1st tank, first question

Finally getting round to starting my first marine tank after years of wanting one and a lot of time spent researching and saving...

getting a 27g tank in a few weeks and being recommended to get 20kg of live rock, this sounds like a lot but is this too much or about right? its going to be a minireef tank with soft corals and clownfish.

looks better to ask here than anywhere

cheers guys

 

20kgs seems like a lot. I like to add about 0.5kgs per gallon, but of course it depends on how dense the rock is. I would start about 12kgs and go from there. You don't want the tank too crowded. Go with what looks good.

 

If you are just keeping a few clown fish, you won't really need that much rock. I would suggest 12 to 15 kg.

It also depends on how much free swimming space you want and what size pieces of LR you get.

 

place them in such a way that it becomes easy for you to remove any dead snails or fish etc. coz if they get stuck in a place that you cant reach, you might have to remove all the dam rocks and even for catching. i wanted to remove a damsel from a 18gal tank and it took me n hour, then finally had to remove all the rocks, then catch.

 

Thanks for the advice guy, great forum this. Because its my first tank thought clownfish and soft corals might be a good place to start. Will want to add to that eventually no doubt when I get the basics down. Any advice will be greatly appreciated

 

Yep its a great place to start- I did the same. The big thing is to just take things slowly and keep up the research (you're off to a good start). That is really the biggest thing for success.

Also, there are a bunch of great threads for getting a tank set-up that I suggest you read, if you haven't already. They are sticky'ed at the top of the New to the Hobby Forum. They have a lot of great information.

Also, before you buy your equipment know exactly what you want to get. Most LFS (local fish stores) will try to upsell you on stuff that you really don't need.

 

One other piece of advice is that you may want to check Craigslist before buying new. Some people don't like the idea of used equipment, but there is often full set-ups for less than 1/2 of what you would pay new.

 

Yeah I've had a good read of the sticky threads all good stuff. Like you say I'm just going to take it slowly I'm in no rush just want a good looking well working tank eventually

 

For the kind of tank im looking at is it ok to use tap water or is RO highly recomended? just being reading up on it didnt realise how much of a difference it can make

 

Use RO, RODI, or distilled water. Never use tap water! It will cause you many problems down the road.