kbekl

really sorry but i have lots of questions

Well i have decided to give the salty side a go not got masses of cash to play with

so i have a tank stand hood and t8 light fitting with daylight tube

i need alot more lol see if i miss any thing and is their any thing i dont need

refractometer (is their any other way to test for saltyness)
saltwater test kit (i guess my freshwater wont work)
live rock (would 20kg do for a 70l or need more or less does this need to be live rock and not ocean rock can i pick this out of the sea)
sand/substrate (what are my options on this can i go to the beach and pic some up? advantage of living in cornwall lol)
filter (do i need a filter and should this be a external or internal)
heater (i have a normal heater for freshwater can i use this?)
GH&kh test (do i need one)
calcium test (again do i need one)
RO water (do i need this or is tap water fine to use if it had been dechlorinated?)
power head (do i need this in addition to a filter or just this instead?)
mental test (seems like lots to worry about)

is their away to test the water without a refractometer

this is about all i can think of (probably missed loads)

this is the tank (with old sand in it)




was thinking about painting the back of the tank blue or black or what do you think would look best? but what type of paint is suitable

and this is where i plan on putting it



the old kitchen fireplace
as you can tell the area gets a small ammount of direct sunlight for a short period at dusk, is this a bad thing ?


what sort of fish and how many can i get in this sort of tank

how long is the cycle process and how does it work just so i know

next quetions

once i have the tank in place what is the next step is it add water or substrate/rock then add water

once i have water in the tank when do i need to add filtration/power head to the tank

when do i add the salt ?

then the cycle process how does this work?

cant think of any thing else to ask but probably will do lol sorry about all the questions just need to know befor i start going the wrong way about things

well i have started lol

needed to get a stand an though why not build it my self so here is the first draft will let you know if i get a change of heart and buy one lol



as you can see really tidy worker lol

well i am taking it in slowly i am in no rush to get the tank full lol

right while i am waiting for the drill to recharge i will update the progress

oh by the way when screwing things together drill first then screw otherwise you get a split peice lol (only needed 2 lessons in this lol)





well got a bit more done but seems like its going to rain

what do you think of the progress

kbekl

made a little rain cover by the back door as it is starting to spit

so did some painting to match the fireplace top



well i weight 100kg

the tank weights 72kg's full with water (using 1liter = 1kg)

+ 1kg per gallon + 90kg i have 10kg to play with on my weight

well i can stand sit and sort of bounce and it dont move if i had thought about the brase i would have added one but clearly forgot :bang:

so far no major upsets lol

so what sand can i use ? the same as fresh or not, like playsand?

well i have it all in place what do you think







right it has been sujested that i paint the back of the tank black to match the rest but would blackboard paint stick to glass?

well yes others make it sound so difficult and say that i will never be able to enjoy the fish and will cost far too much

we have power lol

i went and setup the tanks own power supply with its own 32amp braker to be on the safe side and means if anything else trips out this will stay on so no worries about over powering the circuits lol



thats today other with lol

MizRamzi

I love what you've done with the tank and stand. I also really like the placement. I'm pretty new to SW myself, but have learned so so much here at FL. Check out the rules of thumb for SW beginners. Read read and read some more.
I do have a question about your power source. How are the cords going to reach? It looks kind of far away in the pic.
Good luck and have fun! Keep the pic's coming

MizRamzi

It will be very little trouble for you, if done properly! It's been no trouble for me at all to date and I'm loving my very new fish today!!!

kbekl

with a 4 way strip socket didnt want the direct conection too close to the tank due to the water just a bit of added safty lol

thank you for the comements just got to find the £80 for live rock as it is £10 per kilo

kbekl

now i have added a back ground also black



right if i went with black sand as well would this not be too much black ?

my next set of query's is about the substrate do i go with crushed coral sand or just standard live sand or just marine sand ?

and for a 24"x12" botom what quantaty do i look as i think 20lbs will be too much

agsansoo

Very nice kbekl. I think black sand is great looking. Reminds me of when I lived in Maui, Hawaii. They had a few black sand beaches there. Most people opt for white sand, due to its reflective properties (adds more light to the tank). IMO I would not get crushed coral or live sand. Just regular (dead) sand will become live in weeks from seeding from your live rock.

There always leaving the tank bare bottom like mine !

kbekl

well i could only get natural live sand but was only £13 odd so i thought i would lol

right have got 2 koralia nano power heads 1 each side of the tank

and i have recived the filter today

it comes with a surface skimmer (this isnt a protein skimmer is it lol)

right well as i said i got the filter today and am happy with the way it works and as it is black matches the tank lol, also keeps it off the floor out of my 2 year olds reach.

well i went and cut the hole in the hood for it






the light is built into the hood but i prised it off to see if i could modify it a little



now i can go 2 ways with this
1) I remove the fittings completly and add a t5 starter for the sun light + t8 starter for the blue tube.
2) I can leave the current light in and add a moddified t8 starter for the blue and control it from 2 timers or just switches

with both ways it means drilling the plastic and fitting tube holders in and attaching the cables by drilling in the sides for the wires (not a major problem)
but what is a problem is heat what will generate the most heat t5's or t8's this is where i am stuck as i have no idea.

well this is the filter in place and the skimmer thing








over all how do you think it is looking

just got to wait for the rest of the things in the post lol then we are cooking on gas , just have to wait for the refractometer from the states about 8 days hopefully then i can do my water (may know someone with a marine tank just up the road so they might be able to help with the ro water and might have a hydrometer or refractometer)

MizRamzi

I wouldn't get curshed coral either. But I personally used the live sand. Helped cycle my tank quicker, since it comes already prepared with the beneficial bacteria. I've never used black. Kind of interesting but I would think it would be kind of dark what with all the other black surrounding it. Anything darker in color, like your clean up crew may not show up very well. Just a thought...
I hope your having fun, I know I am