Complete saltwater noob

[The_Desacrator]

Hey guys I am a complete noob to saltwater fish. My dad had a saltwater deck yars ag, before my parents got divorced. The tank I have is a 60gal. If my questions seem silly, keep in mind I don’t have a clue.

Questions
1. What is live rock?

2. can I use a regular freshwater filter?

3. do I need an r/o unit?

4.what king of substrate?? I am guessing sand. Give me a link/explain which brands are good?

5. how long should I cycle? is the freshwater cycle any different to the saltwater one? Can i use freshwater cycle in saltwater?

6. what brand of salt?

7. how to distribute the tank. Do I need fertilizers or special food for anenomies?

8. is it ok to feed live fish to the lionfish?

9. do i need a special heater?

10. Any kinds of chemicals that i need?

Can these guys get along together in the same tank?
2 clown fish
1 lionfish
A shrimp of some kind
Anenomies
eel

 

[Keysman]

Hi live rock is base rock that has been seeded with live rock which has alga growth over it
It has a few functions
1 works as a filter for your marine tank
2 also a food source for some breads of fish and inverts
3 looks good
4 something for your corals to attach to
5 provides shelter for some species

 

[Keysman]

What lion fish are you after ? Because some of the bigger ones will eat the clowns and the shrimp your eel will also eat the shrimp I've got a 55g with a valitine puffer a coral beauty and a snow flake eel got a zebra lion fish on hold at the lfs ( waiting for him to eat frozen food) I would not feed your lion live feeder fish as it can kill them (not good for their liver can also give them lock jaw)
A 300 watt aqua 1 heater would be a good heater mine is fine
I would stay away from useing to many chemical be paitent your whole tank could crash if you use to many chemicals

 

[Flake]

1) Live rock is rock that is covered with the beneficial bacteria you will need for your tank.

2) You can provided it's big enough. It will need quite a bit of cleaning to make sure you don't see a build up of nitrates or any other element.

3) An RO/DI is recommended, as tap water will put in a large amount of algae causing elements into your tank.
Tap Water in the Saltwater Reef

4) I typically use aragonite sand in my tanks. You can find it in many different brands and varying grades from course to fine.

5) The same basic cycling principles will apply however it is a different type of bacteria than freashwater. You cannot seed a saltwater tank with fw bacteria. However, the same basic methods to cycle will work.
Cycle your salt tank

6) That's the big question. everyone has a brand they favor. You can try a few and find the one that works best for you. You could always give instant ocean a try.

7) The anemone will need a VERY high amount of lighting. We'll talk more about that nem in a moment.

8) It would be easier on you in the long run if you get a lion eating frozen foods. I've used live food to get lion to eat until we can get them eating frozen foods.

9) You don't need a special heater, just one that will keep the tank around 76-78

10) You shouldn't need to add anything really.

11) In my opinion your stocking won't work together. Over time that lionfish and the eel will eat the shrimp and nemo. I would go with either the aggressive fish or begin looking into a smaller, happier fish to go with the clowns and the nem.

As far as the nem goes, they typically need a very established tank with a large amount of lighting. That would be something to strive for in the future. Clowns do not need an anemone to be happy, nor is there any guarantee they will host it.

Hopefully that answered your questions.

 

[Henry405]

Just adding onto some of flake's answers:

2. If the filter is new, yes. I use two Hang on the back filters. If it came off of a FW tank, wash it thoroughly and use new filter pads

3. You can buy DI water from the supermarket. It just depends if you feel buying DI water or making DI water is better for you. I only need 10g of SW for the two tanks I have right now so I don't want to spend the extra money yet.

4. I would go to the live fish store and look at the sands so choose which one you like. There is aragonite sand and Live Sand. Aragonite sand is basically sand made for aquariums. It has calcium in stuff in it which is good for SW.

Live sand is suppose to be the same thing as live rock but sand ( bacteria and stuff to keep your tank good). Many people are skeptical about this because of the chances that bacteria can stay alive in a sealed bag for months on the shelf. I used it but regretted it because it came with a bunch of small pieces of shells which kinda makes the sand look dirty. IMO, I think aragonite works best

 

[The_Desacrator]

Thanks guys.

Can someone link me to a good ro/di unit?

Can puffers go with the eel and the lionfish?

Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums says that this guy needs like 120. Is this legit or are they exaggerating? This one grows only an inch shorter and needs a tank thats 50 gallons smaller.

Do puffers really need 125 gallons and up?

Any suggestions for this stocking list?
Stocking list:
Snowflake Eel
Lionfish

 

[carey]

I purchased this one. it can hook up to your garden house or your sink faucet.

0PPM Portable 100GPD Reverse Osmosis RO+DI Water Filter | eBay

 

[The_Desacrator]

Can you explain how the ro/di unit works? do i need it running always or cna i just bring it out when doing water changes? I don't have an open sink to dedicate to the unit.

 

[carey]

I store mine in a closet until I need to make water. It makes about 5g an hour. Mine attaches to my garden hose so I just bring my jugs onto my back porch.

If you get the faucet adapter you can just use it when you want and store it when not in use.

 

[Keysman]

As I asked before what kind of lion fish are you after?
I've got a puffer, snow flake eel , coral beauty and got a zebra lion on hold at my lfs

 

[The_Desacrator]

I am not sure. I know they just got one and it was lamed "dwarf lionfish" and was about 2-3 inches long. Normally they have "black lionfish" and red "lionfish." I'd probably pick like the "black lionfish"

 

[Keysman]

With your tank size you could get away with a med size lion fish. The one you seen a your lfs was most likely a fuzzy dwarf . If I was you I would go the zebra dwarf the are a bit hardy then the rest of the med size lions. The black( Volitans lion, turkey fish) and red(Radiated lion, Clearfin lion) and the Russell lion fish would all be to big for your tank here is a link for more info.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-11/fm/feature/

 

[Keysman]

Here is another
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+36
Check out the saddle valitine puffer too