• Questions about mini sea.

  • Thomas5021

Dear marine aquarium enthusiasts, help me decide whether a mini protein skimmer with a sump is necessary or not. I have a 40-liter (cube) aquarium and want to create a mini marine system. Many people with such volumes live on water changes, without protein skimmers and sumps, and everything is alright for them, but the question is, if I'm unable to perform a water change in time (sometimes I'm away for 1-2 weeks), what will happen to such a system? I understand that in such volumes, water not changed in time can lead to disastrous results. Maybe it's better to install a small sump and a skimmer for reliability, or will it not add to the the stability of such a

Nicholas

If possible, set it up. It will only get better. Also, set up auto-refill, otherwise the water might evaporate by the time you arrive.

Michael826

Without automatic topping up, the aquarium will probably be in big trouble. I'll come back, and it will be dry.

Ryan2281

I lose about a liter of water in a 35x35x35 cm cube per day.

Joseph2576

WOW. That's a lot.

Frank7213

If you cover the aquarium with a lid (glass) and raise the lamp, evaporation will be about 10 times less. Instead of a liter, it will be 100 grams. I conducted experiments. Three weeks without water changes are quite viable. Without any foamers. But daily topping off and not overfeeding is important! I don't know how reliably automatic topping off will work. That's not the problem. An unattended aquarium can have a lot of other issues - pump failure, lighting bulb burnout, the death of some animal, etc. The sump is much less important than daily monitoring of the aquarium.

Javier5186

In SAMP, water also has the property of evaporating. As rightly noted, the best option is a cover glass; even if no one is there to add water, nothing terrible will happen over the week, just the salinity will increase a bit.

Todd8452

Do you think that for such a volume, the sampler and the pen will be unnecessary?

Danny

They won't be unnecessary, however, there are plenty of examples where nano reefs look quite decent without a sump and a skimmer. In general, a marine aquarium should have a minimum volume of 250 liters.

Nicholas2252

Has anyone used the Aqua Medic Miniflotor skimmer? It's clear that the skimmer isn't top-notch, but does it at least justify its low price? If anyone has experience with this skimmer, please share how it performs in operation and whether it's worth considering at all.

Laura3615

It works perfectly, no complaints, the device is simple and reliable, even a small compressor is sufficient for its effective operation. For small aquariums, "what Tor added."

Joseph8842

I had 48W (blue-white) for six months at a height of 55-60 cm. I raised the hill higher. It was enough for simple SPS. In an empty aquarium, the impression can be misleading.

Michele

I had a 501, I wouldn't say it's very noisy, I don't know about the 701. It was pointless to cover it, especially with summer ahead; I'll have to raise it by 3-4 cm and leave a gap. Also, the ballast (if you leave it like that) will heat up and will be covered in stuck salt; usually, it's taken out beyond the cover. P.S. I also had a cover, but now the light fixture is still there anyway.

Jacob4800

No, you didn't understand. This is not a cover, it's a lamp; I just haven't attached the suspension yet, there will be a gap of more than 3-4 cm, and a fan will be placed there.

Brooke3987

I had a 701, and for the first couple of hours, it was quite noisy, but then I hardly heard it at all. However, the external Tetra 400 works completely silently. Will the aquarium be placed in the bedroom next to the bed?

Brian

No. In another room. By the way, how does this filter work, is it good? By the way, this is your background. Thanks again.

Craig7302

You're welcome. If you need anything else in Khmelnytskyi, feel free to reach out. It filters well, depending on the type of fillers you use. When I started it, I filled it with synthetic winterizer and threw out the old one and cut a new one every week. I got rid of the initial weight quite quickly... If it's not in the bedroom, you won't hear it at all. Mine was two meters from the bed, and there was a slight noise, but it didn't disturb me, my wife, or the child while sleeping.

Spencer7805

I ended up ordering the SANSANICH 701 and Tetra salt today. However, I faced a setback with the substrate; I was thinking of getting white aragonite sand like this, but it's out of stock and they said it won't be available in the near future. Now I don't know which one to buy. Sailors, can you suggest which sand to choose? Maybe I should just take this one and not worry about it, or is this substrate not very good? P.S. I actually thought about starting with truly live Black Sea sand, but my patience ran out. I'm not going to the sea until September, and I might not survive without a marine aquarium until then.

John

You can take this one, it also seems great.

Robert5335

He is not here either, he will be here in two weeks. And the packaging is large, I think 3-4 kg would be enough for me.

David4968

I have been using the substrate from Aravana (your second option) for a long time. It's an excellent substrate, no complaints.

Helen

How many kg of this soil do I need? Will 4 kg be enough, or should I take more?

Kimberly4253

I didn't like it a bit - it was too fine. I mixed it with a slightly coarser fraction, took it from my city. Better 5-7, it's better to have some left than to run out (I had 7-8 kg in 50 liters, I don't remember exactly).

