Can i do This?

untoldlegacy

untoldlegacy

My Rock Can Play Dead!
Mar 28, 2007
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Hello everyone, i was wondering if its possible to do a Marine tank W/o live rock or live sand.

the reason im asking this is becuase my Girlfriend and i have always wanted a clown fish, and they finally have one at our lfs. The problem if that live rock is very very expensive here (live sand is unheard of), i would have to pay $8.99/pound and drive 4 hours as our local LFS doesnt have it and wont order it for us.

Could i just use sand and some porus rock and let the tank cycle for 2 or 3 weeks (with ammonia supplements) or do i really need LR? there would just be the clownfish and a small cleanup crew in a 30G tank (havent bought anything else yet incase we cant do it)
 
It is possible. Use a non-silica sand and a calcerious rock. Seed with bacteria from a little substrate and water from the LFS if they will part with it or just use a commercial product of live bacteria cultures in a bottle. Buy a piece of raw shrimp from the grocery store and put it in the tank to decay and start the cycle. Test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate to know when cycle is complete before adding fish.
 
You can order live rock online for about $5/lb.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=393

And no you don't have to use live sand. But try to use a substrate with aragonite. It will help buffer your pH around 8.2 and stabilize calcium and alkalinity levels. It sells for about $1.20 per pound.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavResults.cfm?N=2004+113554

As for clownfish, you can order them online as well, many sites have them, they're very popular fish and easy to get ahold of. What country/state do you live in?
 
i live in Canada in the second largest city in my province :P pretty sad eh? ( i guess noone likes fish here??) as for ordering online i would have but it costs an @$$ load to ship here, the closest place ive found here that will ship is still a long ways away
 
mfk?
 
thanks ill give it a try
 
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