new to site - 55g FO tank

[pez payaso]

Hello all,
I purchased a 55g tank in February 2012, i added aragonite sand and salt the following month, i have been adding ornaments and what not ever since. today i purchased 2 "tank raised" clown fish. needless to say i am taking things as slow as i can.
I heard many times I NEEDED live rock, about 50lbs. but i also heard it was not NEEDED as long as i had the aragonite sand it would work. I wanted nice things to look at and didn't think live rock would give me the visual i wanted. Please don't jump on me too hard about beneficial bacteria it provides. I was told with aragonite sand everything would run smoothly. but i am in no way an expert.
what do yal think?
i would love to hear your opinions on the live rock. maybe you can look at the pics of my tank and decide if Ive set myself up for disaster or not thanks in advance.

 

[xcali1985]

You can have a tank without live rock. My friend has one with only plants and artificial decorations.
Sand holds some bacteria, however, the flow of water through the sand limits its filtration capabilities.
If you don't like the look of live rock, consider a sump. You can put all the live rock down there and filter it below. Take the Mirage Casino in Las Vegas. There is no rock in the display it is all in a sump in the back area.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Xcali1985 http:///t/393063/new-to-site-55g-fo-tank#post_3493917
You can have a tank without live rock. My friend has one with only plants and artificial decorations.
Sand holds some bacteria, however, the flow of water through the sand limits its filtration capabilities.
If you don't like the look of live rock, consider a sump. You can put all the live rock down there and filter it below. Take the Mirage Casino in Las Vegas. There is no rock in the display it is all in a sump in the back area.
Hi, welcome to the site!
Post some pictures...I would love to look at what you decided to go with if you didn't care for the live rock look.
The fake decor holds bacteria as well, and the tiny critters make a home in it too. I use a combo of live rock and fake decore...I didn't care much for the pile of rock look either. However some folks can make a pile of rock look awesome, I love Slices and Novahobbies tanks just to name a few. So done right a pile of rock can look pretty good indeed.
Here is what I decided to do in my tanks.
My 90g...these pieces are 24 inches each..so they are huge.

My 56g column tank...here I used cake columns and a resin Roman coliseum

 

[pez payaso]

thanks for the advice xcali,
i considered a sump, but i dont plan too get to crazy with my tank anytime soon. im taking my time and seeing where i go from there. i would love to do a reef tank. but only time will tell.
i bought 2 clown fish yesterday and today found myself in a panic to see one of them having a seizure. of course im sure you know as NOW i know, they were pairing. so im just taking it day by day and enjoying every bit of it.
do you think i should be fine for the time being so long as i continue this route?
i do plan to buy a canister filter (fluval 306) as i start adding more fish. but shouldnt be anytime soon.
and yes the mirage has a beautiful aquarium, i stayed there this past summer for my birthday

 

[pez payaso]

your tanks are great flower! mucho kudos.
yes, Ive seen great live rock tanks. but price wise and considering this would be in my living room i wanted something nicer to look at.
this is my 55g FO tank
it's a little random, but the three large pieces were freebies so i figured id use em.
BTW do you like the pavilion

10" led moon light. can you see my clown in the center? he really liked the light

here's my 2 clowns, they seem to favor the Greek coliseum side

In your honest opinion, what do you think?

 

[pez payaso]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Xcali1985 http:///t/393063/new-to-site-55g-fo-tank#post_3493917
You can have a tank without live rock. My friend has one with only plants and artificial decorations.
Sand holds some bacteria, however, the flow of water through the sand limits its filtration capabilities.
If you don't like the look of live rock, consider a sump. You can put all the live rock down there and filter it below. Take the Mirage Casino in Las Vegas. There is no rock in the display it is all in a sump in the back area.
did your friend use artificial plants or live plants?

 

[xcali1985]

Artificial. However, I don't see why you can't grow macro algae in your tank. Some of them look quite nice. If you have an open top mangroves may work for you. Shaving bushes look nice.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pez Payaso http:///t/393063/new-to-site-55g-fo-tank#post_3494061
your tanks are great flower! mucho kudos.
yes, Ive seen great live rock tanks. but price wise and considering this would be in my living room i wanted something nicer to look at.
this is my 55g FO tank
it's a little random, but the three large pieces were freebies so i figured id use em.
BTW do you like the pavilion

10" led moon light. can you see my clown in the center? he really liked the light

here's my 2 clowns, they seem to favor the Greek coliseum side

In your honest opinion, what do you think?
LOl...LOL...That looks so familiar! To be perfectly honest, I love everything but the fake plants. You can replace those plants with Caulerpa prolifera. It isn't like a planted FW tank, but it looks so much like turtle grass, and it will help keep your tank water pristine when you harvest...(remove the overgrowth) When you harvest macroalgae (prolifera in this example) you actually remove nitrates and phosphates from the system.
Fake plants will only collect slime algae, and look ugly. The fake decor will act just like live rock and hold bacteria, and house the tiny pods (since you don't have live rock at all, you will have to seed the tank with pods...they feed on diatoms and fish waste keeping the tank clean (a needed addition and the reason for live rock). You will also later need a CUC (clean up crew) of snails and maybe a serpent sea star or two to help keep that pavilion and coliseum looking good.

 

[pez payaso]

Thanks for the advice, i'm gonna look into live plants, something I wanted to do just wasn't sure what route to go.
do u think it would have a negative affect on water to throw in plants now, with 2 clown fish in tank?
Also, what exactly to doyou mean, "seed with pods" is that a product I add? If you could send, me a link so I can research it more I would truly appreciate it.
Thank you so much for your responses, i'm doing this completely alone and appreciate your help. I know no one with aquariums.. All my family, friends, Co-workers are only useful to tell me if something looks cool or not :/ i'm definitely willing to do the research just need a push in the right direction. Thanks again!