starting a marine tank for the first time, have a few questions

[fishcatch22]

hi, all! i'm going to start a 10g marine tank soon, after being in this hobby pretty much since the day I was born, and just had a few questions I wanted to float by the experts. 1. how long and how will I cycle my marine tank? is it the same as with FW? or different? does it take more or less time than with FW? 2. does my stocking plan sound okay? 1 common clown, 1 purple firefish, 3 turbo snails, 1 medium hermit crab. 3. would I need a specialized filter? or can I use the same types of filters as with FW? 4. what should I feed my clownfish and firefish?

[fsa]

fishcatch,
1: the cycle is generally around 4-6 weeks to complete, probably about the same as for the fw? You have ammonia, then nitrite, then nitrates. Same as fw, but I'm sure a different kind of bacteria.

2: sounds good to me, maybe don't add them all at once for such a small tank. I don't know what you mean by a "common" clown. I would suggest a percula. I love mine, have had him 6-7 yrs now. He's just the right size for your tank, I think. I've never kept a purple firefish, but they are beautiful. I think firefish are known to be jumpers (not sure though), so if they are, just be aware of it.

3: what kind/how much of substrate, if any, and live rock, if any, do you intend to have? I ask because that is generally your bio filter in saltwater aquariums. If you use that, then you don't really need to worry about bio filtration. You can use your freshwater filters for mechanical/chemical, but most people don't use them too much. Maybe every once in a while to polish/clean (not often, though) the water or use carbon some. Mainly only the sand/rock is used for filtration. If you don't have that, then you will need to use a filter for the bio.

4: my percula clown loves frozen "formula one". He hardly eats anything else, not flake, maybe a little brine shrimp. Both the clowns/firefish I believe like a meaty type food. See what the store feeds them, watch them eat before you buy and experiment a little. I feed 3 different frozen type foods (formula one, brine shrimp and a cuisine of some type, sometimes I buy/feed mysis shrimp) and a little flake food thrown in.

Your tank/stocking setup sounds good to me.

Frank

[fishcatch22]

percula clowns are common clowns, and my LFS just calls them common clowns, so thats the term I use. also, I guess sand is the common saltwater substrate, or crushed coral. i'd use one of those, I guess. the food they feed the clowns at the store is wardley marine flakes, and they feed the firefish tubifex worm cubes. i'm guessing they aren't wild-caught, or have had a looong time to adjust, for they show absolutely no fear of people whatsoever.
I think i'll go with an UG for filtration. so, new question: I what order should I introduce the planned inhabitants after the intial cycling process is complete?

[dorkfish]

Either use a reverse flow UGF with prefilters on the power heads or don't use one at all. Detrius will just get trapped under a normal UGF and cause algae problems. Here is an article for on filtration for the small marine aquarium, should help out:

http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_small_aquarium_filter.php

I would add the live stock in this order:


after the tank is cycled, add the turbo snails
2 weeks later, add the clown and the hermit. Be sure to provide about 2-5 shells for the hermit crap so that he won't evict the turbo snails for thier shells.
about a month later, add the firefish
If you decide you want to add corals at this time, do some research on there water requirements, get proper lighting (20-40 watts flourescent lighting should be suffiecient for most soft corals) and you start with some hardy soft corals like mushrooms or button polyps (the corals I started out with that didn't die after a few months).

Oh and BTW, your clown may attempt to/will host in certain corals, if they look enough like an anemone and they have been in the tank with your clown long enough.