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a valid point.
However, pair of clowns in that tank with base rock instead of live wouldnt look like a little part of the ocean IMO and i believe the amount of life on a single peice of live rock is enough to keep anyone amazed..

Certainly true Mez. Be careful though Nick - I've read that certain meds (particularly meth blue) that have been used to treat freshwater ailments, they can harm live rock and inverts in marine systems.

is there anything I can treat the tank with to assure this doesn't happen? Although Im not sure Ive ever used that med...what is it typically in?

oh you'd know if you used methylane blue. Your whole damn house would. its bright blue. and it stains - really badly.
It may be in other stuff, not too sure on this but the levels would be minimal i think.
Let everything air dry for a good few days. This should be your best prevention. I wouldnt bother adding things.

drying out has begun!

ok so I have a couple of questions.....Went to my LFS today to price out some stuff for the Nemo tank...I got the live sand and 20 gallons pre-mixed salt water, wow is that live sand expensive....20lb. for $40....I got 2 bags. I was also suckered into buying a new "marine" filter ....a marineland penguin 150...this is smaller than the one they wanted to sell me but the latter was $90 and the 150 was $35, but I figured with all that live sand and live rock I will be getting, it was sufficient. Was I right? ALso after adding the sand and water to the tank, the water is very very dirty looking, and it looks like a layer of "silt" is starting to land on the surface of the sand...Is this normal? and if so how long will it take to clear up? I was not very careful when pouring in the water, I poured it directly into the sand , which in hinesight, was the wrong move. Did I hurt anything? or just prolong the water clearing up? And lastly, my LFS does not carry any live rock over 5-7 lbs., which leaves me getting about 4 to 5 of them @ $27 a peice.....their live rock are not labeled were they come from.... is there anyway to tell by looking at them were they come from? the worker at the LFS didn't seem to know were they originated from. And should I wait on the clean up crew or can I get them when I get the fish? Thanks again

This is one side of the hobby that isn't cheap. I would try to find a local forum and become a member to their site. You can get really good deals from other hobbyists that are getting out of the hobby or just selling what they don't need. The filter and LR should be fine for the stock, but you may need more flow from powerheads.

The fine particles in the water will take care of itself over time, giving the bacteria something to grow on and settle. It will probably take a couple days to start clearing up. Mixing the live sand with regular sand, the bacteria will spread throughout and it will all be live after a while. For future reference using a plate to pour the water onto will help keep the sand from clouding the water.

I would wait on adding the cleanup crew until the tank is cycled and dieoff from the LR is done. Then you can add the cleanup crew and then the fish. The key to marine aquariums is patience, besides the LR will keep you busy watching for all the critters that start coming out.

What does that mean, Bob? "Till the cows come home." Where have the cows been?

another question...with the live rock, live sand, eventually 2 clownfish, turbo snails and a cleaner shrimp what kind of lamp should I be using. My LFS sold me a coral sun actinic 420, is this the right one because I put it in and its almost a blacklight it seems...this just doent seem right to me.

This?
Thats an actinic so will be a high blue spectrum colouring - you need some whites in there - thats also a t8 bulb so cant be very strong but would actually be fine to keep fish with - i personally would add a white tube too.

Yes that is the exact one..I only have a single light fixture with one 15" bulb

If you have a single bulb, then no you don't want that one. I would suggest either a white 10k-20k bulb. Though I don't know if they come in that size. Or, more preferably if you are just going to have fish in there, get a 50/50 bulb. These are about 6-10k and actinic combined. They will bring out the best in the colors of your fish and give proper lighting as well.

With the small size you are needing, you may also look into retro-fitting your lid for a compact flourescent lighting as well. You will get higher output lighting levels and be able to have an actinic as well. Becuase a 50/50 bulb in these styles, will actually be two bulbs in one.

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There is always a bigger fish...

Nick surely its picture time soon surely?

you know it is...im just waiting for my wife to send me them from her computer because I used her camera.

here it is...its not much yet, I'll def. add some more bright plants to color it up...but im happy with it...its a modest start......

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thats actually the wrong pic, I have 2 bright plants in the front right now...but heres Nemo and Marlin!

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here it is...with the plants...

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and our cleaner shrimp.....

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and our peppermint shrimp...??? I think thats a peppermint shrimp

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BTW I ended up just getting a new light strip and bought a 50/50 bulb.....they don't make a 50/50 in 15"...hmm who knew?

Might be Marlin and Nemo for now, but maybe it'll be more like Marlin and Coral, later. Clownfish are protandrous hermaphrodites, so possibly a dominant one will go female in the future.

Anyway, the tank is looking good, looks like you've got started right.

The plastic plants look kind of off in a marine tank, though. Just saying.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

you know I actually agree with you on the plants, any suggestions for brightening this tank up with some nice colors? Give me suggestions PLEASE....I thought those plants looked out of place!

Mushrooms, Mushrooms and then some Mushrooms!
Sun Corals also but you'll have to feed the polyps individually and people might tell you not to get one because theyre difficult to keep - these people will have never kept them before. Also Duncans Corals will work they are a deepwater species. Take those crappy plants out!

mushrooms????..I have never heard of nor seen these at my LFS...can you elaborate further?

.....they don't make a 50/50 in 15"...hmm who knew?

I did! LOL. I mentioned that in my post. Just re-worded it a bit, just in case you might have found somewhere that did have them. hehehehe

Though I don't know if they come in that size

Yep, get rid of those plastic plants! In a few weeks you would be getting rid of them anyway, as they are notorious for algae growth in SW tanks.

