Any advice on maintanining a salt water tank?
- Thread starter ramhalo
- Start date
I have had a very big marine tank. One thing I can promise you that it does become very expensive.
You need to change at least 15% of the water once a week. This means that you have to buy a reverse osmosis filter machine as you cannot just put any water into the tank(these filters waste almost a 3rd of the water) Then you have to mix salt(not the kind you eat on your food) into the clean RO water. The salt is around R80 for 2kg. You need to put about 1kg with every 20 liters of water. Mixing it takes 1-2 days.
Then you buy captive bred fish and anemones that will set you back $$$$ and then some guy steals the electric cables and all your fishies die. Repeat until broke.
You need to change at least 15% of the water once a week. This means that you have to buy a reverse osmosis filter machine as you cannot just put any water into the tank(these filters waste almost a 3rd of the water) Then you have to mix salt(not the kind you eat on your food) into the clean RO water. The salt is around R80 for 2kg. You need to put about 1kg with every 20 liters of water. Mixing it takes 1-2 days.
Then you buy captive bred fish and anemones that will set you back $$$$ and then some guy steals the electric cables and all your fishies die. Repeat until broke.
okay thats just harsh shame 
well i can tell you what to start with.
1. you will need a tank of your choice bear in mind the bigger the better.
2. you must have a power skimmer
3. you will need a sump filter system
4. you need power heads for water circulation
5. you will need to buy salt at a pet shop and mix as prescribed on packet
6. you will need to do a 35% water change every month depending on levels of salinity and ammonia
7. and you will need heater 300w to regulate optimal breeding temp.
and the most important one is you will need allot of time which i don't have thats why i stopped with my marine tank.
hope this helps.
well i can tell you what to start with.
1. you will need a tank of your choice bear in mind the bigger the better.
2. you must have a power skimmer
3. you will need a sump filter system
4. you need power heads for water circulation
5. you will need to buy salt at a pet shop and mix as prescribed on packet
6. you will need to do a 35% water change every month depending on levels of salinity and ammonia
7. and you will need heater 300w to regulate optimal breeding temp.
and the most important one is you will need allot of time which i don't have thats why i stopped with my marine tank.
hope this helps.
Ramhalo, good that you are interested in a sustainable source of bait. You are however firstly going to need to understand the life cycles and reproductive biology of these creatures, to the T. I dont think you can simply pop them in a tank and expect them to multiply. From what i understand, water temperature at different stages in their cycle, tides and enviromental factors all play a part in their spawning in their natural environment. Dr Ceri Lewis spent 2 years research on getting bloodworm to spawn, none of which was through natural fertilisation. Worms were induced to spawn their eggs and sperm using a hormone manipulation technique which required laboratory conditions. Her work is available on the net somewhere. Other factor is going to be reproduction time and your tank space. Worms and prawns are burrowing creatures that require space for their burrows, and you will have used up most of the bait in your tank before they can reproduce and grow to replace.
There is a guy on this site that has managed to breed bloodworm, do a search for him and he should be able to help further. Perhaps he will post something here that will guide you, and maybe correct me where i'm wrong.
There is a guy on this site that has managed to breed bloodworm, do a search for him and he should be able to help further. Perhaps he will post something here that will guide you, and maybe correct me where i'm wrong.
Maybe this thread will help...
http://www.sealine.co.za/view_topic.php?id=2529&forum_id=1&page=1
Stuff on keeping a Marine Tank
and this one too...
http://www.sealine.co.za/view_topic.php?id=8198&forum_id=1
http://www.sealine.co.za/view_topic.php?id=2529&forum_id=1&page=1
Stuff on keeping a Marine Tank
and this one too...
http://www.sealine.co.za/view_topic.php?id=8198&forum_id=1
mordecai3004
New member
IT IS NOT TO BAD FOR KEEPING PRAWNS!!
1 GET A DECENT SIZE TANK
2 DEPENDING ON BUDGET EITHER HAVE A HOLE DRILLED( BEST OPTION) FOR AN OVERFLOW BOX OR YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH A CANISTER FILTER!
FOR BREEDING YOU WILL NEED QUITE GOOD WATER QUALITY SO HERE GOES
SET UP A SUMP TANK AT THE BOTTOM CONSISTING OF BIO BALLS LIVE ROCK MEACHANICAL FILTRATION AS WELL AS A GOOD PROTIEN SKIMMER. IF MONEY IS NOT AN OPTION THEN A NITRATE REDUCER WOULD BE IDEAL( R7500)
AS FAR AS LIGHTING GOES STICK WITH THE AQUA MEDIC RANGE THEY ARE THE BEST IVE FOUND. GO FOR THE 15000K LIGHT RANGE THAT WILL GIVE YOU GOOD DEPTH COVERAGE!
NB THE BEST LIVE ROCK IS THE FIGI PREMIUM ROCK AT ABT 220 PER KG YOU WILL PROBIBLY NEED ABT 30KG MIN THE MORE YOU HAVE THE BETTER THE WATER QUALITY IF YOU WANT ILL POST A PIC OF MY TANK
HOPE THIS HELPS
1 GET A DECENT SIZE TANK
2 DEPENDING ON BUDGET EITHER HAVE A HOLE DRILLED( BEST OPTION) FOR AN OVERFLOW BOX OR YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH A CANISTER FILTER!
FOR BREEDING YOU WILL NEED QUITE GOOD WATER QUALITY SO HERE GOES
SET UP A SUMP TANK AT THE BOTTOM CONSISTING OF BIO BALLS LIVE ROCK MEACHANICAL FILTRATION AS WELL AS A GOOD PROTIEN SKIMMER. IF MONEY IS NOT AN OPTION THEN A NITRATE REDUCER WOULD BE IDEAL( R7500)
AS FAR AS LIGHTING GOES STICK WITH THE AQUA MEDIC RANGE THEY ARE THE BEST IVE FOUND. GO FOR THE 15000K LIGHT RANGE THAT WILL GIVE YOU GOOD DEPTH COVERAGE!
NB THE BEST LIVE ROCK IS THE FIGI PREMIUM ROCK AT ABT 220 PER KG YOU WILL PROBIBLY NEED ABT 30KG MIN THE MORE YOU HAVE THE BETTER THE WATER QUALITY IF YOU WANT ILL POST A PIC OF MY TANK
HOPE THIS HELPS
ramhalo,
Go and visit these two forums.
They are marine hobbyist, friendly and helpfull folk on there. The would possibly be able to put you onto the right track. I looked at the marine tank for a while but decided that money and time required would not suit me at the moment. Mbe one day
http://www.marineaquariumsa.com/
http://www.sareefkeeping.com
Go and visit these two forums.
They are marine hobbyist, friendly and helpfull folk on there. The would possibly be able to put you onto the right track. I looked at the marine tank for a while but decided that money and time required would not suit me at the moment. Mbe one day
http://www.marineaquariumsa.com/
http://www.sareefkeeping.com