Newbie- Filteration Questions

[ianbar]

I have a 15 gallon tank, which I would like to keep a pair of small clownfish in (so it's FO tank). I have read all the articles and forum posts and many people are suggesting live rock & sand for filteration. I don't have access to live sand, so I bought bagged coral sand instead. I can however source live rock, but it's quite expensive, over £100 (£16/Kg) for a 15 gallon. I have a few questions:

 

1, I wondered could and would it be OK to use an external filter and a small amount of live rock?

 

2, If a filter is feasable how would you suggest I cycle the filter (raw shrimp,etc)?

 

3, I am prepared to spend the money on live rock (but would to keep the cost down), but I wondered if I crash the tank (I certainly don't intend too) I'll have tons of dead 'live rock' and I imagine it will be difficult to get it 'live' again.

 

4, Another option is get half live rock and half dead. Is this feasable?

 

P.S.

I have already purchased a power head with a very good flow rate.

 

Your comments would be very much appreciated.

[viejito55]

I think you should shop around for live rock. I live in italy and they wanted 22 euros for a Kilo I then found a pet shop that sell it for 10 euros a Kilo. same for fish.

I think is important to keep live rock in your tank 1 pound per gallon.

[tinyreef]

for a FOWLR you could start with 'dead' rock and seed it. i would think about getting a simple/cheap hob wet/dry filter (e.g. penguin). it helps aeration, particle filtration, and water movement.

 

i wouldn't worry so much about the LR/LS as long as you keep it FO. it's when you decide to go beyond that (i.e. inverts) that you should consider quality LR. by this i mean shape and layout because the system will probably be seeded by then (assuming a couple months in the future).

 

so i would look to get quality (shape) rock and let it slowly seed. the fish will interact better with intricate rockwork anyways.

 

you can also go half/half as you suggested. if the rock is fresh (recommended) you don't need to use the shrimp method. there ought to be sufficient bio-matter on the fresh LR to kick the cycle off.