Smallest Salt water beginner fish

Pearl2011

Never mind the hermit question, just realized that it doesn't make sense at all. *facepalm*
What kind of filter should I get? Would an Aquaclear, say, 15 be enough? Doesn't take up swimming space like a canister does.

Reefing Madness

You don't need a mechanical filter in a SW tank. But if you do get one, you can use it for Carbon once in awhile or GFO.

Pearl2011

Do I even need a filter with live rock? And what does GFO stand for? Are there any live rock that are better then others? I heard Fiji is more porous so would you need less?

Reefing Madness

Doesn't matter which type of LR you get. Rule of thumb is 1lb per gallon. No, you do not need a filter using LR.
GFO stands for Granular Feric Oxide. Used to remove phosphates.

Pearl2011

Really? Sweet!! One less thing I need! Should I have a bubbler so there water movement? And would playsand work? Although I dont know how that would look in a reef tank . . . white IMO would prob look the best.
I like how the neon blue is bred in captivity, but there all so gorgeous! Is a 75w heater too much? That the smallest I have, not counting the 25w. And I have a 150w which is too big.
Well, B-Day is in 2 months, but last year my mom wasn't too big on the idea of a 20 gallon long. And now I have a 25 O.o

Reefing Madness

No bubbler, this will create slat creep on your tank and drive you absolutely crazy. No play sand either. To many silicates, this will cause water issues. 75w heater is fine. For substrate you'll be looking for Live Sand or Crushed Coral X-fine, or an Aragonite.
Fish & Aquarium Supplies: Marine Substrates, Sand, Crushed Coral, Live Sand

Pearl2011

So the only plug in is a light? One cord? That is less then I have on my betta tank o.o No complaints.
Would 20lbs of sand be enough? Its natures ocean #1 Atlantic coral sand.
And how would I control salinity? If it evaporates the salinity will increase and could that harm fish? Should I just top off, then change the water? And what type of salt? (heard table salt is good :p)

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. Unless your tank is under 30g, in which case you can do 10% water changes a week to rid the system of detrius. But, you'll have to watch the water parameters close, if things go haywire, you'll have to do more water changes.
#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.

Pearl2011

1) Does the kind of rock matter?
2) Is a power head the same as a filter?
3) Why do you need gloves?
4) How long would a package of salt last for a 10g doing 30% water changes?
5) Is the kind of thermometers really important?

Sorry for all the quetions!

Reefing Madness