You will have to leave the bucket/container for it to fill... at the moment with the current temp im getting 5gals per 3hrs to the second!!!.. if you have get two 5 gal contains from ebay or LFS.. yourll be sorted 5 gal per week will do fine with the other container having mixed RO for top ups if needed..

Phil

Yes, its as simple as taking the pipe comming out of the RO unit and placing it in a bucket, then open the ball valve and wait. 1 bucket is about 2 gallons... so that will take an hour to fill. To save floors leave the clean water pipe long enough that you can stand the bucket or water butt on the drainer while it fills. That way if you forget about it the excess just goes down the plug.

The tank kit I linked prefills with clean RO water held under slight pressure so you can fill a bucket in about 10 minutes before returning to the usual 2 gallons per hour rate. However it does complicate the plumbing a little as you dont want the sink top tap for the kettle bringing water through the DI - but if you go down this route I (or roman tech support) can draw your dad a diagram.

Incidentally - if he's a plumber he should know where the best place to attach to the mains pipe is

And the same principal of 10-20% water changes per week applies as in trops?

Along with top ups of PURE RO to replace evaporation?

Is that right?

EDIT: lol cheers EagleC, yeah I'm sure he'll tell me if its viable where I want it.

Thats right.

I assume you want a reef tank rather than fish only, yes?

Yes, sorry yeah just realised I haven't really told you where I want to go with it... lol

Yeah, a reef tank with some "easy" (easier than others) corals to learn with (once I know I can maintain the tank's water parameters and maintenence). Will be using live rock as main filtration, hoping to use live sand too but will need to ask questions about that later! lol

I'm open to any suggestions as I know you guys have been here before so hoping to learn as much as I can from your experiences.

Well i see your using the berlin method of filtration...

there are many views on wheter to use Live sand (LS) or not.. many belive that bacteria cannot survive the long transport journies and extreme temps.. but i beg to differ... the bacteria they use is one that is doormant until correct temps are reached..

TBH though its doesnt really matter i you use LS or not.. that cycle period will only drop by a few day.. sayong that you cant perdict the cycle duration.. just as long as you have good quality LR you will be fine.. if you see my filtration method it differs alot form the norm.. you can see the link in Marine Health under the topic "Caulepra" ive basically got for an Eco/berlin system... in my display rather than having a sump...

Its all down to personal choice really theyll always be people thinking which way or the other is best suitable..

Phil

I won't have space for a sump, should I have one? Is it basically like a large external filter?

Nope you wont need one... not for a "plug and play" tank...

the only thing i can suggest is LR rubble in one of the chambers to act as a refugium... there loadsa talk about it here in regards to the Orca TL450.. but there near identical anyways..

Phil

Yes, a sump is basically a large external filter. There are a few advantages over an external filter though. It airates, it can contain macroalgae and a DSB or mud system that would clog a normal external. It provides a topup area and maintains the tanks water level and it increases the water volume considerably and thus either the livestocks safety margins or the ammount of stock that can be supported.

If you cant fit one then thats a shame but not the end of the world. You will be using the berlin filtration method as said so a good quality skimmer and good water movement all around the rocks is essential. Good tank design for this is essential before adding water or rocks!

Also essential are good quality tests for NH3, No3, PH, Ca,Mg,KH and a Refractometer with "ATC" for Sg

//edit// thanks Phil - I forgot it was an Orca!

Thanks Eagle, sorry what do you mean by ATC on the refractometer?

Is there a tried and tested way of ensuring you have good water movement around the live rock or is it just add slowly and use common sense?

Is the orca tl550 skimmer up to the job?