Several supplies, no idea where to start!

kevNnic

whats the major difference between a reef tank and fowlr tank?

onefish2fish

a reef has corals, a fowlr is a Fish Only With Live Rock tank. depending on which your keeping, i cant better help with your stocking list. a good idea would be to look at fish online and see what you like then post here for a few of us to confirm your list and when to add everything.

as of right now your still a good ways from any fish, coral, invert and any kind so nows the time to ask questions and read as much as possible. it may also be a wise move to search your area for a local reefing club.

kevNnic

Thank you :) We know for sure that we want the clown fish, so i guess its going to be based on the other fish and organisms that are compatible with them. Suggestions? I think a goby or something and yellow tang or box fish? Ive looked at a million websites about what is compatible and what isnt but there are lots that are conflicting. As welll, we have already filled the tank with tap water and I heard if we wanted to go wtih corals it would have been better to use RO units or something?

kevNnic

Wondering if anyone could tell me how to use the salinity refractometer. For some reason our user manule is MIA. And maybe take a look at an previous questions?

wake49

I think that your tank is too small for a Yellow Tang. If you do want a Tang, check out the Ctenochaetus genus, they can be kept in a minimum of 4' of tank. That genus includes the Two-spot Bristletooth Tang, the Tomini Tang and the Yellow-Eye Kole Tang to name a few. As for the Box-fish, I do not think they are reef-safe if you are thinking of going with corals or inverts.

Tap water isn't a problem right now, do you have city or well water? I would personally switch to RO/Di water with water changes and top-offs, but that's me.

kevNnic

Oye. Okay. Well we want clown fish and reef. Tell me what to do! :)please.

kevNnic

Still havn't boughten any dry or live rock.. shopping around still.

kevNnic

just an update everyone, we purchased 30lbs of dry rock from and 10lbs of live rock for now, have it sitting in the tank with only the powerhead, canaster and heater running, i was told not to run the skimmer because it will remove some bacteria which is benefical to the cycle.

So far so good. on day 8 of our cycle. the dry rock is looking a little darker but no real change yet. i have noticed that our specific gravity keeps creeping up. is this a common occurance?

also having a little trouble reading our tester kit as some of the dye colors dont really match what the cards have.

whats the easiest and best kit to use when testing our levels?