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read please lol? so this is my second day reading about reef tanks and im so confuse but i no i want to start a 15-20g reef tank. so i learned a few things but i have some questions.
so the basic equipment i will need is - a 15/20g tank, a heater, a filter, a protein skimmer, a powerhead, a water dechlornator, test kits for ammonia/nitirite,nitirate/ph etcetc, live rock, live sand, a hydrometer, a temperature checker, and good lights
my question is:
1) there are so many freakin filters and different styles im so confused on which one to buy, can u tell me the basics of all the filters there are in a easy way please, and which 1 is best? i been reading many of peoples post on yahoo answers, and i notice many skip having a filter if someone has a protein skimmer why? do u need a filter if u have a protein skimmer? how many filters should a 15-20g reef tank have? can u try to tell me about what types of filters there are in a super easy way and which one is best cause some of these sites i read r so freakin confusing i dunno what they r talking about lol ( #1 is most important question))) ;o
2) okay i read something about a sump and now i really want one but it looks so hard 2 put together and stuff. sumps r used to hide all ur stuff right and make ur main tank on top look cool. like it hides ur heater, skimmer, filter, etc. if i have a sump, do i need a filter on top of my main tank? or i can filter my water with the sump n no need for filter on my main tank. im kinda confuse, if u have a sump do u even need a filter?
3) how exactly do sumps work? from what i see and learned from yt vids. i think that sump takes water from like a tray in ur main tank called like a overflow or something, then it goes down a pipe thingy into the sump, then the first stage of the sump is like dirty water and the protein skimmer takes the water n cleans it, then it drops into a second stage where the water kinda drops into this hole thingy into a third stage where it goes back into the tank lol. how do sumps work exactly? i want one so bad but i think im too dumb to build one etc, like getting the pipes required, and making all the valves etc looks so hard. ._.
4) how many fishes will a 15-20g reef tank hold? i reallyreally want a nemo fish, a dorthy fish, those shrimp ones, and something called a mandarin fish cause it looks so k00l like a weird pokemon or something lol.... i no i want some corals, i want a anemone for my nemo fish to live in but i heard anemones r different from corals cause they move n sting stuff so im scared to get a anemone now, but i read that some nemo fish will host to a coral but its rare im hoping that will happen? cause i might not get a anemone cause they will sting n kill everything
5) changing water question - okay, so i read that u change ur water every 2-3 weeks, u take like 25% out, u can use tap but make sure 2 use decholornator, do u add some salt to ur new water b4 putting it in since ur taking some water out? cause if u take 25% water out every 2-3 weeks and dont add salt in ur new water eventually there will be no salt right??
6) okay sand question - ok i no i wont be using like coral gravel or something cause it looks kinda ugly i wanna use like live sand/white sand stuff it looks cool. when u first buy the live sand/sand how do u clean it? do u just rinse with like water or theres like a special process? later on in the months to come, when my reef tank is set how do u clean ur sand?
wow! i asked so many questions lol i hope someone who knows a thing or two about reef tank though answers id reallyreally aprpeciate it =D i just realize how happy all this reef tank stuff makes me if i get this started ill be reallyreally happy and i think this is gonna be my new hobby. i ordered new beginner books and everything, been reading lots of guides online and watching yt vids ;o anyways thanks so much for reading, and if u have any other advice u can feel free to leave it here. =D
oh yeah, and another question if u can answer.. whats this mean? fuge? whats a 'fuge?' thxx
read please lol? so this is my second day reading about reef tanks and im so confuse but i no i want to start a 15-20g reef tank. so i learned a few things but i have some questions.so the basic equipment i will need is - a 15/20g tank, a heater, a filter, a protein skimmer, a powerhead, a water dechlornator, test kits for ammonia/nitirite,nitirate/ph etcetc, live rock, live sand, a hydrometer, a temperature checker, and good lights
my question is:
1) there are so many freakin filters and different styles im so confused on which one to buy, can u tell me the basics of all the filters there are in a easy way please, and which 1 is best? i been reading many of peoples post on yahoo answers, and i notice many skip having a filter if someone has a protein skimmer why? do u need a filter if u have a protein skimmer? how many filters should a 15-20g reef tank have? can u try to tell me about what types of filters there are in a super easy way and which one is best cause some of these sites i read r so freakin confusing i dunno what they r talking about lol ( #1 is most important question))) ;o
2) okay i read something about a sump and now i really want one but it looks so hard 2 put together and stuff. sumps r used to hide all ur stuff right and make ur main tank on top look cool. like it hides ur heater, skimmer, filter, etc. if i have a sump, do i need a filter on top of my main tank? or i can filter my water with the sump n no need for filter on my main tank. im kinda confuse, if u have a sump do u even need a filter?
3) how exactly do sumps work? from what i see and learned from yt vids. i think that sump takes water from like a tray in ur main tank called like a overflow or something, then it goes down a pipe thingy into the sump, then the first stage of the sump is like dirty water and the protein skimmer takes the water n cleans it, then it drops into a second stage where the water kinda drops into this hole thingy into a third stage where it goes back into the tank lol. how do sumps work exactly? i want one so bad but i think im too dumb to build one etc, like getting the pipes required, and making all the valves etc looks so hard. ._.
4) how many fishes will a 15-20g reef tank hold? i reallyreally want a nemo fish, a dorthy fish, those shrimp ones, and something called a mandarin fish cause it looks so k00l like a weird pokemon or something lol.... i no i want some corals, i want a anemone for my nemo fish to live in but i heard anemones r different from corals cause they move n sting stuff so im scared to get a anemone now, but i read that some nemo fish will host to a coral but its rare im hoping that will happen? cause i might not get a anemone cause they will sting n kill everything
5) changing water question - okay, so i read that u change ur water every 2-3 weeks, u take like 25% out, u can use tap but make sure 2 use decholornator, do u add some salt to ur new water b4 putting it in since ur taking some water out? cause if u take 25% water out every 2-3 weeks and dont add salt in ur new water eventually there will be no salt right??
6) okay sand question - ok i no i wont be using like coral gravel or something cause it looks kinda ugly i wanna use like live sand/white sand stuff it looks cool. when u first buy the live sand/sand how do u clean it? do u just rinse with like water or theres like a special process? later on in the months to come, when my reef tank is set how do u clean ur sand?
wow! i asked so many questions lol i hope someone who knows a thing or two about reef tank though answers id reallyreally aprpeciate it =D i just realize how happy all this reef tank stuff makes me if i get this started ill be reallyreally happy and i think this is gonna be my new hobby. i ordered new beginner books and everything, been reading lots of guides online and watching yt vids ;o anyways thanks so much for reading, and if u have any other advice u can feel free to leave it here. =D
oh yeah, and another question if u can answer.. whats this mean? fuge? whats a 'fuge?' thxx