so here is my deal, i started with six damsels, a snowflake eel, six pounds live rock, and a forty pound bag of sea salt, tap water, atleast ten pounds of dried shells from kawaihae, hawaii, and some patience. the eel lasted three years, and was an amazing, intelligent creature. he would eat squid and krill from my fingers. he was so small when i got him, and when "pui" died, he was 20 inches long, half an inch in diameter, after almost three years. great animal to have, for starters, imo. i didnt want to, but was "given" for a birthday present an australian rock hermit. spotted legs, w/ blue dots. damn thing grubbed everything. except my eel, and "lunch," the smallest blue/yellowtail damsel ever. weird how nature is. sold that damn thing back to my lfs, and went thru my m/b books, and let the tank do its thing, only adding 20 lbs. more live sand, and 45 lbs. more live rock from tonga and fiji. i chilled out on my tank for two years w/ an eel, and three damsels.
now, i have completely changed to cycled h2o from my lfs, called catalina h2o. i now am the proud parent of 3 active blue damsels, 1 voracious yellow tang, 1 timid zebra damsel, 1 shy domino damsel, 1 classy coral beauty, 1 rambunctious tomato clown, 1 12" spongebob orangetree, 2 serpent stars, 1 brittle star, 5 peppermint shrimp, soon to be alot, 2 coral-banded shrimp, 3 emerald crabs, 1 orange anemone crab, 40 narcissus and turbo snails, 1 lettuce nudibranch, really cool btw, 1 neon goby, and probably 40-60 redlegged, bluelegged, and hawaiian zebra hermits. my tank i scored from an old school 80's guy i worked with, and its a 70 gallon sea clear, with a sump underneath the stand, running thru bio balls, micro fiber, charcoal bag, wave action protein skimmer, and two pwoer heads, rio 2100 and rio 80. i moved houses, and when i did, it set off the most amazing reaction in my tank. everything motteled, bloomed, reproduced, or tried to, and ate like crazy. nothing has gotten sick, or died. my marine biology professor explained that the ocean is a symbiotic relationship, like a clown and anemone, and that a reef is a oasis in a lifeless desert. i tried to keep everything symbiotic to the rest, or hoped nature would take its course. i would like to get a 300 gl tank, as that my next goal is a shark. but never in this tank. very quiet, very low maintenence, water changes every three months, let everything help each other. i love my obsession. and less face it, it really can get to be. i have spent 350 on the tank, the pumps, the skimmer, the sump, even the heater. just lucky for once. all of these have been in the tank from 6 months ---> a year.
the only thing i can really say, is be patient, patient, patient. one day it will be totally worth it.