Salt Water Aquarium

[Dirk_brijs]

Anyone here specialised or knows someone??

I just bought myself a decent size Fish Tank (120*50*70cm) would love it set up as a salt water tank you know with the NEMO's and the Dorries in there (son keeps whinning about it and I kinda like them too lol). Anyway someone has an idea on how to set this thing up cause of what i read about it so far it seems like some serious undertaking.

Thanks

[monty]

I'm in the process of setting one up myself. Have the tanks already, the guy's gonna come in on Monday to get the saltlevel right, get the water settled and then we can move in some sea creatures!

Over here in the tropics it's a bit less difficult then in the west since we have one factor less to worry about, namely temperature.

The biggest concern with saltwater tanks are nitrate (NO3) levels. Correct feeding is the most important issue, as any uneaten food will settle on the bottom and cause the nitrate levels to rise quickly.

Since nitrates are what algae feed on, high levels will quickly cause the algae to grow, turning your water pretty ugly. As well it's not healthy for the inhabitants.

Ways of controlling nitrates are putting live rocks or live sand in the tank. If the nitrate level becomes too high, a partial change of water is in order to quickly bring the levels within acceptable norm...

Basically, saltwater tanks need daily maintenance, and a correct regime of feeding. All depends on the inhabitants of course, be herbivores or carnivores...

Not sure if you can find qualified specialists over here, your best bet would be self education and take care of it yourself!

Rmember the shark tanks in Royal garden? They didn't last very long!!!

[naka]

A filtration system is really important as is an aeration system.

Salt water only contains about a seventh of the oxygen that

fresh contains so you must be careful not to overpopulate the tank.

Naka.

[Dirk_brijs]

I'm in the process of setting one up myself. Have the tanks already, the guy's gonna come in on Monday to get the saltlevel right, get the water settled and then we can move in some sea creatures!

Over here in the tropics it's a bit less difficult then in the west since we have one factor less to worry about, namely temperature.

The biggest concern with saltwater tanks are nitrate (NO3) levels. Correct feeding is the most important issue, as any uneaten food will settle on the bottom and cause the nitrate levels to rise quickly.

Since nitrates are what algae feed on, high levels will quickly cause the algae to grow, turning your water pretty ugly. As well it's not healthy for the inhabitants.

Ways of controlling nitrates are putting live rocks or live sand in the tank. If the nitrate level becomes too high, a partial change of water is in order to quickly bring the levels within acceptable norm...

Basically, saltwater tanks need daily maintenance, and a correct regime of feeding. All depends on the inhabitants of course, be herbivores or carnivores...

Monty,

Who is the guy? you have a guy who knowsstuff. can you get me his details and tell me who he is

Not sure if you can find qualified specialists over here, your best bet would be self education and take care of it yourself!

Rmember the shark tanks in Royal garden? They didn't last very long!!!

[Farma]

I had a 2 metre salt water tank for a few years before I sold it on. It took a lot of maintenance. A good strong reliable pump and filtration system is the key to success.

I didn’t have access to the proper chemicals and test kits so I winged it by using fresh seawater. I drained and replaced 1/3 every week. I would get algae blooms every now and then. This was quickly controlled by replacing the charcoal filter. Correct lighting plays a big part too. Try to keep the tank out of direct sunlight.

My stock included Coral, Cowries, Crabs, Clownfish, Anemone, Starfish and a variety of other fish. The unwanted nuisance was pistol shrimps who would make loud clicking noises. Coral was hard to keep alive but not impossible.

There are some good books available on marine aquariums. One written by someone in the British marine aquarium society had very good advice. Unfortunately I’ve forgotten the name of the author and book.

Once set up right the tanks can provide hours of entertainment. Best wishes with your tank.

[monty]

The guy who makes my tanks has a small shop on Siam country club road.

Coming from Sukhumvit drive pas the railway, about 500 m down the road on the left hand side (100 m before the 7/11 on the same side).

But as I said, their knowledge seems to be a bit limited...When I inquired about adensity meter (to check the saltlevel) he didn't have a clue what I was talking about...

Mobile 094261835 (name's Tid)

[Dirk_brijs]

The guy who makes my tanks has a small shop on Siam country club road.

Coming from Sukhumvit drive pas the railway, about 500 m down the road on the left hand side (100 m before the 7/11 on the same side).

But as I said, their knowledge seems to be a bit limited...When I inquired about adensity meter (to check the saltlevel) he didn't have a clue what I was talking about...

Mobile 094261835 (name's Tid)

I heard from a big fish farm somewhere in Sriracha.

Anyone heard from this one they should have thousands of Clownfish and stuff for sale?

Read about it in a magazine somewhere but they didnt add an address? it should be somwhere in SriRacha?

