The dwarf fuzzy lion fish does require at the minimum 50 gallons+ I don't know about the eel but I'm sure a quick google search would help.
No to help you and try and answer your other questions.
Space etc is an issue. Go with the bio cube 29 and there stand. It's a nice set stand and all. Yes there are 2 types. The BC29 with compact fluorescents and the BC29 with HQI.
Here I linked them both.
http://www.oceanicsystems.com/products/biocube.php
http://www.oceanicsystems.com/products/biocube-hqi.php
The difference is the lighting. Both IMO will offer you heat issues. I have the BC29 and it had the compacts in it and it was in November and I was hitting 82+ degrees!! I would highly recommend an LED upgrade if you can afford it. Plus it depends on what type of corals you want to keep there are members that are way more qualified to talk about corals. But I can say if you want corals like open brains, monti caps, acroporas etc your need better lighting for sure. Here is a link to help with corals and it will tell you what they need as far as lighting and flow etc.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=597+1492+2292
I find it helpful to link things that I mention so you can look into things further so I hope you don't mind.
There are corals you can keep under stock lighting so it's not really needed it all depends on what your goal is lol and as I type my tank is having a lighting storm lol kinda bugged me out since its raining outside. Ok back on track.
You can keep mushrooms, leathers I believe but don't plan on a nem or clams with stock lighting. Your not gonna want a nem for at least a year anyway. They need a well established tank.
I think you asked about live rock and sand? I've done a lot of research when I started and ask 1,001 questions. Live rock will help with your cycle and also help with filtration. So it's good to have as much live rock as you can. By that I don't mean stuff as much live rock as you can into the tank. Obviously add what you can afford and if need be add base rock. I used all cured live rock, it cost me upwards of 200 dollars I think. I used 30lbs of live rock and 35 pounds of live sand. Do you need live sand? Some say no, others say yes. I researched as much as I could.
I attached an article I found about live rock and live sand. Not saying its right or wrong just something your gonna want to look into. Some say save money. I went for broke and I firmly believe my tank is doing so well now is because of what I used as a base from the start and my maintenance schedule.
Starting your cycle then doing upgrades won't impede on your cycle. That's how I did it. I added water first. Then about a week later some rock. Then another week I had all my rock, I had to wait for money. Then after about three weeks I added 35lbs of live sand. In the meantime I was doing little upgrades like taking all the bio balls out, cutting the tab between chamber 1&2, I ordered the inTank media rack and the Tunze 9002 skimmer if you order that skimmer make sure to order there upgraded cup or the rear door won't close. The stock skimmer cup is higher and round it won't fit. Some say you don't need a skimmer of you always keep up on your water changes. I'm religious with my water changes 5 gallons every week. But I still opted for the skimmer. You don't need a UV light IMO so save your cash.
Let's see... Power heads, your gonna want flow no matter what. How much flow? That also depends on what you wanna stock your tank with. I would say to you this. Upgrade the stock pump to the MJ1200 they have it on the inTank website it's just under a different name. Same one I have. Makes a world of difference IMO and get one power head. I like the Koralia's so I got the 425 power head. I have 2 but you may be happy with one. I have 2 hooked up to the Hydor wave maker. A wave maker isn't at all necessary in the bio cube 29 but I like gadgets and I like having it, it alternates every hour and I like the feed mode. Hit a switch and it shuts them down so you can feed.
I think that's it here. If you have anymore questions don't hesitate to ask. Again I'm still new also and a lot of what I wrote was stuff passed down to me from members here, by reading books, reading online and watching ALOT of YouTube videos.
Here is the article I found interesting about live rock and sand.
There is actually great debate surrounding sand and substrate choices-- live sand included. You can find a wonderful article discussing the merits of various sand bed types here: Great Substrate Debate.
