# Recommend a salty site.....



## Ady34 (18 May 2013)

Hi all,
I know there's a few marine tank keepers here, and would just like a pointer to a good marine forum please.....just for a look and some good reliable advice, I've got an itch that might need scratching 
Thanks,
Ady.


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## kevin1962 (18 May 2013)

saltytank.com small but very friendly forum and I know some of their members have joined this forum. me included


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## sa80mark (18 May 2013)

I hope I can say this ?
Ultimate reef is a superb forum to look and read around just unfortunately not a nice place to ask a question no end of arguing and stroppy replys from stuck up members


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## kevin1962 (18 May 2013)

sa80mark said:


> I hope I can say this ?
> Ultimate reef is a superb forum to look and read around just unfortunately not a nice place to ask a question no end of arguing and stroppy replys from stuck up members


+1 on that. I cant stess how friendly the other forum is you will definitely get good advice there and will be treated with respect


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## Ady34 (18 May 2013)

Thanks guys, will have a look.


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## DTL (18 May 2013)

Try Reef Central.
I was on there for a few years when I had reef tanks.
Lots of good info.


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## Alastair (19 May 2013)

Salty box is a great one too Ady. Ive got a few friends on their its really friendly and has lots of banter 

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2


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## Bandersnatch (19 May 2013)

I'd give +1 to saltybox,
Can't say how good the advice is as I don't know enough, but Thenanoreef.co.uk & nano-reef.com is somewhere I often browse because some of the nano tanks they get running are really impressive looking.
I used to look at reefcentral.com a lot as well for mantis shrimp stuff.


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## Ian Holdich (19 May 2013)

I'm not talking to ady anymore...


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## Alastair (19 May 2013)

Ian Holdich said:


> I'm not talking to ady anymore...


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## Ady34 (19 May 2013)

Thanks guys, was hoping there might be a general consensus as to one in particular to make life easy  ill have a look at them all and find one I like to browse.



Ian Holdich said:


> I'm not talking to ady anymore...


Ha, dont worry, im not getting rid of the planted tank mate, but do fancy a marine nano. Just need to assess manageability and the size I'd need for 'cliche' a couple of clown fish and a goby or two with shrimp hermit crab etc. I just love the gobies, saw a two spot the other week in maidenhead and can't rid it from my mind!


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## kevin1962 (19 May 2013)

Ady34 said:


> Thanks guys, was hoping there might be a general consensus as to one in particular to make life easy  ill have a look at them all and find one I like to browse.
> 
> 
> Ha, dont worry, im not getting rid of the planted tank mate, but do fancy a marine nano. Just need to assess manageability and the size I'd need for 'cliche' a couple of clown fish and a goby or two with shrimp hermit crab etc. I just love the gobies, saw a two spot the other week in maidenhead and can't rid it from my mind!


125l minimum i'd say


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## Iain Sutherland (19 May 2013)

Ultimate reef is good but has the same issues as a lot of really big forum, lots of different opinions and not always conveyed in a helpful manner.  What is good is the 'Help team' which is a private forum that just admins and select members can read and reply, they will basically walk you through your tank day by day.
Saltybox is a bit more UKAPS style, smaller with friendly folk.

Its well worth trying a reef ady, they are still more interesting to view on a daily basis and a lot of the fish have personalities you dont get so much with FW, especially planted, unless you go big... oscars etc Unfortunately i got bored with it as fiddling and moving things around is a bad idea in SW, its all about keeping it stable.  
There is of course the issue of £££££ too, double the cost of a full spec planted 
If you like aquariums though its a must try at some point


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## gary smith (19 May 2013)

ultimate reef is ok if a bit abrasive at times lol, i kept a reef tank for many years and i am only to happy to help in any way i can Gary


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## Ady34 (19 May 2013)

kevin1962 said:


> 125l minimum i'd say


I was thinking bigger may be better for stability.....was wanting to use the 55l nano I have already, but this may only be good for a goby and some inverts.



Iain Sutherland said:


> Ultimate reef is good but has the same issues as a lot of really big forum, lots of different opinions and not always conveyed in a helpful manner.  What is good is the 'Help team' which is a private forum that just admins and select members can read and reply, they will basically walk you through your tank day by day.
> Saltybox is a bit more UKAPS style, smaller with friendly folk.
> 
> Its well worth trying a reef ady, they are still more interesting to view on a daily basis and a lot of the fish have personalities you dont get so much with FW, especially planted, unless you go big... oscars etc Unfortunately i got bored with it as fiddling and moving things around is a bad idea in SW, its all about keeping it stable.
> ...


Thanks Iain,
yeah I think I need to view a site with friendly and helpful members...not sure how you'd get to be one of the select members on UR, but walking through a set up would be good. At the moment it's just a persistent idea, but every time I see some marine fish I want to try them more. Low 'fiddling', long term would be ideal really as a replacement for the shrimp tank, ill always have the planted tank for that  cost would be an issue which is why I wanted to keep it smaller really as live rock gets pricey the bigger tank you go. I'm sure it'll happen one day, but need to do some research to see if that time could be soon 


gary smith said:


> ultimate reef is ok if a bit abrasive at times lol, i kept a reef tank for many years and i am only to happy to help in any way i can Gary


very much appreciated Gary, ill not be shy should I have any questions 

Anyone know when the new Fluval Sea set ups are released?

