some final q's before starting

[my03]

hey guys, sorry about sounding like a "broken record" but im a bit unconfident in starting, my tank maker guy has called me and the tank will be ready in a few days. im still undecided on what to do.

i wanna go fowlr, the tank is 3x2x2, so what type of fish should i keep the only i have in mind so far is yellow tang and clown? what type of inverts? im running, dsb is this the way to go?

this is what im gonna do when i get my tank delivered-
1. get filtered saltwater delivered or mix tapwater
2. put in dsb
3. put in dead rock(base rock)

my question is what is the importance of the water? i dont have access to ro/di facilities so i'll have to use tapwater when i mix.

and also when can i add my live rock? i want my tank to be able to take the bioload from the rocks in order to have minimal organisms killed. should i just put some cocktail shrimp in and wait till everything's 0? oh and what type of rock is considered base rock? any pics would be great

Thanks for all the help:D

[OrionGirl]

Look at wrasses, blennies, and basslets--all will make interesting additions, but some will be aggressive or get large, so pick fish that you like, then research the species to decide. You might want to reconsider the tang--they are very active swimmers, and tend to do poorly in smaller tanks (a 6 foot tank is usually best).

You might want to add the base rock first, then pour sand over it--makes for a amore stable base if the rock is in the sand. Lava rock, tufa, and lace rock are all good for a base.

I would go with the shrimp method--much easier, more reliably produces a large bacteria bed.

[benjen]

my question is what is the importance of the water? i dont have access to ro/di facilities so i'll have to use tapwater when i mix.

I've read that mixing your saltwater and letting it aerate for a week (ideally with a powerhead and heater but not absolutely necessary) will allow most of the harmful chemicals found in tap water to be rendered inert. If you can't get RO/DI, this is a better way to fo than just dumping it in. Using water conditioners, especially ones that break down chloramine, can help as well.

Your tank is exactly like mine, but twice as wide. I like a lot of peaceful fish and maybe one or at most two more aggressive ones. With the clown, you could probably also add one dwarf angel if you don't have the tang. A lemonpeel might nicely replace the look of the tang. :) Chromis are a nice, hardy schooling fish. Cardinals will also form small groups. Jawfish are lots of fun to interact with. Shrimp/goby pairs goof around a lot together, but GEL apparently had a pair stir up a perpetual sandstorm in her tank. A royal gramma is one that can go into almost any tank that won't eat it.

For inverts, I just added 9 scarlet hermits, 1 mexican turbo snail, 11 nassarius snails, 14 cerith snails, 1 emerald crab, and 1 peppermint shrimp. If you went with something similar, but twice as many, you'd have a good cleaning crew. My liverock came with a micro-serpent star, some interesting snails, sea squirts/sponges, and many varieties of 'pods. (And a mantis shrimp, but we won't go into that...)

[mygreengoldfish]

If the rock is dead there won't be much of a bioload so you arange the rocks, add sand, add dechlorinated water and salt. Then you let the tank cycle a little put in the live rock and cycle some more. Once you have green algae the water conditions aren't too far off.

[Gealcath]

Once ammonia and nitrites both read 0, you can start to add the clean up crews to the aquarium.