# Marine forums?



## co2 (Sep 13, 2004)

Reef Central is the marine forum.

For smaller tanks, Nano-Reef.com is good too. 

There are even some marine planted tanks on both. There is a macro algae forum on RC, and check the current nano contest on NR for some seagrass tanks.


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

Great! Thanks, I'll check it out.


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## esarkipato (Jul 19, 2005)

I was also pretty active on aquariumadvice.com too, they span the gammit from plants to reefs.


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## deleted_user_7 (Jul 7, 2003)

Reefaquariumguide.com


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## Seahorsewhisperer (Jan 21, 2006)

All the experts left ReefCentral to go to MarineDepot.com. 

I like SWPlantedTank.com!


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## co2 (Sep 13, 2004)

Seahorsewhisperer said:


> All the experts left ReefCentral to go to MarineDepot.com.
> 
> I like SWPlantedTank.com!


I didn't know about the exodus... MD giving them free stuff?

I didn't know about SWPlantedTank.com, is that yours? I started with reefs, I really want to start a planted marine.


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

Thanks guys. I checked out reefcentral.com and didn't get much help. I tried browsing the forums and ended up getting quite overwhelmed. I'm VERY knowledgeable with freshwater & planted tanks, etc. BUT I've never kept a salt water tank. I'm actually going to try jumping into a small reef tank and I'm just looking for advice on equipment, etc. I already have the tank(25g), stand and I DID find an excellent thread on reefcentral on setting up a nano-reef tank, complete with a 10g sump (I'll use a 20g). I also MAY have the lighting I need, that is, if ahsupply 55w x 2 is adequate, but I keep seeing the reef people talking about T5 and MH and not once did I hear anyone mention ahsupply. I'll see what I can find on those other websites. I have no idea on curing live rock, or how to do it, etc...or whether an R/O unit is necessary. I know many do it, but I just use tap water on my planted tank and its fine (gh/kh = 4, ph ~7, No3<5, Po4=0)
-Ryan
freshwater enthousiast
saltwater n00b


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## mr.gaboozlebag (Feb 22, 2006)

I tried to get help at RC, but it was just to big, I didn't know if I was getting the best help, because my thread would be on the second page of the forum in less than an hour. That is why I like PT so much.


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

Yeah, that's exactly right. I checked my post the next day and it was on the 2nd page, so I bumped it and it was back down to the bottom of the 1st pg in an hour or two. It's too big and confusing, especially for less experienced folks.


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## elpezpr (Nov 12, 2006)

Hi. I think CO2 said it. Both sites are very big but all the info is there in the forums. http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/ The lighting you have is fine for most soft corals. MH is great but not essential for starting up. Recently I converted my 30g from a reef to a Planted. I had 2x CF 96w but I bought 2x T5 42w. I am pretty sure I can keep whatever was on that tank with the T5's. They run very cool and I have them about 1" from the water surface. Curing Live Rock is just putting it in a rubbermaid with a pump until the die-off gone. I suggest you use no more than 1" of sand. It becomes a dirt trap. I use 1/2". I usually siphon it all out once a month and agitate it in the bucket with the water you siphoned then throw the water out and put the sand back in. As for RO I used it before and stopped using it because it was too much of a hassle. I haven't seen any diference. It can be usefull when keeping hard corals and you want to control/test every water parameter. I also suggest you get a protein skimmer. They not only remove organics but they also aerate the water and your ph will be more stable. All my marine tanks run on natural filtration. No wet/dry, just a bunch of small pieces of Live rock in a basket in the sump. The water from the siphon overflow goes to the basket. If you still want to use a wet/dry I have used LR intead of bio-balls with great success. Water movement is very important as well as surface agitation. We don't like co2 buildup in marine tanks. I use at least 1 powerhead in the tank (opposite to the return from sump) to help create random water movement. I run chemipure all the time. I also run Ultralife Phosphate Remover all the time. It is expensive but wotrh the price. The Chemipure I change every 6 months and the Phos Remover when I start seeing algae build up faster than 2 weeks. Keeping the temp stable is a must. I aim for 78-79 but gotten away with 81-82. I hope this helps.


