i know i said 55 but 20l will have to do.

[hayden]

i know in previous posts i said i was going to set up my 55 as a salt water tank. well i dont have enough money to do that so i want to set up a 20 long. if i get a chance tomorow i will pick up a 20 long glass tops a 20-30 pound bag of live sand, a 5 gallon bucket of salt, and maby a filter if they have a good deal,

so my question is what lights do i need? the must be cheap, can i get bulbs for common shop lights that will work good for corals? do i need special bulbs and fixtures? do i need a protein skimmer if i am good a bout water changes? can i put two clowns and some inverts in a 20 long? and if i buy dead rock how long will it take to be completely seeded from the live sand? how is a bag of dry sand "live"???

please answer as many questions as you can i know i ask a lot but thats how i learn.

 

[ShadowBass]

i know in previous posts i said i was going to set up my 55 as a salt water tank. well i dont have enough money to do that so i want to set up a 20 long. if i get a chance tomorow i will pick up a 20 long glass tops a 20-30 pound bag of live sand, a 5 gallon bucket of salt, and maby a filter if they have a good deal,

so my question is what lights do i need? the must be cheap, can i get bulbs for common shop lights that will work good for corals? do i need special bulbs and fixtures? do i need a protein skimmer if i am good a bout water changes? can i put two clowns and some inverts in a 20 long? and if i buy dead rock how long will it take to be completely seeded from the live sand? how is a bag of dry sand "live"???

please answer as many questions as you can i know i ask a lot but thats how i learn.

If you want to do polyps or corals, no you can't use common shop lights simply because they're not the correct spectrum. You can get away with fairly low light, but I would still go with a compact flourescent strip.

You don't NEED a protein skimmer, but it also depends on how heavily you stock your tank. Watch the parameters closely and keep up with your water changes. A protein skimmer WILL help though.

Yes you can do 2 clowns and some inverts if you go with smaller ones.

As far as the "dead rock", it kind of depends. If you buy uncured live rock it depends on how much die off there is and stuff. I'm sure someone else with more experience can give an actual time frame.

If the bag of sand is dry it's not live sand. Live sand comes in a bag that's filled with liquid.

 

[hayden]

so a bag of dry sand labeled live sand is actually dead sand?

 

[ShadowBass]

Yup. Are you sure it's dry? Maybe you just didn't notice the liquid in there.

Real live sand is packaged in a strong plastic bag with liquid. Dry sand labelled for saltwater use is just plain marine sand.

 

[hayden]

ohh i didnt know that, my ride (my sister) said she was taking me to the pet store right after we picked up one little thing, well we drove all over town and i caried lots of heavy things to the car and in the end she desided she had enough shopping for one day and didnt want to go get some fish stuff.

 

[hayden]

okay to day i went and got a 29 gallon tank with hood and lights i also got a salt water test kit, 25 pounds of sand 20 pounds of dead 5 pounds of live. i also got 50 gallons worth of salt.