purple_phoenix

After nearly two years of searching for a place which employs uner-16's, I've now found somewhere where I may possibly be able to work. I went for a trial on Thursday, and am still waiting to hear from them. Anywho, it means that I'll have a little extra money to save -it's only Saturdays and one day after school per week- and I hope to eventually save enough to convert one of my tanks to a marine setup. It leaves me with lots of planning time.

I've done a bit of reading up, and these are my ideas so far (please point me in the right direction if I have the wrong idea)

- Tank: 77g UK / 92g US corner tank, currently a freshwater tropical setup. (Juwel Trigon 350)

- Heating: As it is a juwel, there is a heater, filter and pump in the 'little black box'. The heating is sufficient for my freshie and stays constant at 78 degrees. (Can easily be adjusted)

- Filtration: I am hoping that the filter supplied with the tank would be okay for a marine setup. If not, please let me know. I'm thinking an addition external filter may be useful, but will avoid the extra cost if possible. In the way of Protein skimmers, I've read some good reviews on the 'Berlin Air Lift', which is good as it's within my price range.

- Lighting: Basically, I can fit two 24" bulbs within the hood. I have the two 20W bulbs supplied, an 18W one which is suitable for plants, and a 20W 'power' one which says promotes growth of invertebrates, coral and plants (It's 18000 Kelvin). I'll post a picture of the box if needed. It will be easy enough to get another if it all looks good to you guys but if not, I can go with other options. I can't find much info on lighting, so if you can help me out a bit with what's suitable with what I want in the tank, I'd be very grateful.

- Tank contents (The best bit!)
-- Rock: Although live rock seems the best way to go about things, the price tag shows it. If I were to have corals, would they be okay with ocean rock instead (if so, all corals? Certain types?). I've read that if they're left long enough, 'dead' rock can become 'alive' again, and grow various things just as live rock can. Is this true?
-- Fish: Just to let you know for lighting, etc, I am planning on having fish, invertebrates and corals. I'm leaving this bit blank for a while - I'm seeing how things go first. If I decide which fish I want, I'll want them now, not in however many month's time.
-- Sand: Crushed coral


Is there anything I've missed out that's very important? I've read about things like RO filters, and calcium reactors and whatnot - are they absolutely necessary, or can I stick with what I've mentioned above?

I'm sorry for all the reading, but will be very grateful for any advice you can give me. Thanks in advance!

atmmachine816

-heater sounds fine

-filter should be ok, if anything it can provide extra water movement. Not sure on the berlin airlift, I've read decent things on it, though I've also read but the best skimmer that you can, so maybe waiting a little longer to get a good one would be worth it.

-lighting I"m a little confused here, Do you have 24" bulbs which are 18w and 20w or something else? The 1800Kelvin one sounds fine, though the other which might be 6700Kelvin you can probably put into storage when you start this and get a actinic or other marine bulb.

-Rock, I would look into making your own live rock with cement if you want to save money and go that way. You could make most of the rock yourself then add a little real live rock to get your homemade live rock going. I'm not sure on the ocean rock but I do know that with your lighting, if I understand it right you won't be able to get many corals, maybe some mushrooms and polyps and that would be it.

-sand I would go with barebottom tank easier to keep clean and cheaper or go with aragonite. My preference would be barebottom.

This is a good start, there are things that you still need to consider but getting what you have right now is good for now.