Going to the dark side..saltwater tank questions

[dempsy12]

so i want to set up my first saltwater tank but i have some questions before i go buy one.
i found a cool 6 gallon nanocube dx that i want to set up but i have a few questions on filtration and what types of fish to put in it
how much LR should i put in it?
how long should i let it cyle before adding fish?
what kind of filtration go in each of the 3 compartments(pic below)
do i need a protien skimmer?
can i put coral frags in it? will they attatch to the LR?

thank you!!

 

[Totalimmortal]

From what I remember about a pound of live rock per gallon is the standard. As far the cycle, it's the same as freshwater really except the general consensus that I reached was that live sand and live rock will get you through your cycle. The die off will be the ammonia source, worked great for me and I consistently test zero for nitrates every time.

I leave my chambers empty on my biocube. Me next thing is an inTank media basket and fuge light, grow some chaeto back there.

Frags will eventually attach to LR.

Are you going to use the stock lights?


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[dempsy12]

no i need to replace the lights for the coral growth.
whats the best lights to put in?

 

[Totalimmortal]

I use an Ecoxotic PAR38 20K

http://www.ecoxotic.com/aquarium-led-lights/led-par-lights/ecoxotic-par38-aquarium-led-lights.html

I took the plastic rim off of my BC8 and hung the PAR38 about 2.5 feet over the sand bed. With that I can keep anything I want from SPS to clams, just waiting for my tank to really mature before I make that jump.

 

[dempsy12]

thank you!
and i dont need a skimmer?

 

[dempsy12]

there are three seperate areas to the filter. what goes in which one. do i need bioballs?

 

[Totalimmortal]

I don't run a skimmer as I don't really have any high demand corals. As far as the chambers mine are empty. Most normal filter media used in FW setups are just nitrate factories in a SW/reef environment, your live rock is your filtration media and all you're really going for is adequate circulation to avoid dead spots.


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[dempsy12]

okay thank you!

 

[Blue Demp]

You may also want to head over to nano-reef.com. Their are tons of members with the same tank.


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[Totalimmortal]

That's where I did all my research. Good site, just stay out of the lounge when your new.