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

Thanks for the advice elpezpr. I'll check out those forums and try to get some step-by-step setups to help give me some ideas. I'm definately going to make a DIY wet dry. I've even seen a step-by-step guide where a guy used a dremel to cut holes in a glass tank for overflow. Since my tank and sump will both be undrilled glass, it will be something that I'll read very carefully. If I'm going to have trouble growing most corals with 55wx2 PC, then I may save up for a MH or T5 set up. On the other hand, I may just upgrade later. Did you run a chiller in your 30g reef? My tank got up into the low 80s during the summer. Maybe even a high of 85-86. I'll have to keep the AC cranked I guess. 1" of sand or less is great, since the LFS charges $4.50/lb for the live sand out of their reef tank, or you can buy the bagged stuff. Thanks again for the help. My head is spinning with ideas. I just need to get a dremel and a good skill saw.


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## whitepine (Apr 13, 2004)

I agree with elpezpr that nano-reef.com is good. They have a couple of great guides on setting up a nano tank. When I have posted there before, I recieved a respons very quickly and good advice. Check them out.


12 gallon nano tank... no one has had a chance to wake up yet.




Cheers, Whitepine


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

Wow, Whitepine. Nice. Very nice.
Do you use PC, T5 or MH on that tank? Looks nice with the LR stacked all the way to the top in the middle. You know, that actually looks like one of the aquapods I saw at a LFS (12g and 24g models). How do you like the equipment and lighting it came with? Assuming that's what it is


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## mr.gaboozlebag (Feb 22, 2006)

The problem with Marine depot is that you are not allowad to post any thing about products not sold on marine depot.


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## whitepine (Apr 13, 2004)

ringram said:


> Wow, Whitepine. Nice. Very nice.
> Do you use PC, T5 or MH on that tank? Looks nice with the LR stacked all the way to the top in the middle. You know, that actually looks like one of the aquapods I saw at a LFS (12g and 24g models). How do you like the equipment and lighting it came with? Assuming that's what it is


The tank is a Modified Jbj Nano cube 12 dx. If I were to do it again I would use a aqua pod 12. I have 3- 24watt cf over it(stock is 2) with another 9 watt cf for the fuge in the back. added better fans and ugraded the moon lights. dual actinic bulbs and dual daylight bulbs too. upgraded pump and added hydor flows. I am also adding a canister filter and a inline chiller when I get a chance.

cheers, Whitepine


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## MikeysFishtank (Nov 15, 2006)

i dont like reefcentral they to me are to smart for there pants and are rude
im a member of REEF SANCTUARY
they are very frendly and will help with any question you might have and to them no question is a dumb question unlike reef central

check out my web site at MoJo's Reef
and look at my tanks

hope this helps Mike
email [email protected]


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## mr.gaboozlebag (Feb 22, 2006)

Mikey: Your website froze my comp. Just a warning for people with slow computers.


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## elpezpr (Nov 12, 2006)

Hi. If you really want to grow corals I would say MH. But then again the corals in my 30g grew nicely with 192w PC. I believe that is more than enough for soft corals. I've seen people use 350w MH on my same tank but unless you want to grow hard corals (SPS) I think that's overkill. I did run a chiller. It was a 1/4hp as I knew I was going to upgrade later. When I upgraded I moved the chiller to a 90g. On the 30g which I kept (you know how that goes) I used a floor fan to blow air to the tank constantly but water evaporation could be an issue. It was about 81-82 with some days being up to 84-85 but the only corals that I left on the 30g were mushrooms that once they are established they can tolerate temp swings. Good Luck


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

So, I could probably use my existing 55wx2 PCs and replace the bulbs with a 10,000k and an actinic (or two 50/50's maybe)...OR, buy this and house any kind of coral I want:
Current USA Outer Orbits 24" 150W 10,000K HQI 2X65W w/ 4 Lunar Lights at Big Al's Online


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## thekarens (Sep 3, 2006)

With T-5s you can grow anything from softies to sps. On our nano reef we're only using PCs and have kept it to shrooms, blastos, rics and some leathers and a few zoas though personally the zoas look better under MH.

You should do a google search for a local reef club. There are a zillion out there and most of them have their own boards. I belong to MARSHReef.com which is Houston's reef club and the board is very active and the people knowledgable and helpful.

Karen


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## Seahorsewhisperer (Jan 21, 2006)

co2 said:


> I didn't know about the exodus... MD giving them free stuff?
> 
> I didn't know about SWPlantedTank.com, is that yours? I started with reefs, I really want to start a planted marine.



I think it is more to do with the personalties? It does seem like they do try to promote the stuff that MD sells..

SWPlantedtank is our new fledgling site. We would love to help you with a planted SW tank. There are a few issues to consider...


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## BlueRamPlanted (Dec 14, 2006)

If you want a friendly reef site, try Reefs UK


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