 3 gallon at $1/gallon) I would shy away from the rainwater -- no clue what kind of wierd chemicals etc could be in it (think acid rain) spend the money and buy some filtered water from the store. I do 2 litre water changes every week on my tank (about 1/2 gallon) and top off with about 8oz of filtered water every week. Link to comment
kenman Posted July 5, 2006 Author Share Posted July 5, 2006 What do you mean by "filtered"??? you know i said about my stocking, do you think that would be OK? i would like a fish, but how long could i keep the clowngoby in there? would it not get too big for it to be moved? do they need any special requirements? like lighting etc.? i think im just going to have LR, rather than experiment with mushrooms etc now. might have a go later though. if i did buy water from my LFS would i have to drive there every week, to get new water? Mikey thanks! Link to comment
Argent Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 What do you mean by "filtered"???you know i said about my stocking, do you think that would be OK? i would like a fish, but how long could i keep the clowngoby in there? would it not get too big for it to be moved? do they need any special requirements? like lighting etc.? i think im just going to have LR, rather than experiment with mushrooms etc now. might have a go later though. if i did buy water from my LFS would i have to drive there every week, to get new water? Mikey thanks! Hmm -- filtered water -- here in the States, we can buy gallons of filtered water at the grocery store (self serve fill yourself) for 50 cents a gallon or so - not sure if you have something similiar over there. As far as stocking - I'm not sure how long you'd be able to keep a goby - I have 6 blue legged hermits, a porcelain crab and 3 astrea snails in my tank and I plan to add 3 sexy shrimp. I also have 8 different zoa colonies, a mushroom, and a single brown/green paly all under a coralife 18w mini aqualight. My tank is at my desk at work -- I keep 3 gallons of saltwater at my desk and a gallon of regular filtered water. I generally visit the LFS every other month to refill my saltwater. You might also be able to purchase RO/DI water from the LFS as well (I go through regular water a lot slower than salt water) Link to comment
kenman Posted July 5, 2006 Author Share Posted July 5, 2006 I think what ill do is not have no fish yet (more expensive than inverts, and i dont want to lose it, so id rather get some experiance first) so im thinking: 4 red legged hermits, 2 turbos, and maybe 2 cleaner/scarlet skunk shrimps to start with(after my cycle), maybe less... my b'days comeing up, on the 15 july, so i can get some more money together. ok so if i buy my tank, desk lamp, heater, filter/powerhead, and my water and LR, what would i need to do next? (oh and my test kit) i presume i need to cycle it, but how do you do that and how long does it take? EDIT: just seen the aqua one aquarium heater thats 25watts, and is adjustable... do you think that would be better than an un-adjustable 7.5 watt one? im presumeing it is, especially cos of our cold winters, but i dont want to over heat the tank... got any thoughts? Mikey Link to comment
BigRed25X Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 the 25w heater is not necessary...you could do with far less wattage...2 shrimp might be too much bioload and you wouldnt want to start off with that much marine life maybe a hermit and snail because the cycle will take between 7 and 20 days Link to comment
kenman Posted July 6, 2006 Author Share Posted July 6, 2006 I know, i wouldnt start off with them in there, i mean after the cycle... How do you cycle it? Oh and also, when i go on holoidays, how long could it go for without attention (i.e feeding or water changes etc.) my mum could feed it when i go away for 2 weeks, but not do water changes, but sometimes we both go away for just one week, and im wondering if itd survive that long... Thanks alot, mikey Link to comment
englishreefer Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 hey fellow englishman here. All this talk of buying water from the supermarket. In america they can buy RO water from their grocery stores. I have visions of you going out and buying some bottled spring water or something of the sort. You can not buy reef safe water here in england from your local supermarket. Where abouts are you from i might be able to help get you started with a few things. On leaving the tank on holidays. If the tank is fed and if your mum could add some top of water your tank would be fine for many a week. To be honest in my tank with minimal bioload at times i have gone 6 months without a water change with no ill effects. Link to comment
kenman Posted July 6, 2006 Author Share Posted July 6, 2006 "To be honest in my tank with minimal bioload at times i have gone 6 months without a water change with no ill effects" - WOW! it wouldnt be any where near that long lol. yeah, i live in cheshire, so im going to ring my LFS to see if they sell the complete water (i.e with the salt etc added...). if they dont have that, then ill ask where they get their RO/DI from. Mikey Link to comment
kenman Posted July 6, 2006 Author Share Posted July 6, 2006 Sorry to double post, but ive phoned the LFS and they have RO for 50p per gallon (about 30cents per gallon), so it means i can get one!!!YAY! Im going to go to the LFS either tomorrow or saturday, to price everything up, and if it all seems reasonable, then ill get my tank things ordered off ebay. just wondering though, how do you cycle the tank? please can someone help.... Mikey Link to comment
BigRed25X Posted July 6, 2006 Share Posted July 6, 2006 you need to add your sand water and LR and let it do its thing for a while...you know it started the cycle when you see brown poppin up all over the sand and glass Link to comment
kenman Posted July 7, 2006 Author Share Posted July 7, 2006 What type of sand should i use? would normal aquarium sand do, or could i use some playsand (cos ive got some un-opened at home) Or do I have to get some live sand? If live would be better then I can use some. Mikey Link to comment
Kingofthejungle Posted July 16, 2006 Share Posted July 16, 2006 Coral Sand would be better than playsand, because it adds to the pH, Live sand is just normal sand thats been in someone elses mature tank and you put it in your own to kickstart bacteria growth, if you could get ahold of some of that it would be better Link to comment
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