Am I ready for marine plants, live rocks, etc?

[Nick48]

Hi Im almost done with my cycle on the new sw tank. What steps can I take to make my salt water tank a healthy environment for live plants, rocks, and other invertibrates (spelling?) I understand I need a special light for them and they are very particular to ph levels and nitrite/nitrate levels. I plan to get clownfish with an anemone, a couple of tangs and eventually sea horse. Can someone give me specific numbers(for ph etc). Also, are my choices in fish compatible with one another along with the anemone? Thanks!

 

[abdhalim2]

your water parameter pls....ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,pH and other reading that u can test for....

thanx....

 

[iDream]

for an anemone you'll need a tank thats been stable for over a year, which yours is not, added they need strong lighting, and dont live long in home aquariums.

clownfish and tangs are fine, as long as you have a tank atleast 6' long for the tangs

seahorses are a completely different beast and need a species tank usually with no corals or anemones because they can and will stind and kill the seahorses. added they need colder water and VERY light flow

 

[melosu58]

If your tank is the 20 gallon in your "My tans" section then you can not have any tangs let anone a couple. They need a much bigger and longer tank. You say your cycle is over, you need to do a good size maybe 40% PWC to help dilute excessive nutrients in the tank. Seahorses IME need a species only tank.

 

[0o.Kelsey.o0]

It sounds like you haven't added any live rock? If you haven't yet then getting some will cause the tank to cycle again. Unless you plan on getting cycled live rock from somewhere? What exactly do you have in the tank at the moment?

 

[Soundtrigger]

You don't need to have a tank up for year to have a anemone but if your not experienced in or with the reef tank you should wait better start with some damsels. also talk to people on this and other forums talk to people at your LFS cause this hobby isn't cheap buying stuff just to die is not fun when I started nearly 20 yrs ago i made a lot of mistakes the stuff that's out today just wasn't around then I lost a lot of money you got some pretty smart guys on here that mostly know what their talking about LOL I'm joking these cats know what their talking about I like this site good stuff good people

 

[mr_X]

don't cycle the tank with damsels, and don't add damsels unless you really, really, love them. they are quite aggressive, especially in small tanks. pound for pound, meaner than sharks!

 

[melosu58]

I also echo Mr X. Dont cycle your tank with damsels. Read our article on SW cycling and you`ll see why. Do it the humane way.

 

[cmor1701d]

Seriously, if this is for the 20 gallon listed in your My Tanks, forget everything but the clown. Clown fish do NOT need an anemone, so leave those in the ocean.

You really do need to read the articles about fish less cycling, etc.

Look at online sites that sell fish and heed the minimum tank size for the smallest tank size mentioned between sites. I like the stats on LiveAquaria.com for what a particular species requires.