# Marine Aquarium advice?



## Nick_593 (21 Oct 2013)

Hi guys.

I am doing a study on some marine bioluminescence organisms and need to set up a 'Basic' marine aquaria set-up for the inhabitants.

The specimens will be some Brittle stars & Hydrozoans.

Could anyone recommend a basic set-up for keeping marine organisms?
-Will a substrate be needed?
- And what equipment do you need for a marine set-up, apart from the standard freshwater aquarium set-ups?

Thanks a lot,

Nick


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## foxfish (21 Oct 2013)

Do you mean to keep native marines or tropical?


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## Curvball (21 Oct 2013)

For those marine animals - a bucket if saltwater, a bit of live rock and you will be good they are very hardy critters.


Posted from the comfort of my iPhone...


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## Nick_593 (21 Oct 2013)

foxfish said:


> Do you mean to keep native marines or tropical?


 

Hi mate, need to get some native marine specimens. Could you offer any advice on how to keep them?

Thanks


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## Nick_593 (21 Oct 2013)

Curvball said:


> For those marine animals - a bucket if saltwater, a bit of live rock and you will be good they are very hardy critters.
> 
> 
> Posted from the comfort of my iPhone...


 


Thanks for the advice! But will I need a filter (I presume so), and what other equipment? Wont be able to go down to the beach every day and change the water..

Thanks!


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## Curvball (21 Oct 2013)

Yeah, sorry about that. At very minimum you would need a filter, canister will do along with something for water movement, maybe a wave pump of sorts by fluval or hydor. As it's temperate, no heater but watch out for over heating. An led light would be good if you required a light source.


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## foxfish (21 Oct 2013)

Nick_593 said:


> Hi mate, need to get some native marine specimens. Could you offer any advice on how to keep them?
> 
> Thanks


 Yes I can, it is something I have specialised in for 30 years, but I would need some more info to help.
How long do you need, or want, to keep these creatures for, what is your purpose for studying & how far do you live from the sea?


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## Yo-han (21 Oct 2013)

Perhaps a skimmer if it is for the long run, otherwise large water changes do the same thing and will be cheaper. The rest like mentioned before, salt water, live rock some light and a filter.


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## Nick_593 (21 Oct 2013)

foxfish said:


> Yes I can, it is something I have specialised in for 30 years, but I would need some more info to help.
> How long do you need, or want, to keep these creatures for, what is your purpose for studying & how far do you live from the sea?


 
Hi Foxfish thanks for the help. I will likely need the specimens up until Christmas. The study will be carried out in a laboratory in Pembrokeshire in a few weeks, but I will be collecting the specimens in the next two weeks, and keeping them at home for roughly four weeks for some microscopy work. Were looking at some bioluminescence properties in 'Obelia' hydroids primarily.

Equipment I have at the moment are a 40litre tank that is empty, and I think I also have a filter somewhere, and I have a power-head. I've never kept marine fish, but have plenty of experience with freshwater tropical set-ups.

How would I go about setting everything up for salt-water water changes etc (or keeping good water quality)?. I think I will likely need a substrate also- will Sand do(?). And will live rock be necessary? any advice on what will be necessary will be a great help!
Species being used are Hydroids such as 'Obelia', Brittle stars 'Amphipholis spp, and 'Syllidae' worms.
I live just 15minutes from the sea also, so will be collecting the specimens locally.

Thanks a lot!

Nick


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## foxfish (21 Oct 2013)

Hi Nick, lets give this a bit of logical though....

The sea temperature around our coast averages around 10-12c, with much bigger extremes from North to South but rarely exceeding 15-17c.
The key to long term captivity for the majority if not all of our locale sea life is a low temperature!!

We know that some of the tidal pools can have dramatic environmental changes throughout a 24 hour.
Fauna trapped in a shallow half tide pool could possibly experience the most extreme temperate & salinity changes, sun could raise the temperature to 25c or more & rain could dilute the salt content.
However this would be for a relatively short time as the incoming tide would refresh the pool, retuning the faunas living conditions to its incredibly stable, consistent & idea feeding conditions.
In order to maintain a healthy environment for captive British sea life we need to give the upmost consideration to keeping the tank as cool as possible or rather as close to sea temperature as possible.
Trying to keep creatures in you lounge with pumps running & light blaring is never going to produce ideal study conditions unless you want to study stressed & dying creatures?
So in an ideal world you would employ the benefits of an Aquarium chiller or even a beer cooler but, I am guessing this is not likely?


I will have to get back to you later as I have guest for the next hour or two...


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## foxfish (21 Oct 2013)

Under your circumstances, realistically trying to keep cold water creatures for up to 6 weeks without stressing them or very likely killing them, is not something I would give very good odds on!!
I would not recommend keeping most rock pool fauna for more than a week & only them if you can keep them in an cool shed, or garage.
The larger the volume of water the better & use an air pump as you are not going to get a mature filter going in time to make much difference.
When you collect the creatures try to get them from above the half tide make if at all possible & take home as much water as possible.
It is certainly possible to keep certain creatures alive for many weeks in the home, prawns, snanklock anemone, green crabs & blennys are exceptionally hardy although I very much doubt they would enjoy the stay!


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## Nick_593 (21 Oct 2013)

That's fine, thanks for the advice. They will be kept in an insulated outdoor garage and specimens are for preliminary work prior to be taken to the laboratory. The Obelia are hydroids that lack a nervous system also.

My main query was regarding the upkeep of a saline water environment as I haven't done this before. I will pop into my local aquatics centre this week as they know quite a bit about keeping marine organisms in aquaria.

Thanks again,

Nick


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## foxfish (21 Oct 2013)

The upkeep of a temporary or long term environment?

There are certain people who have experience with cold water marines but it is not a popular style of tank to keep.

We have a locale public aquarium that has lots of cold water tanks but they continually pump fresh water direct from the sea!

I have kept cold water marines for many years but no longer bother due to the high running cost & expensive equipment.
However I do maintain a private tank for a customer that has been running for about 5 years. It is made from acrylic & has a 25mm acrylic front pane & insulated on all other sides, runs a 1kw chiller, a one meter high protein skimmer & I personally carry out 30% water changes every week.
The water changes are made from water collected direct from the sea & transported in special aerated containers to keep the micro organisms alive so as to supply live food for the myriad of the tanks inhabitants.
In other words a very dedicated & specialist tank that take huge amounts of effort to keep!
On the other hand I know of lots of folk who have tried to keep basic tanks in their lounges with limited success but they can last a few months.
A brittle star will last a few weeks in a cool tank with an air stone & weekly water change but I doubt if it would show natural behaviour.


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