Tropical to Marine

Hey everyone, Just thought I would pop in and say Hello

Well as my title said, I currently have a 90litre tank for tropical fish, I have had it running for 1-2years and I feel like progressing to something new such as marine.

My plan is to transfer the fish and equipment from this tank to a smaller 60litre tank.
I then will clean the 90l tank out and set it up for marine.
I recently brought a
V2 120 Skimmer
the Aqua One Cube30 (sump)
Im looking to buy an external filter now.
And a couple of powerheads linked to a wavemaker controller.

If possible I would like some advice, in the sump, would it be worth putting tank dividers into it?
All I have in the sump at the moment is the skimmer and heater and return pump obviously... Do you recommend adding anything else in here? I've been reading a lot about marine fish keeping and equipment required over the last few months, and I have seen many sump designs, I would love to upgrade to a larger tank but I dont have the space. Would it be a good idea to put some live rock in the sump? maybe some miracle mud or live sand?

Any help would be great!!!

 

Dividers are useful if your skimmer puts out microbubbles. They serve as a bubbletrap.

Some people's sumps are large enough that they can add a refugium as well. It all depends on how much extra room you have.

 

Thats what I thought, perhaps add a couple of dividers just before the return pump.
There is literally no extra space on the cupboard. =/ maybe one day I can upgrade!

 

Where are you from that you use litres instead of gallons? Do you know how many gallons you have?

 

Im from the UK

Erm using a convertor 90litres = about 20gallons... which is rather small but all I can fit for the time being.

 

Welcome to 3reef!

 

Actually, you're closer to 24 US gallons:

20 US gal = 75.71 Litres = 16.65 UK gal

24 US gal = 90.85 Litres = 19.98 UK gal

Gallons (U.S.) to Liters Conversion Calculator and Table - Convert Gallons to Liters

Small difference, but... ;D

FWIW, I'm running a 29 US gal DT with a 10 gal sump with no baffles. Only thing in the sump is my skimmer, additional live rock, and a 200 GPH powerhead for circulation. Live rock and live sand in the DT make up the bulk of my filtration.

One thing that's currently becoming a contraversial subject for SW aquariums is the use of mechanical filtration, especially where true live rock and live sand are employed; Trapping food out of reach of your critters simply creates more DOCs. I use the word true because live rock and live sand have much more than nitrifying bacteria; They also include many micro and macro life forms that 'dispose' of waste, using it for energy and converting it into harmless gasses that are released from the system at the surface. This is one of the many differences between fresh and saltwater, and far too many people get a bad start by using freshwater filters.

Cheers, and Good Luck.

 

Ah that is some brilliant information.

So what would you recremend I do? put some live sand and rock in the sump and not use a mechanical filter at all?

The mech filter i was looking at buying was a fluval 205 external.... a friend of mine has a larger system than mine and uses the next size up on his marine. But tbh, if buying it wont have a big effect on the system... it isnt a worth while investment.

 

That's up to each individual aquarist. Personally, I placed it in the main tank, with additional LR in the sump, but putting the LS in the sump will work, as well. Of course, the live rock and live sand will cost much more than a mechanical filter, but IMHO, it pays for itself many times over just with the shear gratification of running a true 'natural' system.

Also, if you do choose to use a mechanical filter, it will need much more maintenance than with freshwater- Changing the pad once per month in a Whisper 40 definitely won't cut it with a SW aquarium.

 

Here are a couple of links that I consider excellent material. I just wish I'd had the same info with my first SW aquarium.

Chuck's Addiction

DeepSandBeds