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Hey everyone.

I want to start a marine tank.

What I really want is Clown fish, and firefish.

What is the absolute minimum tank you can put these guys in? Will they get along? And do they need schools, or like being by themselvs?

What do I need to make them happy (live rock, etc)

Also, what do I need to maintain a saltwater aquarium? I have test kits, but what do I need to measure?

I know Salt, (other than cycling) im not sure what else i need to check.

All I have availible is a 10 gallon aquarium. I have no money right now, so i will have alot of time to think about this.

Thanks.

A clown and a firefish in a 10g would be more than pushing it. Although it is not a good idea, i do know a few people who have 10g nanos with multiple fish that are doing fine, but they require much work and mantaince on your part. Clowns and Firefish can be by themselves, no schools needed. Live-Rock is very key to a successful nano, you will want 1-2 pounds per gallon. If you plan on doing corals, you will need some intense lighting, but FOWLR (Fish only with live rock) can use a normal strip light. You will need to test all of the freshwater stuff, ammonia nitrites, nitrates etc, and then a few more. These include salinity, calcium etc. You may want to take a visit to nano-reef.com. If you can get your hands on one, a 20L or even 20H would be much better for what you want to do.

With that 10gal tank, you could keep one fish. I wold suggest getting a 29gal or larger. With SW bigger is better. As a basic rule, about 1 pound of live rock per gal of water, more or less depending on what you want for a tank.

As to what to get, the tank, lights, heater, 1 or more powerheads depending on the tank size, HOB filter optional, skimmer recomended, but not needed at first. Salt, and hydromoter. For substrate you can use sand, or crushed coral, depending on the look you want. And live rock. It will take a few weeks to cycle depending on how much LR you use.



Dan

Thanks.

Yes, I was thinking of doing a FOWLR tank, corals take too much lighting up, and i want to use the least power availible.

Does live rock need a special ammount of light a day?

Im going to the LFS real soon with my friend, i will price live rock.. hopefully it isnt too much.

You don't need high light for LR. Fair prices should fall between $4 and $8 a pound. If it's higher, then shop around, if it's on the low end, then your getting a good deal.



Dan

live rock at my LFS is $5.99

So How many pounds should I get? (This is gonna be really expensive)

Can I just get live rock, and cycle the tank with it, and put more in later with fish??

You can put a few pounds in, then add more later. Just add only a few pounds at a time, then wait a few weeks.



Dan

cool.

How much live rock would a 55 gallon need?

And If i wanted to get clown fish, how would i put anomies (sp?) in, and do they attach to live rock, etc? If i touch them, will it sting me??

I found a really cheap deal on a 55 gallon, but i dont want the live rock to be $ 600 2 times more than the tank, and everything.

1.5-2 pounds per gallon is a good start for live rock. So about 100 pounds would be a good start. Anenomnes will attach to rocks, but if you don't want a reef, don't even consider one. They require higher lighting than most corals do. So unless your willing to spend some $$$$ for quality lighting, don't get an anenome.

You can put any amount of LR you want. I would suggest getting a box or reef bones, you can get this at about $1 a pound. Use that as a base, then add real LR on top of that. This will save you a lot of cash. If you want an anemone, I suggest not getting a carpet, as stated, you need a lot of light. A seba does well with lower light, and true percula clowns host to them.



Dan

thanks.

WIll the "bones" eventually grow back and look live live rock again?

All reef bones are is dried out live rock. So by adding LR over it the reef bones will be seeded and become live rock.



Dan