Cheerio, and thanks all.


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## gary smith (19 May 2013)

if you decide on a particular size of tank it might be worth your while to have a run to ocean corals in York the owner is very knowledgable and he can get aquariums built at very competitive rates including drilling the base and getting sumps made i got my freshwater tank made through his shop it's a 20"cube made of optiwhite glass cheers gary


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## Ady34 (19 May 2013)

Thanks Gary, I suppose my next step is to go to a few specialised shops and chat to those who know and see some of the equipment on offer.....although I must stress in no way will I want to go to the great lengths that many reefers go to, I'd like a relatively 'out of the box' system capable of housing a few fish, shrimp crabs and some tougher corals maybe.
There's plenty to research, I like the idea of the fluval sea set ups but I'd need to know more about them and see one.
Cheers,
Ady.


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## kevin1962 (19 May 2013)

it's more than possible to have a marine set up without all the expense and all the expensive equipment. check out the 'berlin' method
mine was set up for about 3 yrs a 4ft tank with about 20 to 30 kg of live rock (bought for about £5 per kilo second hand) a second hand HOB skimmer for about £30. no need for any other filtration for the first 2 yrs I even used T8 tubes without any probs I then added a couple of extra T5's you'll also need 2 or 3 wavemakers plenty to be found on ebay... honestly it doesn't need to be a bank breaking hobby especially if you stick to soft corals. I'm only decommisioning mine due to health problems effecting my ability to maintainance. This was how mine looked its a Juwel rio 240


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## Ady34 (19 May 2013)

Sorry to hear you have to decommission the tank Kevin, looked very nice and also encouraging to hear it doesn't have to be a bank breaker!


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## gary smith (19 May 2013)

how do you post a picture lol


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## Ady34 (19 May 2013)

gary smith said:


> how do you post a picture lol


How to! - How do you post a picture | UK Aquatic Plant Society
How to! - Upload Images directly from forum | UK Aquatic Plant Society


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## gary smith (19 May 2013)




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## clonitza (20 May 2013)

Although I don't have a salty I use to watch these guys:
http://www.youtube.com/user/lafishguy
Mr. Saltwater Tank TV - YouTube

Mike


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## KeyboardWarrior (20 May 2013)

For a pair of clowns I'd say you'll be fine with around 60 litre mark I've kept a couple of different nano reef aquariums one of 30 litres and one of 48 and they were both awesome although I recently had to sell up and will eventually be going back to tropicals for a while 

Defiantly check out the thenanoreef.co.uk I'm a regular there and the people are really friendly and helpful too!


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## KeyboardWarrior (20 May 2013)

image by KeyboardWarrior92, on Flickr


image by KeyboardWarrior92, on Flickr


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## Ady34 (20 May 2013)

Wow keyboard warrior, those are stunners.
What lighting were you using and what tanks were they? I particularly like the clean glass and sand.....not a huge fan of the coralline algae everywhere, although I understand it has its benefits.
Ill check out the nanoreef, think it may be one of the ones I briefly looked at the other night.


As a side it seems the fluval sea set ups are out mid June, and pfk did a recent article on the TMC signature marine set up which look nice, although not sure I liked the sound of a gurgling overflow....i like quiet tanks, plus with choosing all the additional gear it could get very expensive very quickly which is not what I ideally want. Maybe I could retrofit the 55l aquanano and be careful with inhabitant stocking choice. Obviously that way I'd already have the tank, but maybe couldn't get all the fish I'd like. Being smaller in size would mean outlay on live rock etc would be much reduced too 
Ill consider my options over the next few weeks and decide then if going marine is viable now.
Cheers,
Ady.


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## Steve Smith (20 May 2013)

I had dark thoughts about a marine nano recently Ady.  Interested to see how you get on   I liked the look of the TMC Microhabitat setups.  I only wanted something big enough to keep Sexy Shrimp


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## sa80mark (21 May 2013)

The 55l aquanano would be very easy and could be quite a cheap way of getting a marine tank. The basic tank with the rear filter is very similar to the plug and play marine tanks such as the orcas etc when I first got into marine I found I got caught in a trap of you must have this you must have that, marine imo is no more difficult that tropicals with a bit of research and low stocking it really is a case of keep it simple, as a rough guide your 55l could easily house a pair of clowns a pair of cleaner shrimp 10 snails and 5 hermits,

Corals are where things can get complicated but if you went for soft corals such as xenia, zoas, mushrooms etc basic t5 lighting would be more than enough

Budget wish, with a bit of ebay magic to get your tank up and running with live rock, extra powerhead optional skimmer etc £200 is more than realistic

Hth

Mark


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## Ady34 (21 May 2013)

Thanks Mark, a lighting upgrade and skimmer would be definites for me on the aquanano....possibly even a sump system.
Plenty to consider.
Cheers.


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## Kurlilox (21 May 2013)

I was on Ultimate Reef for years and found the regional section (Scotland) very friendly and helpful.


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