process in order?

[Mghslowell]

hello this is my setup.

i have a 55g tank with 2 penguin 330's one with biowheel.
underneath i have a homemade 10g sump with protien skimmer carbon, charcoal, and uv sterilizer,

the question is.

i will be putting my live rock in tomorrow on top of cc ( i know dsb is better but ah well.) how long should i go before turning on my sump and lights with the uncured live rock ?


secondly i want to get 3 snowflake eels and maybe a pair or 2 of clown fish, and later on get a mh light and start a soft coral reef tank with anemities

woudl they be compatibile?

any order of operation?

thanks

[fishfreek]

Have your sump running from day 1. The added water current and water capacity will help with keeping the ammonia level down to a decent level. If the rock is uncured you could run your lights at say 1/2 the regular light cycle this was as to limit the amount of algae growth due to excess nutrients. Run your skimmer from day 1 aswell as it will help with the curing of the rock.

For more info on how to cure live rock see our article in the articles section.

3 snowflake eels!. For a 55 I would say 1 snowflake eel is enough. These eels get large (a couple feet in lenght) and produce a fair amount of waste. ALso know that the clown fish you get need to be significantly larger than the eels mouth. Eels will eat anything they can get in their mouth so if you buy a medium sized eel and two small clowns they might very well become eel food.

You dont need MH to go with soft corals. VHO or powercompact will do fine for that. I would not recommend an anenome for a tank expecially a new tank.

[Hara]

not to mention the fact if the eels ever get big, the rock will be tossed all over the tank

[Mghslowell]

thank you . . haha i will get 3 when i have a bigger setup
yes 1 will do in about 3 months when its fully cycled

if i get teh clowns first would they be territorial before the eel?

and the lighting . . say about 5 hours ? half of 11hour cycle? what is the norm. . hmm

thanks for your help.