They might know alot about it i pressume but dont know where to find them?

Farma where did you buy your things? and where willyou buy Monty?

[Farma]

My tank wasn't in Thailand. I bought my tank pump and filter off a guy who was leaving. The charcoal and fish food came from aquarium shops or picked up on my trips home.

The stock I collected myself on dives.

I've known people living in Malaysia who had an arrangement with their local aquarium supplier to come and maintain their tanks on a weekly basis. There may be a similar service in Pattaya but no idea on what it would cost. I found it easy and enjoyable to do it myself.

Edited October 21, 2006 by Farma

[bkkmadness]

Over here in the tropics it's a bit less difficult then in the west since we have one factor less to worry about, namely temperature.

Actually the temperature might prove to be a bigger problem out here Monty, an aquarium especially for marine fish can easily overheat. If you take a trip down JJ market in Bangkok and check out all the marine aquarium suppliers, every shop is in an air con unit. My friend had difficulty keeping the temperature down in his marine tank at home in the UK during hot summers.

Make sure's it's positioned somewhere that doesn't get too hot, though worst comes to worst you can have to install a chiller unit for it.

Marines can be extremely sensitive although your 'nemos' clownfish and suchlike are a pretty hardy lot, do be careful what you buy out there. I see a lot of marine fish in the shops that are very sensitive to slight changes in water conditions and they will be sold to you just as quickly as a 'beginner' fish.

I recommend a good book, and a lot of research on the internet, there's a ton of good sites out there for the hobby.

Overall its all about keeping that water level stable, this is why the bigger the tank the better, the larger volume of water gives you more stable conditions right from the start. You need a well filtered tank and you have to be very careful not to overstock it which is always tempting.

[naka]

I had a 2 metre salt water tank for a few years before I sold it on. It took a lot of maintenance. A good strong reliable pump and filtration system is the key to success.

I didn’t have access to the proper chemicals and test kits so I winged it by using fresh seawater. I drained and replaced 1/3 every week. I would get algae blooms every now and then. This was quickly controlled by replacing the charcoal filter. Correct lighting plays a big part too. Try to keep the tank out of direct sunlight.

My stock included Coral, Cowries, Crabs, Clownfish, Anemone, Starfish and a variety of other fish. The unwanted nuisance was pistol shrimps who would make loud clicking noises. Coral was hard to keep alive but not impossible.

There are some good books available on marine aquariums. One written by someone in the British marine aquarium society had very good advice. Unfortunately I’ve forgotten the name of the author and book.

Once set up right the tanks can provide hours of entertainment. Best wishes with your tank.

You need to be careful doing this ! Some water will have evaporated in the tank so every time you

add fresh seawater you are increasing the salt density in the tank.

Naka.

Edited October 22, 2006 by naka

[Farma]

Good point naka,

I had no major problems for the 4 plus years I had the tank. On the few occasions I was able to check salinity, nitrate and nitrite in the water direct from the sea it was higher than the recommended maximum levels. The tank levels were constantly over the recommended limit.

The sea water temperature where I collected my stock reached 32c at times, sometimes higher in the shallows. The sea temperature generally varied between 27c to 32c during the year.

With the large tank I found I needed a thermostat controlled heater most of the time. No cooling required ever. The house temperature where the tank was located stayed approximately 28c all year round.

[naka]

Yes Farma.

I had a saltwater tank when I lived in the South Pacific. I used seawater cos my house was 100

yards from the sea, and I topped up the evaporation losses with rainwater. I replaced 100 per cent

with fresh seawater about once a month.

I also used a large aerator and an "under sand filter".

Temp was not a problem cos locale was hotter than Thailand.

Broke my heart, it did ... when I finished up there after many years, and had to

walk down to the beach with a bucket to release Nemo and his mates.

Naka.

Edited October 22, 2006 by naka

[Farma]

It sounds like you had a similar setup to me. I had a full length under sand filter with about 1cm sand/shell grit on top. From memory the tank took about 225 litres to fill with everything in it.

The living rocks and coral formed a wall at the back of the tank. I let the reddish green algae grow on the back wall and part of the sides where the coral was. The Starfish and Cowries helped clean the walls too.

My combined pump charcoal filter was a big green German made one about ½ the size of a standard 12 litre dive cylinder. I had the output flow running lengthways with the under sand filter providing input to the pump.

The pump output splashed into the tank providing airation with smaller airators located in the middle under the living rock and at the far end of the tank.

It was interesting watching the Anemone move around the tank for the first day or two until it found a place that suited it.

I had very little stock loss once I balanced the fish. Originally I had too many predators and had to restock often. I considered a little lionfish at one stage but thought about the problems I would have with my hand inside the tank. I quickly forgot that idea.