Mushrooms should be available at any LFS that has corals. Many will do well in the low lighting you are having. Just be sure you don't get the ones requiring higher lighting, or they will die. Here is a link with many pics for you; http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=597+598

Though your clowns would better enjoy an anemone, or a frogspawn coral, you do no have the proper lighting for them to live. Maybe in the future you can get a smaller sized metal Halide lamp, and then get some nice corals and/or an anemone for the clowns.

You can however, get several types of available corals for your tank. As there are several available through LFSs that require low to no light levels. One being that mentioned by Mez priorly. Sun corals require no light at all, and actually look best when the lights are off. Pic of one that is closed to partially opened;

Pic of one fully open;

A good thing to have if keeping them is a moon light (inexpensive). They are awesome looking corals. And relatively easy to keep. Just that you have to target feed them daily, which is not difficult at all. Just place them somewhere out of the direct light. Another is the chili coral. Pic open;

Pic closed;


Just remember, that any corals that require no light at all, must be target fed. These are relatively easy to keep corals, but must be target fed.

FYI: All pics in this post were found on Google.

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There is always a bigger fish...

sorry for the stupid question but what is target feeding? and also, my issue, along with the plastic plants, is all of that background showing above the live rock....I know I can stack some more live rock up there, but my wallet took a huge hit last weekend and im trying to take it easy with spending much more money right now. Any suggestions for something with some height that would fill some of that up?

Target feeding is feeding directly on the coral. Put your coral food in some water, using a turkey baster filled with the water/coral food, you simply hold it over the coral polyps and let the food ooze/drip out onto them. Or very lightly squeeze the foods out onto the polyps. Thus you target feed the corals instead of feeding the whole tank.

If money is a problem, I would suggest you wait for a bit before diving into the coral aspect. As you will need to by good foods for them. And take your time with the tank, as patience is the most important thing when it comes to SW tanks.

As for the look of the tank, I kinda like the open area at the top look.

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There is always a bigger fish...

so im guessing the food/water mixture is somewhat thicker than the water and will drop easier onto the corals? Is that the idea?

Not really. Just that the food is placed directly on them. Thus you "target" the polyps of the corals. If you just place it into the water and let it swirl around and mix with the entire tank, you waste any that does not make it to the coral's polyps. Thus you not only waste part of it, but the corals don't get as much to eat either.

Think of it like this;
You sit at a table in a large restaurant and order your food. They bring it out, and place it all over the room on different tables. The potato in once corner table. While the steak is in another corner table. Your drink is in the center of the room. And yet you are unable to get up from your seat. But you stretch out and can just barely reach the desert that was placed on the table next to you. So you get a little to eat, but not much. The rest of the food has been wasted. Where as, if you are the target for the food, they will bring it out and place it directly on the table in front of you to eat.



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There is always a bigger fish...

Ahhh thats makes it easy to understand about the target feeding...thanks.....hey another question...this one is about snails...I have 3 turbo snails, but I noticed what I think was a very very small baby snail. what gives? was it in the live rock from the LFS and just came ou? have the snails in the tank done whoopie already???? ARe they going to hurt my tank if there are too many? I only saw 1, but after a couple of hours I tried to locate him again with no luck, so who knows how many more there are.

There is a good chance it came from the LR, I have seen all kinds of things come off of it. The majority of snails that come with the LR are usually beneficial, or at least harmless. I think it's unlikely for them to reproduce in the tank, although I may be wrong. They should all be fine in there unless you have so many that they run themselves out of food. You will start to find a bunch of things from the LR, even after months go by.

What does that mean, Bob? "Till the cows come home." Where have the cows been?

ok, everything seems to be going well, fish look happy and healthy and are eating great along with everyone else.....but I am getting to a point where I am seeing all the snail poop and shrimp skeletons in the sand. Also, when I put the sand in the tank, I was not very careful, and just poured water in over it.....so it made it a mess for the first few days after I added water and sand. The sand I bought was black, for the most part, but because I added water like that a layer of light colored "silt" has covered what is supposed to look black. I have 4 questions. How do I clean the sand? Gravel vaccing doesn't seem like it would work well on sand, but I could be wrong. Can I somehow flip the light colored sand under the darker sand without making a huge mess? And lets say I do make a huge mess, is that going to hurt the fish or anything else for that matter? What should be my plan of attack for cleaning the tank other than testing parameters, water changes and general cleaning? Thanks again

oh yeah and a visit to my LFS yielded a worker trying to sell me what I believe were called Blue Damsels for my tank, after I told him what size and such and that I wanted to add some color to the tank (I was talking about mushrooms). But I wasn't convinced....however my wife really really likes them.....can they be done or not...saying no will not hurt my feelings but if I could get away with it without hurting anything, please do tell.

no. i wouldnt advise anyvmore fish and especially not a damsel - theyre mean and nasty and will bully your clownfish into hiding.
also why would you need to clean your sand? there should be no feaces there and if it is algae i suggest directing the flow to the problem area and eventually adding more flow. what kind of algae is it? some algae is normal in a new setup such as diatoms then cynobacteria which is really ugly and is deep red. peel that off.
ps
if you are going to get another fish a tiny goby species would be best like a tailspot blenny

hope this helps
james
this image was taken from google.com and they and their respective owners own all copyright.