New to this forum

[Norbert]

Hello, everyone

I am Norbert, 27 yr old from Malta. I like fishing, swimming in our nice mediterranean sea. I have joined this forum as i always dreamt of building a saltwater aquarium populated with fish i will catch from our waters i.e.mediterranean sea. Can anyone be so kind to give me some ideas on what equipement i should use for a tank of approx 125g (1.7m by 0.5 by 0.55). any help pls?

 

[marcah]

howdy and welcome to the site..:D
as far as eauipment you will need will really depend on what you are planning on doing with the tank, wether you are going to have a sump or not, corals or fish only?
What kind of corals if any you want to keep...
One thing for sure you will need is a good skimmer and liverock..
reef octopus makes a good skimmer.. shoot for around twice your tank size for a skimmer..
Octopus Protein Skimmer
liverock you can also go with dry rock and cycle yourself approx 1.5 to 2 pds per gallon..
Dry Rock
lighting and powerheads needed will depend on what you are going to do with the tank.. hope this helps a little..

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site...glad to have you. A 125gal tank will be a great start, and as far as filtration, the best thing for it would be live sand and live rock.

 

[parrotchute]

Welcome Norbert! They got you on the right track - I would HIGHLY suggest grabbing a book or two on the subject. The internet/forums are great for info, but it's always nice to have something you can sit down and read through that covers everything.

I'd suggest above all my other books I have The Reef Aquarium by Delbeek and Sprung. It will quickly get you on the right track with a good idea of what you want to do!

 

[Bifferwine]

Hello Norbert! It sounds like you want to keep fish only -- no corals, correct? If so, then for equipment you should get some type of protein skimmer. That will help keep your water clean. It doesn't matter what type of lights you have if you have fish only. If you want to keep animals like corals, anemones or clams, you will have to get special lights.

What type of fish are you planning to keep? I'm wondering this because the Mediterranean doesn't have coral reefs, so the temperature of your tank may be cooler than a typical reef tank.

 

[BL1]

Welcome to the site!

 

[Norbert]

Thanks for the quick reply. i appreciate a lot.

i am planning to keep some local fish togethor with some sea urchins, starfish, a crab, some snails, limpets and small shrimps.

i was planning to put an overflow [Eshopps PF 800 overflow box with a maximum water flow of 800gph] attached to the 125g main tank which leads the water to a smaller tank (a sump) having 4 compartments. 1st compartment having 1" bioballs (around 450 pieces), 2nd compartement some algae and live rock, third compartment being the protein skimmer (125 gallon clean-up protein skimmer by won brothers) and the last comprtment the water will be pumped back into the aquarium.

any tips on the type of pump that i need?

i am planning to keep the temperature at around 22 degrees celcius

how large shall the sump be in my case?

do i need some air stones or no?

do i need a uv sterilizer or i can do without it?

what type of light should i use and if i would like to put some seaweed should i change the lighting system?

as i am going to keep some invertebrates should i throw some supplements in the water namely calcium, phosporus and Magnesium and if so how much should i add.

Thanks in advance for the help, i really appreciate