Tank advice

[andy27]

This is driving me mad:angry: The nano tank I bought 7 weeks ago I am starting to have problems with, lights flickering, I unscrewed the light cover and the screw fittings had corroded and snapped so I had to glue them back on, I switched the lights over and it has'nt made any difference, so the problem must go deeper.
One of the fans in the hood has started sticking. I asked my lfs if they would replace the hood and they did'nt want to no.
So as I am having trouble with this tank after only 7 weeks and I don't know anywhere that I can get spares for it if anything fails I have decided to change tanks before I go any further.

I don't know whether to get something like a Juwel lido and adapt it or get another plug and play tank.

I don't want to start modifying things or adapting things too much. I want to keep things simple as I am new to marine keeping.

I have seen on another forum someone that has setup a juwel lido keeping the internal filter and adapting it slightly so a heater fits inside under the media, and at the top of the filter a rowa phos sponge, carbon in a juwel plastic container and floss on top.
There is no protein skimmer running on the tank.
The only item he has added is a vortech propeller pump mp10.
He has adapted the lighting but I want to just change the from fresh water tubes to juwel marine tubes.
If you want to have a look at his setup just google bye bye 125g hello juwel lido .

Would I be ok doing this simple setup.

I will be putting in live rock from the old tank + substrate and a C.U.C 3 turbo snails , 2 hermit crabs, an urchin and a six line wrasse and the original salt water.

The other option I have is to go and buy a better plug and play nano tank, I have been told one of the best ones are a kent marine bio reef, I looked at one today and it seemed ok but they said parts like the fans are best replaced once a year, thats fine but who sells these parts, I have looked all over the net and I can't find anywhere that sells or does a list of spares for this nano tank or any other nano tank, so this is my problem with plug and play nanos I really want one, but if the filter pump suddenly stops working one day how do I locate another one quickly.

Pros and Cons I can see:scared:
JUWEL LIDO
PROS- I get the parts and slightly adapt it myself. If anything fails I know where to get replacements.
Slightly larger.
CONS- I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing is right.

KENT MARINE BIO REEF or AQUAEL REEFMAX.
PROS- Its all done for me.
CONS- If anything fails or needs replacing I don't know where to get it or how quick I can get it.
When you set these tanks up they can be quite noisy and things don't always work that well like protein skimmers and fans.

Please help me make a decision.

Thank you

Andy.

[Guest101]

Id go for the Lido, and modify it you can always ask for advice on how to do it and we wil talk you through the process

ps dont forget that when you change tank to take the old one back to the shop for a refund if they dont call trading standards.

[reefergeek]

As per the other thread the lights flickering would be a ballast problem, dont use any internal filter external filter or sump only, And as above take the tank back for a refund or at the very least a credit note to the value of

I would go for the one that has the parts you can source as some of the little tanks are a pain when it comes to spare parts

[andy27]

Thanks for the quick reply, I was getting in a right state, think I will go with the jewel lido. And try and do it my self. I will keep you posted as I do it.
Couple of questions.
I will swap the tubes for marine tubes, how do I setup neon lights and can you recommend any.
Can I put the LR straight on the glass or do I need to put something underneath it?
Can you recommend a reliable heater as I don't trust juwel heaters as I have had them go wrong in my tropical tanks. And what size heater?
Do I need to worry about cooing the tank or can I just run a temp clip on fan unit in the summer months?
Should I upgrade the juwel filter pump? I think the lido comes with a 600 should I change it to a 1000.
What size power head should I fit to the tank.