Really need help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Vijay]

i've had all sorts of FW fish for as long as I can rember but am starting my first SW i'll be converting a 15 gallon eclipse i'll have an internal skimmer-no name because it's the only on that'll fit in my tank i'll have a substrate of silica sand 1.5"deep and abou 5 pounds of Live rock i know i should have more but i don't want the LR to be the focus of the tank i'll have a 18"power GLO bulb maybee some polops and mushrooms will be added after cycling but after setup i'll add a small butto poplop frag only $5 CAN -$3US i'll use coralife salt which comes in a 50gal mix i'll put about a 5th of tha bag in and add more slowly checking as the salinity goes up. i can buy Ro water for 2.99Can for 18L i'll buy two bottels and use tap water for the rest of the tank and add a declorinator. i'll ait a week before adding the LR and Polop frag i'll let the tank cycle with the Lr till September when thelfs will get some yelloy tailled damsels in i'll get three and a asterea snail and a zebra hermit crab and in December i'lladd live corals -that is if i can afford them

any other info and help would be helpful, thanks

[reefitis]

well, i'm not a seasoned reefer (not yet at least) but from what i have learned from my friend (stryf), you shouldn't put in the polyp frag until after the tank is checked for nitrites, nitrates, ph, and ammonia along with salinity(specific gravity) like u said. instead cycle your tank, adding the substrate (live aragonite would be good) and LR (remember, you need about 1 -2#'s of LR per gallon needed as biological filtration for the nitrites and nitrates. after about a few weeks, get your water checked (and instead of buying a test kit, you could probably take it to your LFS to have it tested) and make sure your levels are: PH - 8.0-8.3, ammonia - 0 ppm, nitrite - 0 ppm, nitrate - 0-10 ppm, calcium - 400 -450 (calcium is needed particularly hard corals, soft corals don't need as much, and if you plan to keep soft corals, then frequent water changes of about 10-15% should be enough to keep the calcium levels high) ppm, and sg - 1.020-1.023. levels also depend on what kind of tank your gonna have, from what u posted it sounds like you'll have both soft coral and fish.

 

after adding LR and LS, then u should go for the clean up crews (hermit crabs and astrea or turbo snails, or whatever u choose). once everything is good, all the levels are correct, then you can sustain coral life. also remeber that you'll need specific lighting for specific animals - ask someone else about that, cuz i'm still learning well, like i said, i'm no seasoned reefer, but hopefully from what i've learned so far, you could pick up some useful info.

[tinyreef]

i would add that the light you currently have is insufficient for what you eventually want but that can wait until the livestock reflects the need. fish only is fine now.

 

read some good books on the hobby (dave espi wants you to do a search). and don't skimp on the water. better to spend a couple of bucks now (it ain't 180gal) than constantly worry about it later (ro/di or distilled should run you around $10~$20us for the eclipse)

[Vijay]

I know the lighting is a Big issue the thing is that i don't want to change to PCs so i'll end up going for a 50/50 bulb if thats better the but i think the power GLO is better because it's a tall tank 20"x18"x10" i've decded to go for a deeper sand bed 3"because i have lots of sand. at my lfs they have the same model tank set up with a bubble coral, sand polyps, a gargonian, mushrooms and a lellow leather and they only have one power Glo bulb. they don't run a skimmer but they do verry frequent water shanges, i hope thta with the skimmer i'll be abel to prolong water changer a little i plan to buy ao Ap master saltwater test kit and test al parameters before adding the frag. as for corals i'llonly have a few

- a piece of LR with about 15 red mushrooms on it

- 6 small button polyps on a piese of LR

-a colony of ylloy Polyps

- a bobble coral

-and maybee a green stay polyp if i can find one

 

what do i need to feed and supplement these with?

since the lightine is a bit low i know i need to feed them protoplankton

and probally calcium and iodine because of the skimmer

anything else?

Thanks