few questions

1. How often do you have to clean a 20 gallon or a 30 gallon aquarium?

2. Do all clownfish turn black?

3. If not, which clownfish stay orange?

4. how long until the tank will be ready for a bubble tip?

5. Do i need a bubbler for a saltwater tank?

 

1. How often do you have to clean a 20 gallon or a 30 gallon aquarium? most people do weekly maitenence. scraping algae, emptying skimmer, water change etc. this doesn't really change with tank size

2. Do all clownfish turn black? not quite sure how to answer this except with a no :

3. If not, which clownfish stay orange? i assume we are talking about perculas(nemo). the black ones are a genetic mutation, they are born black. also worth more money

4. how long until the tank will be ready for a bubble tip? i would wait a year before attempting a anemone they are some of the most challenging animals to keep in the hobby.

5. Do i need a bubbler for a saltwater tank? i think you mean a protein skimmer, no but it is worth the investment for a good one. I would liken it to having a car, do you need one no but it sure makes traveling easier

edit: well the black&white percs are born pretty black lol.

 

Clean? Never, 10% WC/week

no but there are black clownfish.

true and false perc's, cinnamon perc's, some of the others.

Generally about a year though a 20-30 is a bit small. You might have to wait a little bit longer. You can however get clown's earlier!

Aah I see you come from fresh water, welcome!

I'd recommend using a "nano" or integrated tank as one of your first tanks. They're a little pricey, though not bad compared to buying the components separately. Red Sea MAX130D | New from Red Sea Is a great tank from one of the 3reef sponsors (though I'd recommend it anyway as the 250 has me drooling)

The construction and use of a reef tank is a bit of a different process than FW. For one you've got a lot more biological stuff in the tank. Sand and rock both hold bacteria. Lots of people consider reef tanks "harder". I would agree that the initial setup is orders of magnitude harder than FW, however long term care can be easier as once the biological agents are developed in your tank to sustain the food chain they're there for good. You just test, feed, and change water occasionally.

The end result is worth it, especially when you progress to corals.

 

Nemo was an Ocellaris! False Perc's Represent!;D

 

1) depends on how large of a bioload (how much waste enters the tank via livestock and ammount of feeding) you have as well as the filtration you have to deal with the bioload. So there is no cut and dry answer to that. However at least once or twice a month would be good as well as minor stuff like cleaning the glass when needed.

2) no only the black ones are black

3) A. Percula, A. Oscellaris, A. Clarkii, are a few of the common ones that are orange with white stripes and a little bit of black. (although some of these also have a black coloration) So, if you buy a clownfish and it is orange it will always be orange and visa versa for the blacks

4) once you are fully cycled at the least... and have the lighting system that is strong enough to support the anemone (T5HO, or metal halides would be the best and most popular used to sustain photosynthetic animals)

5) i never use one... nor do i find them anyway necessary or beneficial for any aquarium be it freshwater or saltwater. as far as i am concerned they are useful for nothing more than aesthetics.