Need help and Good advise!!

ReefTrooper

Hello everyone . I am new to saltwater and haven't started yet but will probably start within the next 2 months.
What are some things one needs to know as a saltwater beginner?
Here is my plan- 30 gallon aquarium, a pair of Ocellaris Clownfish (or can i do more in a 30 gallon?), i do not want to have a sump so ill have a Hang on protein skimmer- is sera ( the company) OK?, 40 pounds of dead rock,ill start off with dead rock- do i have to seed them or will it happen by itself? and a 4 inch sand bed. Do i need a filter? and do i need anything else? I want to do a reef but want to keep some less demanding species of corals and anemones- what species can i keep? and would 4 tubes of 6500k 20 watts work? so ill have 80 watts over the 30 gallon tank, is this fine? Ill have one blue tube for the moonlight at night. I will buy an RO unit for the top offs. How often do i have to water change? And how many power heads would i need for an aquarium this size? Will 1 be enough?

OK so thats pretty much it If any more questions come to me ill be sure to ask them and thanks for any help given

Reefing Madness

#1-Dry Rock, there are a few hitchhikers on Live Rock that people want to stay away from, so they opt for using Dry Rock, or Dead Rock. Macro Rock is a good place to start looking for that. Either way you go you will need a minimum of 1lb per gallon.
#2-Replacement filter media like filter floss and activated carbon (if you get a filter) Which is really not necessary.
#3-Multiple Power heads (2 or 3) 10x your water volume for just a Fish Only With Live Rock, and at least 20x your water volume for a Reef Tank. So lets say your going reef, and you have a 100g tank, you would need flow in that tank at minimum of 2000gph, or 2 1000gph power heads
#4-Protein Skimmer, rated at 2 times your water volume
#5-Saltwater Test Kits. Reef Test Kit. Test for Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH, Phosphates, Calcium, ALK and Magnesium.
#6-Saltwater fish food. Mysis Shrimp, Squid, Cyclopease, Algae Sheets, Romaine . Flake food is not really a good food to feed your marine fish.
#7-Aquarium vacuum. This one is iffy. Most don't use one, if you have enough flow in the tank you won’t need one
#8-Rubber kitchen gloves
#9-Fish net
#10-Two, clean, never used before, 5-gallon buckets
#11-Aquarium thermometer, digital being the best.
#12-Brush with plastic bristles (old tooth brush) - needed for cleaning the live rock if you don't get Fully Cured Live Rock.
#13-Power Strip, possibly GFCI outlets by the tank
.#14-Optional but definitely recommend getting a Reverse Osmosis or RO/Deionization filter for the make-up water, and a barrel for storing the water.
#15-Possibly a Quarantine Tank for your new fish. They sit in here for a few weeks to kill off parasites and bacteria, to keep it from getting in your main tank
#16-Heater rated for your size tank.
#17-Saltwater Mix. Marine Salt. Instant Ocean is the cheap Salt that beginners and Advanced use alike.
#18-Saltwater Hydrometer or even better a Refractometer, which is more accurate. There is also a Digital Meter that is way advanced if you have the cash.
#19-Aquarium filter (not absolutely necessary if running with adequate amounts of live rock, but nice to have if you need to use a mechanical filter or activated carbon, or GFO and such)
#20-Aquarium substrate such as live sand or crushed coral. Some go bare Bottom, others choose the 2-3" bottom, others, more advanced will try the Deep Sand Bed, which is over 6" deep.

You can keep a pair of Clowns in a 30g tank with no issues. You shouldn't get an Anemone unitl your tank has matured some, say 6 months at least. Those lights that you have planned will not sustain a Anemone, your should look into T-5 High Output lighting, Metal Halides or LED lighting. The Rock you put in does not need seeded with anything, it will grow bacteria by itself. Sand bed is a bit deep for a beginner, that will get you trouble as far as being close to being a Deep Sand Bed, and having Hydrogen Sulphide in your tank, not a good thing for a beginner. Your RO unit should also have a DI Canister on it to make the water 99.9% pure. You might want to get a TDS meter for your RO water also, as you want to check this to make sure your TDS are also 0 on you rtop off water. Quality HOB Skimmers would be Hydor, Reef Octopus, Deltec and SWC for starters, Im not familiar with the company Sera, never heard of them.

ReefTrooper

Thanks so much for all those answers
i will be using 40 lbs of dry rock and as per your recommendation a 2 inch sand bed. My LFS sells something they call marine sand- will this be okay?
from what i see it consists of tiny fragments of shells and some sand. I will be wanting a reef so How is this lighting for the anemone or coral?
Ill have to buy all the tests and the refractometer - do you know where i could get them cheap? I live in India But am also a member on eBay Germany.
I do not plan on getting a filter as you say it is not necessary... And will buy an RO system- nothing to expensive-how is this one?
I will be feeding the fish- Shrimp, Romaine, Fish and squid if i can find it. So i should keep only One pair of clowns? or can i keep other fish too?
I will definitely put an anemone in there as soon as i can- What do i feed them?- i mean the anemone.I have a 300 GPH power head, so ill get another one of these and ill be fine? Could you tell me if all this is fine? How is the light? and the RO unit? and how often should i do a water change?
I'm getting the aquarium in 2 months and am using this time to research,research,research and collect all the things i will need.
Also could you help me to find a good skimmer for a 30 gallon tank that i can hang on? Again i live in india and can order from ebay germany so if you can find anything please let me know. Im willing to pay about 60 euros and 15-20 for any shipping.
Thanks again for the superb help

ReefTrooper

Sorry about the links in the previous post they don't work- Here are the links again The lighting, The RO unit, Also do i have to have moonlight? if i do ill just have some blue led's? is this OK? And this socket for the lamp. Also do you know about someplace i could get dry rock cheap?

