Do i have to have the full 20 pounds of live sand in my 20 gallon saltwater tank?

Question

20 lbs of live sand is a lot of money so i was wondering if i can get the 5 pound bag for my tank? and does petco sell individual live rocks? also what do i feed polyps? and when can i place them in the tank? also how do i secure the polyps to the live rock? or do they just float around until it finds a nice spot?

same with anenome? i was htinking of getting a clown fish and was wondering what kind of anenome is good for clowns and will it kill the polyps? how do i make sure this doesnt happen? also what do i feed the anenome? how to feed it and when and how much? also how big do anenomes get? it wont take over the whole tank right?? lol and do anenomes get along with scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp?

thansk soooooooooooooooooo MUCH!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

A 20 gallon should cost you $700 to fully set up.

You can't cut corners in salt water as the fish are 5 times more expensive and 10 times more sensitive to ammonia in the water.

What your asking is the same as me saying is it ok if i keep you in a cardboard box with no toilet. Does that sound nice?

Live sand eats ammonia as well as the live rock.

Research some more before doing anything as you clearly don't have a clue what your getting into.

Saltwater works opposite from freshwater. Saltwater begginers should start with big tanks like 65 gallons and work there way down as they get experience as the smaller the tank the bigger the challenge to keep everything alive and balanced.

Freshwater you start small and work your way up.....

I just don't want you to spend alot of money and be miserable because thats the road your heading down right now.

good luck!!!

Answer 2

You will need more than 5 lbs. of sand for a 20 gallon tank. I would get the five lbs of live sand and then mix it in the water with a similar looking sand, from then, it will be only a matter of time before all of the sand is live. Adding live rock will also benefit the sand and make it even more diverse as the organisms found in the rocks make their may into the sand and inhabit it.

Keeping polyps,corals and anemone's takes a great deal of dedication and patience to keep healthy. You must be willing to spend a lot of money on special lights,protein skimmer and checking the water parameters to make sure everything is alright.

Since you are beginning I would recommend you jump into the hobby slow. Start off with a your 20 gallon with a few pieces of live rock and sand, then add a few fish. Once you see things are going good, you may want to add a polyps, secured with a rubber band as high up on your rocks as you can for they can get a lot of light.

Answer 3

Wowowowowow! Hold it there and take some time for LOTS of resaerch! Luckily for you I have the website that will give you all the answers you need with tons of helpful people to help you. The forum is nano reef and the web address is www.nano-reef.com. Create an account, its really easy, then post your questions in the forums. My username is Begin2117 and some very dignified other usernames that you can certainly trust would be like, kraylen, mr. fosi, weetie, dahlia, and alot of others. you can expect up to 15 replies to a question per hour in beginers disccusion lol. Good Luck!!! Hope to see you there!

Answer 4

Sounds like someone didn't do all the necessary research before jumping in with both feet.  You should have a 2 inch sand bed, that would be a bag of the carribsea live sand.  and second if you think the sand is expensive you have just gotten started.  Live rock you can buy at most places that sell saltwater fish, you need 1.5 pounds per gallon, your tank must be cycled and matured for at least 3 months before adding any kind of coral.  you do not secure the polyps you set them where they will stay and where the fish will not knock them over, polyps are not like anemones, they cannot get up and walk around.  If you really want to look they make an epoxie to "glue them down" For them to live you have to have the right lighting and that is a different conversation on its own and they have to have Iodine and other trace Elements.   An anemone feeds from sunlight but also eats meats like silver sides.  They are sensitive to water conditions and lighting.  All clowns will not host an anemone but they fair best with a LTA or BTA they get various sizes mine now is 12'' in diameter if you get a carpet anemone it could take over the tank.  I think you need to take about 20 paces backwards and do some research before you start a delicate Eco- system, it is no cheap endeavor, save your investment and read.  Clowns minimum gallon is 30 gallons, there are few fish you can keep in a 20 gallon, a few gobies, firefish, a few wrasse, that is about it.