Help on Getting Started

[cmonicarl]

I just started a 15 gallon tank and wanted to know what lights to buy for coral and what fish should I start with. Also, what heater should I get. I have some live rock and will be getting more. I put rock, sand, and water a week ago.
Thanks for the advice.

 

[begginersluck]

Hi welcome to the site.

Lighting very much depends on what corals you are going to keep? For instance if you want mainly soft corals and easy to keep corals you could get away with T5's or metal halides. Halides are expensive to run however and can get hot meaning they will potentially heat your water. Many people go for LED's these days (myself being one of them) as they are cheaper to run than other lights and create amazing colours in your aquarium. The initial cost can be quite high though.

Heater..... Get a good quality one. I use Rena heaters and they've never let me down. I steer clear of glass heaters as these have gone very wrong in the past in my experience.

Are you testing you water? If so what are your parameters? I'm guessing after only 1 week your tank isn'y cycled yet.

As where fish are concerned its a litte limited in a 15g however there's a few little ones you can go with. The Royal Gramma would be my favourite. Just do your research on the fish befopre you buy it. Even post on here if you have your eyes on one and we'll help you make the right decision.

Congrats and would love to see a few pics of the progress!

 

[cmonicarl]

I have not tested the water yet but I will be getting a kit tonight. Should I leave the LED light on all day and then turn them off at night or do the corals need light all the time? I've read here that the temperature should be between 78.5 and 80. Is that good?

 

[Grizz]

Look into TaoTronic leds (ebay) you want the dimmable unit as this will let you adjust the light so you dont burn your coral. Also check here for info on fish for your nano Nano Fish