New Aquarium... help with rock?

[Derek C]

Hi! I’m going to be setting up a 10 gallon marine tank (not reef) with two clownfish. I have a couple of questions and I would really appreciate if anyone could help me out

1. I’m gettjng live sand and dry rock. Can I just scrub and clean off debris from the rock in the shower and just put it in the tank? Or is it absolutely necessary to put it in a bucket?

2. Do I need a wavemaker? If so, how many gallons per hour? I have an aqua clear 30, is that enough flow for it? Also, do I use the bio cubes and carbon and sponge while the tank is cycling?

3. Is two clownfish a good amount of fish? When would I add them? Should I get them at the same time?

Thank you guys for taking the time for answering my questions

 

[Coralreefer1]

Welcome to R2R first of all!!

Now on to your questions...
Just give your rock a good soaking to remove dust and other contaminants.
You don’t need a wavemaker, especially with the small tank you are going to have. Just have sufficient flow to all areas of your tank by not using a laminar flow.
Throw out the bio balls and use pieces of live rock for your biological filtration. Don’t use the carbon while cycling.
One Clown is ideal, two if they are a pair, 3 or more if you are trying to pair up Clowns. However, having said this, once they pair up the other Clownfish will need to be removed due to territoriality and aggression.
Add them after the tank cycles and at the same time to reduce aggression.
Good luck

 

[Oscaror]

Hi! I’m going to be setting up a 10 gallon marine tank (not reef) with two clownfish. I have a couple of questions and I would really appreciate if anyone could help me out

1. I’m gettjng live sand and dry rock. Can I just scrub and clean off debris from the rock in the shower and just put it in the tank? Or is it absolutely necessary to put it in a bucket?

2. Do I need a wavemaker? If so, how many gallons per hour? I have an aqua clear 30, is that enough flow for it? Also, do I use the bio cubes and carbon and sponge while the tank is cycling?

3. Is two clownfish a good amount of fish? When would I add them? Should I get them at the same time?

Thank you guys for taking the time for answering my questions

1. Curing dry rock prevents ammonia spikes caused by the decomposition of the organic matter still present in the rock. You don't really need to do this since your goal is an ammonia spike, but I'd stil lsuggest rinsing it.

2. I doubt that the aqua clear 30 is enough flow simply because it only pours water in one area. You don't need a wavemaker though, just maybe set up a powerhead rated for nano tanks to add flow to the rest of the tank. It's not a reef so you don't need excessive flow, no need for a wavemaker.

3. Two clownfish is a common pairing and perfectly fine, however you want them to be a mater pair. You may not know this since you're new (Welcome to R2R!) but clownfish can change their gender. The more dominant alpha becomes the female and grows in size while the male stops growing. To make it more likely that they'll pair up you can get two clowns of varying sizes (or you can get them pre-paired). They should be added at the same time to prevent aggression.

 

[JasonK84]

Just soak the dry rock to get all the fine powder off of it so your tank doesn't stay cloudy.

Not necessary to have a "wave maker" but a power head to give some flow is good. Just a small one for a 10 gallon. 250gph. Your aqua clear 30 is enough. Yes, all filter media will need to be in place while cycling.

2 clownfish will be fine while small but will need more room (30 gallon).

 

[Crazeh]

I don't think this has been picked up yet but I'd personally use RODI water to clean or soak your dry rocks rather than tap if you can help it, or, at least finish up with a good RODI soak. Given the porous nature of the rock it will help keep tap water out of your tank.