So… What is live sand and what does it do? “Live sand” is a loosely used term to describe fine, usually aragonite based sand that has been previously colonized by bacteria. In many instances, if sand is purchased from a reputable dealer or is collected from a well established tank, live sand will have many worms, shrimp, crabs, starfish, and a variety of other micro and macro-fauna. I recently tore down a tank and discovered thousands of beautiful sand dwelling feather duster worms. It was a veritable forest!
Live sand and sand beds have a variety of functions in the reef aquarium. Live sand works much like live rock in terms of biological filtration, but in different ways. For instance, the most basic function of live sand is to provide the necessary bacteria and surface area to break down wastes that other forms of filtration may miss. The surface of the sand bed supplements aerobic biological filtration, facilitating the breakdown of ammonia to nitrite, and nitrite to nitrate. Sand beds that are adequately deep have been known to develop anerobic pockets that allow bacteria to break down stubborn nitrates into inert nitrogen gas. These anaerobic pockets have a slightly lower pH than the rest of the water column. As a result, it is believed that in those pockets, small amounts of the aragonite sand is dissolved, providing a minor source of calcium, alkalinity, and trace element supplementation to the tank.
Live sand, like live rock, hosts a wide variety fauna and micro-fauna. This contributes to the biodiversity within the reef tank and provides another way to process waste. Bristle worms, spaghetti worms and brittle stars are common hitchhikers that help to consume dead and decaying matter. And many small crustaceans and hitchhiking gastropods contribute to consuming film and filamentous algae from the sand bed and rocks. An active live sand bed is continually turned over by the multitude of small animals, working through the detritus and carrion that accumulates on the sand surface.
In addition to filtration, an active live sand bed is usually home to a variety of copepods, isopods, decapods and so on. These tiny crustaceans become a natural food source for planktavores and filter feeders in the aquarium.
So…Do you need to buy live sand? The short answer is no. If you are setting up a reef tank for the first time and are making your initial purchases, buying high quality, uncured live rock, such as Tonga Lalo, or Fiji rock, can help contribute a great deal to the biodiversity of dead/dry sand. Dry sand is soon colonized by a variety of animals hitchhiking from the live rock turning it relatively “live.”
If you have an already established tank, and wish to increase the biological diversity in your sand bed, a cup or so of sand from an established reef tank can help seed your existing, sterile sand. Organisms present from the established reef tank will proliferate and colonize the sand bed; your entire sand bed is soon “live."
Why purchase live sand? Live sand, like live rock, helps to provide an initial biological “kick start.” High quality live sand comes teeming with microscopic life. If starting with all dry sand, you may never have the initial seed to develop the kind of bio-activity and diversity found in a mature live sand bed. It is an important consideration when setting up your new tank. Like high quality live rock, high quality live sand is priceless.
So how do you purchase live sand? Live sand comes in a variety of forms. A lot of live sand is sold in prepackaged, superoxygenated, wet bags. Carib-Sea’s Arag-Alive product is a wonderful innovation in live sand distribution. Each prepackaged bag comes teeming with microbial life, despite being sealed in, and comes with an expiration date to assure you that your stock is fresh and viable. Though teeming with microbial life, prepackaged, wet livesand is generally devoid of micro and macrofauna like pods and worms.
Other live sand is sold in moist boxes. This live sand is collected directly from the ocean on a reef-side reserve of sand. Like live rock, it is directly imported from Fiji. As this sand is collected on the reef, it comes teeming with micro and macrofauna. But, like live rock, live sand that is shipped moist and not completely submersed in saltwater experiences some die off and must be added to a new tank or cured in the same fashion as live rock. If possible, this is one of the best routes of adding live sand to the aquarium, as it adds microfauna that may not be present in live rock, contributing further to the biodiversity of the sand bed.
So when considering the substrate in your next tank, consider live sand and all of its merits. It is a wonderful investment that helps ensure the health and diversity of your reef aquarium. A sand bed teeming with life is both beneficial and beautiful. Sometimes the smallest organisms make the largest impact on your reef aquarium.
