Newbie SW question

[Robert04]

What is a skimmer? and also when I finish getting ammonia and bacteria.. how do I go about applying live rock.. I dont seem to get it.. You add live rock and live sand to the tank once its stable? or while your doing the ammonia cycling? Once that is done how does live rock work? does it come with stuff already living on it and it spreads?

When adding reef to a tank with live rock in it.. how do you handle this?

Adding new fish into a reef and live rock tank that currently has no fish activity.. how do you handle this and what are common mistakes I could make and should watch out for?

What kind of lighting is good for this? what would I want on a 15g tank.

 

[Reefscape]

What is a skimmer? and also when I finish getting ammonia and bacteria.. how do I go about applying live rock.. I dont seem to get it.. You add live rock and live sand to the tank once its stable? or while your doing the ammonia cycling? Once that is done how does live rock work? does it come with stuff already living on it and it spreads?

When adding reef to a tank with live rock in it.. how do you handle this?

Adding new fish into a reef and live rock tank that currently has no fish activity.. how do you handle this and what are common mistakes I could make and should watch out for?

What kind of lighting is good for this? what would I want on a 15g tank.

Skimming is where we remove DOC's ( Disolved Organic Compounds ) from the aquarium. So, a skimmer is the device which does this for us.

Regarding live rock, ideally, this should all be added from the start, when you start then cycle in the tank. If adding later, only add in small ammounts.

Live rock works by housing bacteria in the pores / surface area of the rock to provide a means of natural filtration.

When adding reef to a tank with live rock in it.. how do you handle this?

.....Not sure i understand you there..

When adding fish, always research their needs and compatibility to ensure you can properly care for the fish, add them least aggressive first.

What lighting you need will all depend on exactly what you chose to have, coral wise....If its just fish and live rock, there are no lighting requirements and neither "need" light..

 

[Robert04]

Skimming is where we remove DOC's ( Disolved Organic Compounds ) from the aquarium. So, a skimmer is the device which does this for us.

Regarding live rock, ideally, this should all be added from the start, when you start then cycle in the tank. If adding later, only add in small ammounts.

Live rock works by housing bacteria in the pores / surface area of the rock to provide a means of natural filtration.



.....Not sure i understand you there..

When adding fish, always research their needs and compatibility to ensure you can properly care for the fish, add them least aggressive first.

What lighting you need will all depend on exactly what you chose to have, coral wise....If its just fish and live rock, there are no lighting requirements and neither "need" light..

Well my main concern is the clown fish having a nimone.. I want him in a fairly natural environment and can you link some pictures of a skimmer for a small sw tank like 15-30g also please explain how and when you know when to use this tool. I have put water in my tank and added some ammonia to see if the tank is alright and I have added salt.. I was going to go purchase the live rock before I hit it with a full dose of ammonia.. now does the nimone grow on live rock? or do I need "coral" or "reef" for this? what kind of watts would you want on a 20 or 30g tank for basic nimone growth?

 

[Reefscape]

Well my main concern is the clown fish having a nimone.. I want him in a fairly natural environment and can you link some pictures of a skimmer for a small sw tank like 15-30g also please explain how and when you know when to use this tool. I have put water in my tank and added some ammonia to see if the tank is alright and I have added salt.. I was going to go purchase the live rock before I hit it with a full dose of ammonia.. now does the nimone grow on live rock? or do I need "coral" or "reef" for this? what kind of watts would you want on a 20 or 30g tank for basic nimone growth?

Most clownfish these days, where i live anyways, have no clue what an anemone actually is, as the vast majority now are tank bred specimins. Its not a neccesity to have an anemone, but a nice thing if you can.

On cycling, it might be good for you to have a read of this here..

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91273

Personaly, i would not add an anemone to a tank that size, they do get big..

Some pics of skimmers..

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage~PageAlias~protein_skimmers_aquac_nano_remora.html

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...mers-Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies~vendor~.html

 

[Robert04]

Most clownfish these days, where i live anyways, have no clue what an anemone actually is, as the vast majority now are tank bred specimins. Its not a neccesity to have an anemone, but a nice thing if you can.

On cycling, it might be good for you to have a read of this here..

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91273

Personaly, i would not add an anemone to a tank that size, they do get big..

Some pics of skimmers..

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage~PageAlias~protein_skimmers_aquac_nano_remora.html

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...mers-Saltwater_Aquarium_Supplies~vendor~.html

That is really unfortunate.. here in canada all of the clown fish I have seen in the stores love the nemone's that was one of he main attractive values I saw in the fish.. I read the cycling stuff.. I'm just not sure what to do about reef or coral.. will live rock grow enough things to keep the clown fish interested?

 

[Reefscape]

That is really unfortunate.. here in canada all of the clown fish I have seen in the stores love the nemone's that was one of he main attractive values I saw in the fish.. I read the cycling stuff.. I'm just not sure what to do about reef or coral.. will live rock grow enough things to keep the clown fish interested?

Unfortunate as it maybe, I would always prefer a tank bred specimin than wild caught....

When cycling the tank, it does not really matter whether its a fish only or a reef ( reef tank and coral tank are same thing ), the cycling procedure is the same. Clownfish are one of them species that can find a spec of floating sand interesting...very wierd...lol...i would not worry about that that at all mate...