Going salty + tank log

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

best tank paint is tile paint mate get a nice blue colour or black colour mate.
i wish you best of luck with it !

hi K.
Coming to the salty side...
its not as bad as people think..lol
heres some info might help

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/startinganaquarium/a/aamarineaquari2.htm

http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/marine.htm

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)

never had marines K so not much help on this - but chez or B.G should be able to steer you in the right direction, good luck mate.



dekker

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

what do you think of the progress

blimey knock us a bedroom suite together
no rush today will do

doing well there K

Youve done a really good job there kbekl.

I see Thomas the TankEngine was keeping an eye on ehtings - I have one of those out in the conservatory - is he any good at pulling heavy weights?

ye the kids toy's the bain of my life they have taken over every where including my tool shed lol

well done a little bit more since posting lol

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

so far no major upsets lol

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

has to be live sand im sure this can be pricy best asking chez as she has a marine tank ! looking great that mate well done.

that paint you painted the stand with paint the back of the tank with it as it will all match.

keep it up buddy !

should i paint the sides or not ?

it is blackboard paint will it stick to glass ?

well i have it all in place what do you think

i dont knoe about black board paint sorry other then that its tile pain that i go for !

looks good in place mate make sure its level you dont want it to tip !

yes it is all level and was a little bit of a sqease getting it in their and it dont move thank god

and

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

cool welcome to the salty world!

thats looking stunning K great job looks very good in position


dekker

looking great

no live sand or play sand

you need marine sand
as this will go live after awhile with your live rock

wash it really well or you will have a foggy tank for ages

yer looked into it am going to finish the tank off tonight so should be ready for the salty treatment

will give the black back ground a go see how it goes

will post up the results good or bad

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 ?

any ideas

hi K
setup looking great, as for the black sand, well i have a black tank same as you and
i had black gravel in it, i am just in the process of changing it for natural colour
all black is just too dark, imo

and yours is in the fireplace too could make it darker still, but all's looking well K
looking forward to seeing the finished article, great job so far mate.



dekker

I would go with natural coloured sand too I think..

yes am thinking of going with white/natural sand

natural
you actully dont need alot of sand in a marine tank.
i have hardly any now after scraping the top off all the time to try and get rid of the diatoms and brown stuff.
i could leave it natural but i dont like to see it and my c.u.c are idol
so i help them clean up.

chez wrote:

natural
you actully dont need alot of sand in a marine tank.
i have hardly any now after scraping the top off all the time to try and get rid of the diatoms and brown stuff.
i could leave it natural but i dont like to see it and my c.u.c are idol
so i help them clean up.

depending what they got in the lfs today

is it better to go with ro water ? and how often do you need to change the water in the tank

what is needed to make tap water correct for the tank is it just a matter of loads of treatments or is it single one

which works out cheaper in the long run (i am on a water meter mind)

right i am off to get some substrate and find the nearest stockest to me for ro water and get the cost info

is it best to get salted or salt your own ?

in what order do i put it all in i have seen some pople put the sand in after the rock is this the best way or should i go sand water then rock / sand rock then water

do i have to add all the rock in one go or can i do it bit by bit ?

in your experiance which worked the best for you ?