Originally Posted by bradisfun

ok so i'm not doing the 2.5g but i'am doing a 20g as my first SW as think it will be easyer than a 2.5 and i can will have more fish opitonsso here is wot i have thought of

(chek)1)20g
2)DIY LED lights(planed just wating on funds)
3) ? kg live rock(got it in a buckit. it was free from a friend
4) ? kg live sand
(chek)5)heter(100w)
6)eletric thermometer
7)SW master test kit
8)refractometer
9)marine salt(4kg) =$7
10)2.5g sump
11)FLUVAL U3(will be used as return pump

live stock
-fish
1)2 orange ocellaris(clown fish) =$19each
2)clean up crew (10 snails and 10 hermits)=$30
-corals
1)beginers frag pack (it something that my LFS does it's were u tell them your requerments and they put to gether a pack of 4 sutable coals)=$37
possiably BTA later on ??
probaly 3 sexy shrimp later on

need sugestons on what test kits to get and what cemicals i will need

cheers, brad

and ithe prices are wot i can get them for so u have nothing to disagree with

Originally Posted by Naeusu

Hello there!!

Uh, I don't think a 2.5 gallon sump exists, and if it does i can't imagine that it would actually do any good. For a tank that small you could always use a hang on back filter with a hang on back refugium, or I would suggest buying a slightly larger refugium at 10 gallons...the more water available the better i say.

I didn't know you could do LEDs yourself...

As for the live rock, make sure it's good live rock and doesn't have any nasty hitchhikers. I doubt that the live rock will stay live for long without a filtration system or food source for the bacteria on/in them. (i'm not sure on that, still learning myself)

If you want a shallow sand bed (less then 2 inches) then i think the conversion is about a pound of sand per gallon of water, so about 20 pounds? (a little over 9kg)

If you're just doing fish only with live rock then a sw master test kit will be fine, if you want to do corals you'll need a reef master kit. i don't recommend doing corals until you've had more experience with saltwater (it's a very tricky hobby)...

LIVE STOCK ISSUES

The minimum tank size needed for ONE clownfish starts out recommended as a 30 gallon, your 20 gallon may be too small for one let alone two and the possible anemone you might want to put in there.

Watch out which snails and which hermits you put in the tank. Some of them will eat or knock your corals around (i've had personal bad experience with this). If you want corals the better bet is to stick with stuff like shrimp, nassarius snails, and certain sea stars... i would recommend emerald crabs but my two have been devastating my corraline algae growth and i've watched a larger one eat a hard coral.

as for chemicals-->

Reef master test kit
Iodine supplement (for the shrimp)
Calcium supplements (if your salt doesn't have any already added)
Purple up (to quicken your algae growth, altho i don't know how it interacts with calcium as i think they both contain them)
Phosban (or some other similar phosphate remover if you don't have Chaeto set up somewhere)

Equipment suggested-->

RO unit (if you don't already have one, buying the water becomes a pain in the butt)
Protein skimmer


hope this was helpful.

Originally Posted by locoyo386

Hi there, sounds like a good start. The test kit that I most hear everone referering is salifert. I use API but I don't keep corals. As far as what you need to test for; Ammonia, Nitrites (both initially, an than only if something feels out of wack), Nitrates, Phosphates, Calcium, Magnesium, Alkalinity, Hardness and pH. I might have missed some, but I don't keep corals. Hopefully someone that does will let you know.

As far as the clean up crew, in my opinion they might still be alot and not really neccessary, but not completely sure.

Are you planning on using the 2.5 to house a skimmer (if you use one, which you might with the corals and all)? If not than maybe you could use it for a refugium or a turf filter.

Originally Posted by pepetj

I have a DIY sump made out of a 6gal tank.

If you do your homework you could use the 2.5gal as refugium. Say you place a deep sand bed there that displaces 1gal of water. You place 4lbs of live rock, easy to keep macro algae, add a 6,700K compact fluorescent (those that use the same socket as incandescent bulbs but need somewhat frequent replacement in aquarium use). All you need is the right pump and overflow and you are ready to go.

Personally I don't see why not trying it.

As for what to test I believe the minimum we need is: Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, KH, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphates, and of course Specific Gravity/Salinity. If you use RO water, a TDS meter should come handy.

I love having clean up crews. Most of the time their bioload is negligible if your tank is adequately set.

My advice here is be patient and cycle your tank carefully. It should take a month or so. During this time, make yourself familiar with SW keeping. I decided to go SW by August 2nd (this year). I put things together so I started fishless cycling with ammonia solution by August 23rd. The tank was cycled 34 days later (September 27th). I introduced coral fragments and inverts until I finally got my pair of Clownfish (September 21st, yesterday).

Best of luck with your project.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

Originally Posted by bradisfun

sorry but what is TDS
also iv read up on RO but what are the advantages of it
allright thanks

Originally Posted by bradisfun

here is a link to my shoping list any ieda's(it not all on there cos some test kits arnt in stoke.and the prices are austrailan so yeah)
any thoughts
just about to take pics of rock

Originally Posted by bradisfun

i put the list in