aquariums

Question
QUESTION: I see on line I can have tank that is custom made and is marine ready. What does this mean? Can I buy a tank in store that is marine ready? I don't really understand anything about skimmers and filters is this complicated to hook them up or do they come redy to place.

ANSWER: Hey Melissa

Marine ready usually means the tank is drilled for a sump or comes with a overflow on it. Skimmers and filters are not complicated. Skimmers are usually driven by a powerhead, all you need to do is plug the powerhead in, adjust the flow, and empty the skimmer cup every once in a while. For filters, you dont really need one. If you get some good live rock, it will work as your filter.

If you can, ask if the marine ready tank is drilled or has a overflow. Drilled means theres holes and you connect hoses to a sump, which is a tank usually half the size of the show tank, and it sits beneath usually in the stand. there you can have chaeto, live rock rubble, your skimmer, heater, and other stuff that you might want hidden from the main tank. A overflow sits on the back, and is usually used when you cant drill the tank (tempered glass). sumps are generally recommended on tanks 55g+

any follow-up questions, feel free to ask

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QUESTION: Your answer to my last question really helped.I do have more questions though. I've been reading about wave makers and chillers and reverse osmosis set ups is this nessecary for tank water,or can tap water be used without harming the sock in the tank.

ANSWER: Hey again

Chillers arent totally necessary, if you live somewhere where it is warm year round (California, Texas, Hawaii, Florida, etc) its a good idea to get one to keep the tank from getting drastically overheated. If you notice they your tank goes a bit out of the comfort zone (say 86f), just get a ziploc bag and throw in some ice cubes, and let the ziploc bag float in the tank, it will keep the temperature down until it cools down outside.

Wave makers are generally for tanks 220g+, on smaller tanks for flow, you just need some powerheads. I use Koralias, they look cooler than normal powerheads, and they are magnet driven so theyre dead quiet. they also attach to the glass by magnets, so you never have to worry about it coming loose.

Reverse osmosis is usually a must. If you live in a big city, chances are your water has lots of phosphates and other bad stuff. This will cause massive algae and cyano blooms (i filled my first reef, a 55g, with tapwater, and since i live in a big city, the water had ltos of bad stuff and i had a massive cyano and hair algae boom). A good RO system off ebay is usually $200, but personally i bought 4 5g jugs from safeway and i go for RO water from the Culligan machine there when i need it. If  you dont live near a store that has dispensable RO water, it might be worth it to invest in a RO system. However, if you live in a small town, your water might be alright to use for saltwater. I would test for phosphates to make sure

any follow up questions, feel free to ask



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QUESTION: One more question for you. When I am ready to add fish to my aquarium what should I have for a clean up crew?, and should I have any live plants in the aquarium? Thanks so much.

Answer
Hey again

There arent any saltwater plants, but one good thing is chaeto, it slightly resembles FW java moss. It helps control nitrates and is usually placed in refugiums and sumps

As long as your fish wont eat cleaners (wrasse for example attack shrimp, snails, and crabs), a good clean up crew has shrimp for cleaning the live rock (coral banded shrimp, peppermint shrimp, sexy shrimp), snails for eating algae and stirring up the sand (turbo snails for example), and crabs for general cleaning (regular hermits). some fish will stir up the sand too, like sleeper gobies.

A good cleaner if you can find one are arrow crabs, they have long legs and resemble a spider. they have one claw on their underside, and are excellent cleaners, plus a good oddity.

any follow up questions, feel free to ask