Newbie needs info for a 20 gal. lighting in particular.

[Habitat]

Hello,

I have a 20 gal. tall w/ Red Sea Prizim Skimmer, and Marine Land H.O.T. hang on canister filter. All new except for good power head that came out of an old fresh-h2o tank & 2, 24in. light racks with 18in. bulbs.
I have a few questions:

1. Can I have "live rock" with two of the regular 24 inch light racks or do I need to buy better lights with ballasts.

2. Any tips on mixing my salt and H20 together for the first time?

3.What type of substrate or sand would you recoomend.

4. Any other tips for my first saltwater tank and what steps should I be taking in the development and progression of my tank.

 

[Guest]

will this tank be FO or Reef?

 

[Habitat]

fish only maybe a cleaner crew.

 

[SquishyFish]

Check out the first article on www.reef-aquarium.net . It answers alot of questions that most newbies have. Check that out...if you have any questions after that, let us know.

Squishy

 

[loganj]

1. Can I have "live rock" with two of the regular 24 inch light racks or do I need to buy better lights with ballasts.

I doubt you'll be able to keep the LR in decent shape with these lights. For a FOWLR tank this size, I would have at least one 65w PC over it.

2. Any tips on mixing my salt and H20 together for the first time?

You can mix it up in the tank if you want. How much salt depends on the brand...I think IO is 1/2 cup per gallon. After that though, you'll need to have a container to mix it in. It really needs to sit for at least 24 hrs with a powerhead running in it before you use it.

3.What type of substrate or sand would you recoomend.

For this type tank, I like Carib Sea Seaflor Special Grade sand. I would probably go about 1" deep with it assuming you intend to vacuum it when you do water changes. If you want to do a DSB, then you'd need sugar sized aragonite sand. DSB's are the subject of much controversy right now so you'd need to carefully research them before you make a decision.

4. Any other tips for my first saltwater tank and what steps should I be taking in the development and progression of my tank.

Go slow. Patience is the key. Read all you can.