New to salt

[kevin lassonde]

I have a 20 High with nothing in it it has been set up for 3 days but want to wait at least 3 weeks to add anything Would like clowns, shrimp, anenomy and maybe an urchin. The yank has 3 mediun pieces of lava rock and about 2 inches of crushed coral
i have had freshwater fish for 16 years but never saltwater so what anyone would recomend will be of a big help to me

 

[marty]

Before the rest of the others jump in, I will give my 2 cents and thoughts.
First, welcome to the hobby. It is something new for me, but I am learning and enjoying all there is.
Second, saltwater tanks need to cycle before putting less hardy fish in, so be careful of what you buy. A cycle is when ammonia and nitrites peak and fall. After the cycle, your tank can handle more less hardy type fish. Don't just jump in with a whole bunch of things. You will be thowing you money away if you do.
Third, think about your tank and tank needs. What equipment do you have right now. Is crushed coral the best substrate you can afford? Many will suggest dumping it and going with a 4" deep sand bed (dsb). Are you able to purchase any live rock (lr)? If so, again many will suggest 20-30lbs of lr. Both suggestions are good and are benefitial to a tank. If you are planning a reef tank some time down the line, lr is most likely needed.
Fourth suggestion is to read. Buy some books (many will suggest some) and also read here all the questions and answers people have. It might not apply exactly to what you are doing now, but info is always best to know.
hope this helps.

 

[angelgirl]

Welcome to the board, and the wacky world of salt water. First off I would ditch the CC. and replace it with sand preferably live, then I would add some live rock to your lava rock, which in turn eventually will turn all of your rock into live rock. I would then give it a month or so and then I would cycle the tank with dead shrimp. I would then wait another 1-2 months until I started introducing any livestock. In this period while you are waiting start reading everything you can get your hands on.
Just remember to have fun
and practice patience
Good luck
Angelgirl

 

[thewolfman777]

welcome aboard, i joined the bandwagon not too long ago my self. i have learned a tremendous amount of info. here thus far, this is a great site and the members are very helpful and knowlegable. any time i have a question or concern i bring it to these boards. i also have an extensive back ground with fresh water but unfortunetly doesn't help much in the wonderful world of swf.
have you started your cycle yet? stupid question but do you have salt water in the tank yet? what kind of filtration do you already have from your freshwater setup? do you have the proper test kits? also people will steer you in the direction of not having an anemone for quite some time before you become more experienced in the hobby because they are not that easy to keep.
like the others said above, read, read, read. that was my mistake before jumping into the hobby and i wish i would have discovered these boards before i set up my tank.
are you going to cycle with dead shrimp or live fish? most will recommend the dead shrimp method. let us know and give some more info so we can help you better. good luck and welcome!

 

[kevin lassonde]

thatnk you for all of the info i do not have and live rock or sand i was planning on adding both to the tank though. I am running an aquaclear 200 an a powerhead in the tank. the salinity is 1.022 is this good? what is this dead shrimp cycling methoud everyone is talking about i am not farmilliar with it. yes i have a decent test kit as well.

 

[fshhub]

<a href="http://home.gardenet.co.za/landman/Starting%20with%20Marines.htm" target="_blank">read this</a>
that will help with some q's, and bout cyclin and using shrimp, and if you use ls or lr, that will also help you to cycle your tank, just ls will speed your cycle up(maybe even to a week)