Zachary

If it is small, won't it get swept away by the current (pump)?

Justin9867

Nearby, there's a topic in the flea market - sand, any fraction. Why are you running around on websites? A person from Simferopol is selling it, I think.

Michelle5859

There are simply no reviews about his sand, and that is concerning. And the minimum quantity for shipping is 20 kg, what am I supposed to do with that much?

John3165

No, it shouldn't, although it depends on which stream, as the faction seems to be live, I just didn't like it (purely subjective opinion). There is a thread on the forum where Deep Coral is sold for less than 10 kg, but I don't remember the link; it should be better than this one for 11 rubles.

Omar3497

I read that topic, and Yoda's review is concerning.

Theresa5149

I ended up ordering this one. Next week, if everything goes well, I will start.

Wendy

Wishing you a successful launch, we eagerly await the launch report!!!

Vanessa

It's too early to talk about the report. I ordered some bacteria today, like these, but now, after reading this topic, I think I probably wasted my money. The MAIN question remains open, regarding live rocks; it's a bit scary to buy them remotely, they might send something bad, and I don't plan to go to Kyiv anytime soon. So I'm thinking about what to do.

Jason

There was only a visit, and I haven't heard any negative reviews about their J.K. (living stones).

Daniel132

I just want to choose for myself, examine, and sniff it from all sides.

Jessica5348

How many kg of live rocks do you have in the aquarium?

Elizabeth1221

5 kg, but you can also take a small stone that weighs 5 kg; I tried to choose one that is more porous.

James5032

Is it worth buying live rock (live stones) from hermits and strombus? Or is it better to wait a couple of weeks?

Kristen1161

You can keep hermit crabs, but I would advise against rushing into getting a strombus. It is quite gluttonous and the aquarium needs to be mature to meet its dietary needs. Just live rocks won't be enough for it, and for the sake of safety for the strombus, it's better not to combine it with hermit crabs.

Charles5941

How many hermit crabs should I keep in my tank (40 liters)? And another important question, which ones? I read that blue-legged ones are not recommended; which ones are preferable?

Jesse3979

If C.M. (Black Sea, Black Sea), then 10-12 pcs (stonemasons, red-legged, preferably small). C.M. (Black Sea, Black Sea) sandstones, 10-12 pcs can also be used. Both thrive well in a tropical marine aquarium. Tropical, blue-legged hermits grow to a decent size and can damage some invertebrates.

David2398

I recommend J.K. (live rocks) to take, he has received 300 kg of fresh J.K. (live rocks), ask Igor to pick a nice stone for you weighing around 2.5 kg, take 5-7 kg and that will be more than enough for you. You rushed with the bacteria, almost always these bacteria in vials are a scam, good J.K. (live rocks) - here are your best bacteria...

Laurie3842

Sailors, what do you think about the post-treatment of osmosis water with resin? I used resin for herbal preparations once and was satisfied, but how about in the sea? Or is it just a waste of money?

Veronica

This is exactly what is needed! Resin will never hurt. Although if there is a good new membrane in osmosis and the tap water is "more or less reasonable," then it can be done without resin.

Judy

Odessa, is the dowex mb-50 suitable for the sea?

Susan

yes

Whitney

Yes, Volodya, it works.

Caroline1599

Please tell me how much tetraborate salt to add to 1 liter of water to achieve a salinity of 1.025? At least approximately, so I don't have to measure after every gram.

Mark7376

try 35 grams

Jessica6754

The water temperature should be 26 degrees, right or not?

Chad9037

better 25, 26 is also fine

Danielle

I thought I would start the salting process today, but it seems it wasn't meant to be. Today, they delivered the aquarium stand I ordered two weeks ago. I've never seen such a piece of junk; it looks like someone has been using it for a billion years, and it's about to fall apart, all shabby and worn out—it's a nightmare. I took back my deposit and contacted another company; they said they would deliver it in a week. But my patience isn't endless, so I decided not to wait. In short, tomorrow is the long-awaited salting day.

Michele9664

Why? And then how will you move it to the cabinet? Drain the water? Wait for the cabinet and do it properly, a week doesn't change the weather. What, do you have some fancy cabinet there? Why not just cut the particle board and screw it together with confirmat screws? You need metal there for your volume anyway.

Stuart

The cabinet is not fancy, just simple, but it should match the design of the main furniture. I wouldn't dare to make it myself, as I have no experience in furniture making. As for waiting: I can't wait any longer, and I think moving my mini later won't be a problem. I'll drain half the water for 5 minutes and then pour it back in.

Aaron

Look for yourself, your bottom is not a 10, and in a week you'll have both sand and stones in there.

Dawn6148

The bottom is 6mm. Do you think it might not hold up?