Is this true? Born Again Beginner's Questions

[sweetmisery]

I checked out a fish store with some cool marine aquarium today, and man the water was crystal clear, the rocks and all rocks all the way!

Anyways, the owner was there, who was kinda in his late 20s or early 30s. I asked him but he wasnt helpful or that nice. I asked him if a skimmer would be enough to support oxegyn for a marine tank. He said no, and that I require lots of stuffs, unless I will use live rocks which he said they sell. I told him I have live rocks(cuz I am commited to some marine fishermen), so he suddenly said it still wont do with a skimmer alone, cuz if I have live rocks, it requires a chiller. He seem not helpful cuz all along, he was smoking and he sounds so smug and doesnt seem to pay much attention to me(I guess its cuz he sees me as a newbie), plus I think he is business talking more than giving advices.

Maybe I am just darn ignorant but I havent heard of a chiller. But I saw his big aquarium and it got lots of stuffs, wirings, hoses thats connected to an aqurium below, buttons and gauges...
1) are all these necessary? or just a protein skimmer and LR will do?

2) for a tropical country which doesnt have winter or too much heat, do I really need heaters and chillers?

3) can you guys give me a rundown on what basic (just basic) items I need to have for each of the three types of aquarium? Like fish only, reef, etc...

and THANKS!

[rememberme]

lol what? live rock needs a chiller? nothing needs a chiller! Only a really hot tank. For reef and fish only you need a skimmer and live rock in my opinion. You can do it without, but it would be a mission to pull off.

Run a bath and leave it for a few hours and see what the water temperature is. 77°F is your goal. Colder is better because you can heat it up with a heater. Hotter (+82°) and you will need a chiller because lighting and motors will heat the tank up too high.

*Reefs need decent lighting, live rock, skimmer, powerheads.
*Fish only need some sort of lighting and a powerhead is nice.
*Fish only with live rock, lights and live rock with a powerhead.

Optional: sand, skimmers, powerheads, filters.
All: Test Kits

[atrocity]

My 25tall (No LR) only has a Skilter250, which is a combination Filter / Skimmer. I've never had oxygen related problems and the tank has been running well since about March. If your tank is in an air conditioned building that stays below where you would be heating the aquarium to, I don't see why you would need a chiller. The room my aquarium is in stays below 70, I just use a heater to maintain it at 78.

For my Fish only tank I just have: 25tall tank, SKilter250 with some extra filter carbon in the media, Heater(Dont know what brand), Crushed Shell Substrate, Hood with a 15w 18k bulb and some decorations. I haven't run into any major problems with it, and its supporting a two Filamented Flasher Wrasse, two Damsels, a small yellow tang (which is being transferred to a bigger tank soon), akindynos clown fish, one anemone, a feather duster, three snails.

Reef tanks require a more delicate setup, Im not sure what exactly, but I think you have to use LR in them, as well as maintain a more specific balance of your chemicals

[sweetmisery]

Great and very helpful fast reply! Thanks!

I guess the guy was just trying to see if he can talk me into buying all those gadgets! Or maybe he dont want competition to his really cool tank! LOL!

I have another question, are live rocks straight from the sea(fishermen can get me a lot) advisable? They said they will get straight from the deepest cleanest area where they get the fish.

And if I put live sands and live rocks, which should go first? or mixed?

And what fliter is advisable? Most marine here uses the hang-on Eheim brand ones.

[atrocity]

I think you can use LR from the sea, you just have to cure it first. Do a forum search for curing live rock. Just expect some interesting hitchhikers :o

[sweetmisery]

Yeah I love to see hitchhikers... :) Thanks!

And oh, so again, do I really need a heater? I mean I will put my tank at room temp. and here in the Philippines, its pretty much a steady temp.

[atrocity]

Well, try what remember said "Run a bath and leave it for a few hours and see what the water temperature is. 77°F is your goal."

It wouldnt hurt to get a cheapo one incase anything happens...a chiller might be necessary there, I dont know what its like in the room your keeping the aquarium in..

[sweetmisery]

Chiller? Nah, its not Arizona hot here... Its like Hawaii I think... or some tropical islands. The normal room temp here is lukewarm... and I did have a marine aquarium when I was in 5th/6th grade. No problems with heat, only the oxygen... But I was so green about it at that time.

How much are the basic heater/chillers there in $?

[sweetmisery]

SORRY, I just editted this cuz somehow it was double posted. Cuz it hanged so I clicked send again! My bad!

[Bertsch]

Heaters can run anywhere from $10 to $50+ depending on its type (submersable vs hang off the tank) and the size of tank its intended to heat.

The real reason you would need a chiller is you are running higher quality lighting, VHO or T5 lighting, which heats up the tank from their output.

Skimmers are a very good idea, but not a nessesity. Once I put the skimmer in my tank, I definity noticed improvement to the fish though. Other than the skimmer I have a powerhead, filter, heater and crushed coral for substraight.