Reefing Madness

The light you chose is perfect. RO should contain a DI canister with the unit. Can't really tell if that one has one or not. E-Bay is where I got most of my equipment for my tank.
MarcoRocks Aquarium Products
You not have to have a Moon Light on the tank, thats just for viewing at night.

Reefing Madness

Marine Sand will work. You could keep more than just 2 Clown Fish, of course. You could also keep several Clown Fish if you wanted to. Your looking good at this point and should be ready when the time comes. Water changes will be done by what your water tests come back at. You want to keep the Nitrates below 20. You'll need to do Water Changes once a week once you get the Reef going, and the addition of an Anemone will mean you will want prestine wate conditions, meaning Nitrates below 10, no phosphates.

Reefing Madness

eBay: Neue und gebrauchte Elektronikartikel, Autos, Kleidung, Sammlerst?cke, Sportartikel und mehr ? alles zu g?nstigen Preisen
http://www.ebay.de/itm/Halide-Bulb-L...item415c91acb3

I've looked at your Sera model. It does have a bubble plate in it, don't know how good it is though. I'll have to defer to your judgement on this one, based off of the ones that i've sent you, you should be able to pick out one that looks good and similar.

ReefTrooper

Thanks so much for all that help I really appreciate it and if I succeed it is due to your help and efforts
OK so I will get one of those lights for the 30 gal right? or do I need more? This is basically what is written about the RO system: The most modern and environmentally friendly method of water treatment for drinking water, aquariums, de mineralized water. Water is one of the most important components for the life of humans, animals and plants on earth. It is often contaminated by impurities, these impurities can cause health problems. Experience a whole new taste sensation of pure water using reverse osmosis system.


Reverse osmosis systems provide a convenient and effective way to produce a very clean water. In reverse osmosis drinking water is forced against a membrane that only pure water (permeate) can pass through the membrane, dissolved minerals and pollutants are discharged with the residual water

The quality and quantity of the osmosis water depends on the pressure and the temperature of the raw water. For most on the market of water treatment systems that work on ion-exchange basis, hardness-forming ions such as calcium with other ions, eg sodium exchanged. This results in a shift in the ion ratio, which can lead to unpredictable consequences in the aquarium, for example. In addition, such plants can be regenerated periodically with chemicals. Reverse osmosis is a natural process that removes the pollutants sure the dissolved salts + purely physical means from the water. What is needed is NO chemistry.


"WilTec" 3-stage reverse osmosis filter system TOP QUALITY, TOP FILTER (molecular filtration) - osmosis plant for water treatment for home

Our reverse osmosis system produces high-purity water. It is very inexpensive and easy to mount and use. The plant complies with the quality and filter performance offered more expensive reverse osmosis systems. It has a capacity of 190 liters per day. Our facility is the solution for nearly all water impurities.


There are all foreign materials are filtered up to 99%: heavy metals, pesticides, hormones, fungicides, drugs, nitrates, phosphates, chlorine, asbestos, limestone, radioactive isotopes, bacteria, protozoa, cysts, algae, spores, etc.

Specifications

First Filter stage 5 micron PP microfilter (Art. 50 832)
Second Filter stage granular activated carbon filter (art. 50 829)
Third Filter stage 50 GPD RO Membrane (Art. 50 835)

To improve the smell and taste the same order as (Option!)
4th Stage filter (Optional) PI activated carbon filter "Gourmet" (Art. 50 829)
use in strong smell or taste burden in addition! The 4th Filter stage corresponds to the second Filter stage.
Description: 3-stage RO system
Capacity 50 GPD = 190 liters / day
RO Membrane 50 GPD RO Membrane
Case 10 "(254mm) O-ring vessels
Connections Jaco
Water is not needed

ReefTrooper

OK Thanks for letting me know i can have more clown fish. I think ill go with three or four and are there some fish which can go with them and are not reef dangerous etc? What type of an environment does a lion fish need? OK i will try to get moolight but i wont try overly hard will be sure to keep following your advice and Thanks for all the help And links once again

Ill keep asking the questions as they come to me if that's OK with you... and im sure there are many more to come as this wonderful project progresses

ReefTrooper

Also. The lamp that you linked me to... what type of socet does it need? a Rx7s? or something else? because it doesent specify. Im preparing to buy all the things within the next few hours And the protein skimmer... is it one of the good ones?