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i've just upgraded my 40g planted to a 72G so now i have a 40g bare, home to neons and swordtails to keep the filter cycled.
i was going to set the tank up for african cichlids but

i've always want marine.

so what equipment do i need for a simple FO maybe a FOWLR
setup
and what fish are best for beginners in marine?

at the moment the tank is running with a fuval 304 caniter, 200W heater, and two T8 tubes both 25W

cheers for any suggestions

Karl

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

There are several routes you can take to keep it simple. The thing is, sometimes the more simple you make it, the more work you will have to put into it. And in the end will eventually cost you more.

Lighting and heating. If you are going FO or FOWLR, the lighting you currently have will be fine. And your heater will be fine as well.

LR. I highly recomend you use LR in your tank. It not only gives the fish hiding places, to make them more comfortable and less stressed, but aides in the filterization. Eventually the LR will help with removal of nitrAtes, which will be less work on your part. As you will not need to do as many water changes. It will also give more room for your biological bacteria to grow.

Substrate. It is recomended you use a calcium, or coral based substrate. Like Aragonite. It is white and will reflect your lighting better. But the biggest reason is it will help to buffer the ph up.

Test kits. You will need to get a SW test kit. dH, and ph are both very important levels to watch in a SW tank. And they must be maintained. As well, ammonia must be tested regularly, as a small spike can cause devistation in a SW tank. If ammonia starts to rize out of control, it can kill the beneficial bacteria, and possibly kill your entire cycle bacteria off. This is refered to as "crashing" in a SW tank. The nitrAtes also need measured regularly, as this will determine when you need to do water changes. In SW, nitrAtes are much more dangerous to the fish than in FW.

Fitlerization. The filter you currently have now will be fine for removing detritus. Once your tank is up and running for a bit, you may want to invest in a skimmer. They make HOB skimmers. With a skimmer working properly, you will not need to do as many water changes.

Salt. You will need water changing supplies. Salt is what will be your most expense in the long run. As you will need it with every water change. This is where the more expense comes into play. As the fewer water changes, the less salt you have to purchase.

Water change equipment. You will need a large enough container or bucket that will hold app 50% or your tank water, or about 20 gals. You will only be wanting to do regular water changes of app 25-30%, but just in case you have an ammonia spike, you will be able to do more if neccessary. You also need a second heater, and some kind of SW submersible water pump or a power head. These are for mixing the salt and water prior to doing the water change. And the water needs to be heated to the same temp as the tank, thus less shock to the fish. You will also need to purchase a refractometer (expensive) or a hydrometer (cheap). This will measure the salinity in the water, so you can match your new water to the new. Even small variences can stress the fish.

These are the basics. If you can afford more, I recommend you go a little more advanced. And look into a sump or refugium added to your tank. This will not only help greatly with the filterization and the removal of nitrAtes (less water changes and less salt to buy in the future), but also a place to hide your heater, and increases the total gallons of the setup allowing the possiblity of adding more fish.

Just remember, the amount of fish you can keep in a SW tank, is 1/3 or even less than that in a FW tank.



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There is always a bigger fish...

Simple is a broad term. Do you want something that is easy to maintain, do you want something with the least equipment possible and easy to setup, or do you want to try to setup a tank for as little cash as possible? Simple to me would be sort of the setup I have. No skimmer, no mechanical filtration, and only 2 pieces of equipment. I have a 20g long with 1" of sand, 20lbs of liverock, filtered with an aquafuge refugium that contains 5lbs of reef rubble and will have chaeto and a few lbs of livesand, and there's a powerhead for extra water movement. The aquafuge cost $100 and is the only equipment I spent money on so far. However my tank will require at least weekly water changes and a very good cleanup crew because I'm not removing much if any detritus through filtration methods and my tank is also not the cheapest possible way to setup a marine tank. With a skimmer water changes wouldn't be needed as much and filtration using liverock is by no means cheap. Most of the rock cost me $8 per pound.

Well Marc basically hit the basics but I wanted to add two things.

I did a write up of the best marine fish for smaller tanks. It's stickied to the top of this forum.

I wrote a bit on FO/FOWLR in the other article as well. It explains the basics and shares my journey as a newbie. I think you might find it helpful.

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

thanks all

that was very helpfull.

what i mean by simple is probably cheap and easy to setup and maintain.

i've just brought a couple of books so i'm going top research a bit more then i'll get back to you on what i ideas are.

thanks again.

Karl.

www.blooming-brilliant.co.uk

I may be a little late, but I can think of a setup which would be pretty simple to do.

Mantis tank- A smallish (ten to thirty gallons depending on species) setup for a single mantis shrimp would be very easy to maintain. Once you get it going, the shrimp will be hardy enough to bear with small fluctuations in water parameters. Many people don't like keeping an aquarium only to have just one critter in it, but in some cases it is definitely worth it. Mantis shrimp are very cool wet pets, though a little dangerous.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."