live rock and sand questions

[cskillet]

I have just put water in my new 16 gallon tank and am a little confused about what needs to be done so in a month from now I will be ready to put fish and an anemone or two in my tank.

If I were to put a handful of live sand in my tank right now would it be able to kickstart my nonlive sand that I'm using in a months time... would it be alright to place an anemone on one live rock which is surrounded with nonlive rocks and just wait until it spreads to put more anemones in or do I need to wait until I have ALL live sand and ALL live rocks before I can put my fish and anemone in?

I'm just thinking about the price of all of these live things. I was planning on spending about 200 bucks on the tank total... but that was before I found our that this is an expensive hobby! Thanks a lot.

Chris

[miztahphong2]

yes if you put live sand with dead sand it will become live eventually over time. about your anenome. do you have enough lighting? has your tank cycled? how long has the tank been set up?

[jdallred]

I assume that your sand (non-live) is already in your tank. If this is the case than yes putting a handful of LS (live sand) will jump start your sand bed. If you have not put your non-live sand in the tank wait until you do before you add the LS.

Next, I would put LR (live rock) into the tank. If you want to save money you can decide to use a base rock (cheaper than LR) for the majority of your rock work and jump start it with a few pieces of LR. While this will save money it will delay the natural filtrating properties of LR (LR is a natural filter and can be used as the major filtering agent in your system).

At this time you need to start testing for Ammonia, Nitrites, and finally Nitrates. This testing will help you to know when your tank has cycled and ready to add fish. If you are unsure what cycling means please do a search and read up on it. After the tank has cycled and you have added your first fish you need to wait at least a couple of weeks before you add the second (and IMO what should be your last fish) fish to the system. A 16 gallon should, IMO, have no more than two fish in it. After the last fish has been added you should wait, at a minimum, three months before even considering the addition of an anemone. (I would not suggest that a beginning reefer try to keep an anemone until they have researched and have at least a little experience under their belt.) While you are waiting for the tank to cycle you need to be doing research on the animals you would like to keep to make sure you understand their needs and you feel that you can not only keep them alive but can provide an environment where they can thrive.

[cskillet]

Yes, the tank is starting the cycle... I put the water in about 3 days ago and have started testing it every 2 days. I don't have lighting yet cause I don't have anything in the tank. Does the depth of the tank have an impact on what lighting system you buy? Mine is about 18 inches deep and 20 inches across [and 10 inches deep] Any ideas for what lighting would be the best for my tank... I think when the time comes I'll get a clownfish to start out with. And eventually another clownfish and then an anemone.

Is it alright to get something that will help clean up like a crab or snail?

I'm not sure what class sea anemones fall into but is there a limit to how many of those class and coral you can put in your tank?

Chris