New to Saltwater

[Cookinit]

It's crushed coral actually...not my first choice as I prefer sand but it's what came with the setup.

Updated pic as it's clearing up...

 

[RyanP]

starting to clear up nicely...looks like u got some nice rock, alot of coraline already on it

 

[julsy]

coming along, as far as top off water goes, i would stick with R/O water, same as water changes. just remember top off water has no salt, and waterchange water does

 

[BIGgourami]

were you going for an amazon-ish roots in the water type thing or am i just picking up a coincidence

 

[Cookinit]

Figured the fish might enjoy swimming through/under them.

Here's a pic as of last night.

So far so good.

 

[Cookinit]

So looking into replacing the light, which of the following is the best bang for the buck. Also I have glass tops to keep the skunk shrimp in.

Current USA Nova Extreme 30" 2x24W T-5 10,000K
Coralife S/W T-5 Aqualight Double Strip Light-30"
Current USA Satellite Dual 30" 2x65 Watt Power Compact Strip Light W/Lunar Light
Coralife Aqualight Double Linear Strip Compact Fluorescent Fixture, 2X65 Watt

 

[Cookinit]

Another question (sorry can't edit to include it!)

As mentioned above, I'm using glass tops, the only thing I'm worried about getting out would be the Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp. Are these guys known escape artists? I would prefer no glass tops that way I can one of the above lights that use the sides to attach to.

Thanks

 

[julsy]

no, cleaners stay well in/on rocks near the bottom mostly, i have never seen one jump anywhere. as far as lights go, thats all going to depend on what corals you wish to keep, for just fish it doesnt matter, but you will want to look up what corals you want, and see how much light they will require, making sure you have enough light for the highest lit coral up top, is the best way to figure it out. there are alot of theorys about light to water, but its nothing solid

 

[Cookinit]

Thanks for all the help everyone, really is appreciated.

Alright, so I'm going to go with the following light:

Current USA Satellite Dual 30" 2x65 Watt Power Compact Strip Light W/Lunar Light

I figure that light will give me a broad range of corals that I could support once I figure out what I want. I probably won't be doing much with corals until the end of August however. I want to focus on the live stock and make sure I have a firm grasp of that before I go into corals.

So, the point of this post is that now I need help rounding out my live stock. I am putting in sand and taking out the crushed coral next week.

Current live stock list

1 x Ocellaris Clownfish Tank-Bred
1 x Bicolor Pseudochromis
1 x Yellowtail Damselfish
1 x Black Turbo Snail
5 x Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crab
1 x Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp

I do like gobies (always have for freshwater too), but I also like the six lined wrasse, spotted cardinal fish and firefish.

Any new live stock I get I will wait until after I change the substrate.

 

[Gene0514]

what are ur parameters?
did you at least cycle it first?

and crushed coral is a nitrate factory

and why the heck are you adding livestock so fast!
this can and probably will cause your tank to crash