Just starting out

[mikefish12]

alright i read posts for about two hours and i have a bunch of questions, before i go to my LFS and buy stuff. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
- i already have a small 5 gallon tank that i used for freshwater fish, can i use it for saltwater fish? like is the filtering compatable?
-is a 20 gallon tank big enough for 5 - 10 small fish?
-what is the difference in lighting and why does everyone make it seem so important, i dun get it?
-what do protein skimmers do, and how hard are the DIY plans,a nd is it worth the work?
-any other pointers on just starting out would be awesome.
thanks,
mike

 

[snipe]

- i already have a small 5 gallon tank that i used for freshwater fish, can i use it for saltwater fish? like is the filtering compatable?
(You can but it will be very hard to keep it stable. A 55 gallon is recomended for beginners.(
-is a 20 gallon tank big enough for 5 - 10 small fish?
("NO" 1" of adult fish per 5 gallons" mabey 3 fish)
-what is the difference in lighting and why does everyone make it seem so important, i dun get it?
(If you have corals you need better lights to help feed them. If you are going fish only then reguler flourecent will work. If you want an anemone then you will need 6 watts per gallon of pc or 8 watts per gallon of vho)
-what do protein skimmers do, and how hard are the DIY plans,a nd is it worth the work?
(No dont make one it would be cheaper to buy a good one and just do it that way. I would suggest a prizim or a something els.)
-any other pointers on just starting out would be awesome.
(Take it super slow if you rush things in this hobby stuff will die and you will get tired of it and stop doing the hobby)

 

[mikefish12]

Snipe your my hero. thanks for the info. does live rock need the same light as coral?
any tips from anyone else will deff help me and other noobs like me.

 

[snipe]

Live rock really isnt alive as in like eating moving and such. It has bacteria and such on that is alive. And no it dont need any special lighting. I can tell you I have gotten all of this info from many ppl lol.

 

[alohami]

No, live rock can be kept with any lighting. A lot of people who have FO (fish only) or FOWLR (fish only with live rock) just use standard lighting. You only need stronger lighting if you want to keep corals, anemones or clams.

 

[alohami]

Snipe...you just beat me. Didn't mean to basically say the same thing as you, but your post wasn't there when I was typing mine!

 

[snipe]

No need to apologize it is good to get multiple replies and multiple awnsers.