I Have A Salty Taste In My Mouth...

[FLcracker94]

Saltwater fish are more picky so you have to be careful in chosing fish.
You need to make sure that the readings are...
Nitrite:0
Ammonia:0
Nitrate: as close to 0 as you can get
Calcium: 400-450, 420 is the ocean's usual calcium level
PH: 8.0-8.5
Alk: I'm not entirely sure, usualy my dad tests that.
Salinity: 1.023-1.025

In a FOWLR people often keep the salinity lower to cheapen the salt bill (an SG of 1.020 to 1022 is oft used). Also, salinity is usually quoted as being 35 ppt, it is Specific Gravity which is aimed for 1.025-1.026.

Furthermore, if just keeping fish then nitrates are not that important. You will find most lfs have their nitrates between 20 and 80 in their fish stock tanks. The only research I have seen shows 100ppm to be the upper lower limit of any long or short term damage to marine fish.

0 nitrates are a fine goal, but not very important until you are into the world of touchy inverts. Similarly, Alk and calcium are only needed in reef tanks. Fish don't care about those values.

Make sure the tank acclimates for 4-8weeks. And please, dont use a Damsel for acclimation, thats just cruel.

"Acclimate for 4-8 weeks"? Acclimate for what? If you are curing with LR you just throw the rock in and await all the levels to hit zero and start stocking. This ca be as little as 2-3 weeks. Leaving a tank a further 6 weeks without a food source is just letting benficial organisms die.

I call cycleing acclimation sometimes. sorry about the mixup.

 

[fishwatcher]

Since I plan to keep mainly fish with just a few snails and crabs, how deep of a sand bed will I need?
Also, do I need to start off with a skimmer, or is that something I can add a few weeks later right before I add fish?
If I go with a couple of pieces of live rock and then some kind of other rock, will I need any other decor for it to like nice and natural?
Thanks for all the help!!

 

[SkiFletch]

If you're just keeping fish and cleanup crew, don't bother with a skimmer on a 30g. Really only necessary with messy predators and reef tanks.

Sand, just 1" deep should be fine, prolly somewhere between 10-20lbs for most 30g tanks.

And as for the decor, you're the one that looks at it everyday, you tell us

 

[fishwatcher]

No skimmer? Cool... I'm that much closer already!
How large of a powerhead do I need? The filter turns the water over about 2x an hour. Is it 10x or more that I should be aiming for?
I guess I'm wondering what else there is that I can safely add (other than more live rock, since it's about $7 a lb. here). I know there are other rocks, but what kind should I get that will eventually turn to live rock? I really want to add just enough to give some texture to the tank, but not enough to detract from the fish, if that makes sense.

 

[SkiFletch]

Get "Base Rock" or "Reef Bones" as they will eventually colonize into LR. The idea is to concentrate on rocks that are white calcium carbonate rocks with lots of little holes in them.

Flowrate should be 10-20x for a FOWLR, 20-30x for a basic reef, and 30-100x for hard corals

 

[fishwatcher]

Is that the same as ocean rock? Would lace rock work, too?
Thanks!