Adding the Live Rock

We have added the live rock. It is known as live as it has many organisms living on it which aid the filtration of the tank. The rock was purchased from a local marine fish retailer as they have the best prices for live rock we currently know. Only £11.95 per kilogram! Typically it is around £15 per kilo. We purchased around 6.2 kilograms of live rock which should have enough positive influence on the filtration. The rock is from Indonesia which is the best grade of rock available as it is the most porous. The price does not vary with type of rock so it costs no extra than Fiji or other rock types. The porous holes in the rock increase surface area and therfore create better water contact with the bacteria on the rock. the holes also provide places for the fish to hide. Also with more holes you get bigger size rocks for less cost so the aquarium looks fuller with rock for the money. We placed the rock in the tank in the desired layout and are now waiting for them to flourish with growth. This addition will create a nitrogen spike in the water die to the dead organisms currently on the rock but this will clear when the rock bacteria begins to grow.
     The rocks must now be left, with the lighting on them, 12 hours a day for 1-5 weeks so that the tank can complete a full Nitrogen Cycle and become known as 'Seasoned' (where the nitrate cycle has fully completed and organisms may be added).

Filling the Aquarium and adding the Live Sand

After wet testing all of the water must be removed as it is unconditioned, unsalted and therefore inaqequate for the marine organisms. Now the aquarium is emptied of water again I may now begin to add saltwater. For this I have purchased; Instant Ocean Marine Salts (4kg for 120 litres), a Hydrometer, 'Tap Safe' water conditioner and a two 10 litre buckets.
     First of all I conditioned the tap water to remove the chlorine by adding Interpet 'Tap Safe' water conditioner. Chlorine is harmful to most types of fish (freshwater, tropical or marine) so it is necessary to remove this chemical, amoungst others, from the water.

   
Then we added the salt, after calculating the amount necessary for out 10 litre increments. We used weighing scales to measure this amount out. With one person stiring and one adding salt gradually we were able to dissolve the salts into the water without overnight airation and heating. This worked perfectly and the salt water inface had perfect salinity/ specific gravity (see below Hydrometer reading for first attempt). Not bad...

Now we added the water, bucket by bucket, repeating this process. The tank took over 8 buckets to fill as it has a 94 litres capacity. The water was left to circulate, with al pumps and powerheads on, to ensure all of the salt was mixed into the water correctly. Another overall Hydromerter reading was taken, again showing perfect salinity/ specific gravity.
     Next, after creating the salt water and lettiing it mix, it was time to add the live sand. The sand is known as live as it is authentic sand from the Caribbean Sea (around the Bahamas). It contains Aragonite, a naturally occuring carbonate mineral which is, with the sand, benificial in the filtration and upkeep of the marine water.
The live sand comes in a bag submerged in real seawater. We chose a crushed coral substrate as a personal preference as it is easier to work with and allows the water to flow through better than smaller particle sands.    
     By opening one end of the bag and submerging it all in the water we were able to empty all of the substrate into the water. This allowed minimal sand to come out of submersion in the water.

 This caused the water to temporarily cloudy but with the addition of the 'magnet-clarifier' and if left to filter for 24 hours the water should become clear again. Remember to allow the sand to partially settle to avoid large sand/ coral grains to get into the filter system as this may cause damage to your equiptment. I chose to turn the filters on the nect morning (so around 12 hours later). This worked fine and my filters/ hardware are clear of sand. The sand settled as below in 24 hours...

Next, after allowing the sand to become settled and established in the aquarium further, I am able to add live rock...

Wet Testing

Before proceeding and installing the tank completely, to avoid wasting time and creating hassle, it is necessary to complete a 'Wet Test' of all of the components (mainly the Glass Tank) to check it does not leak and performs as it should when submerged in water. Therefore we installed the equipment coompletely, filled the tank with enough water for the hardware to operate and ran it for 1 hour whilst observing for; leaks, improperly/ not operating hardware and other problems.
     During this test we placed the tank in the bathroom so that it may quickly be bailed of water should a problem occur. Also, as with all electrical equipment when especially near water. we used an extension lead with an additional curcuit breaker installed should a piece of hardware short out due to some sort of operation failure.   
     Thankfully there were no problems to report and we were able to go ahead and install the aquarium in its proposed position. Should some problem have occured we would have had to send the faulty items back to the retailer or attempt to fix the piece. Next it is necessary to make-up the salt water, condition the water and place the live sand in...

 

Recieving Delivery of Equipment

After ordering the equipment on the Saturday night we recieved delivery of all the equipment on the Wednesday after via overnight courrier. We unpacked and intalled all of the equipment, checking for damage and present items. The UV Steriliser did not arrive until the Friday. This was from a different company and further away (in Wales) and so deliver took longer. Next it was necessary to check that all of the equipment operated and functioned properly whilst checking it all fits together as it should (remember we added many pieces of additional equipment that may not fit correctly- so it was a question of finding the right tesselation of the hardware).

Purchasing the Equipment

After many months of research into this venture, we have decided to finally purchase a marine aquarium- the, rather aesthetically pleasing, Interpet River Reef 94. This decision was helped along by a rather good discount on the tank from 'Complete Aquatics'. We saved £100 on the tank itself making the cost only £160! This is a particuarly good tank as it features a fantastic lighting balast of 2 x T5 Power Compacts and 8 x Moonlight LEDs with balast cooling fans. It also includes a heater, mechanic filter and two return powerheads enclosed convieniently behind a classic blue background. Due to the strict reef requirements and to convert to a saltwater set-up (as the tank has the capacity of fresh and saltwater operation- hence river reef) we decided to upgrade the equipment, based on our research knowledge, adding: V2 120 Nano Protein Skimmer (which fits into one of the rear compartments), a (Fish R Fun) 9W ultra violet steriliser and Hydor Koralia 1 Powerhead. All of this is on order and is expected to be delivered in 2 days!

Kit list and Images of the Aquarium Equipment: 

94 Litre Interpet River Reef Aquarium (with both fresh and saltwater set-up options as shown below):£158.99

  

 

V2 Nano Protein Skimmer 120 (with variable flow adjust): £44.99

9W Internal UV Steriliser (From Pet Supply UK): £23.00

 

Hydor Koralia #1 Powerhead (to vary water currents within the tank for a realistic reef environment): £28.99

  
All items total cost: £260!

 Approx. Savings:  Tank £100

                             UV Steriliser £5

                             Powerhead £21

                             Protein Skimmer £10