30 gallon salt water fish tank questions/build

[Odanhammer]

So i've had a 10 gallon salt water tank for about 5-6 months now , it currently has about 15 pounds of LR , 2 clownfish , a brittle starfish , 3 hermit crabs , 3 snails. fighting conch , cleaner shrimp
Corals - mushroom , 2 ployps , frogspawn , xenia .
Tank has been doing fine.
However i purchased a 30 gallon hexagon tank yesturday and am planning to upgrade.

So far it has salt water , themo and a powerhead in it (hydor 24 i believe)
Just mixing the salt up for a day , then plan on getting some sand , and once the sand has settled move my existing 10 gallon tank over to the 30, and then shutting down the 10.

Questions come down to
1)Lighting , i'll be using the lid from my 10 gallon which has two 50/50 blubs in it , i know its underpowered for the tank , and i will need something better.
Any recommendations?
2)Filter, would using just live rock be ok ? or should i be looking for something else? I really don't want to spend ALOT of money , and a sump is out as i do not have the space
3)Protein skimmer , should i be getting one? and is there a decent one for a 30 gallon tank?
4)Live Stock , from what i currently have , i was hoping to get a snowflake eel , however i also do not want to put anything in the tank that will eat the clownfish.
Was looking at having a total of 5 fish in the tank (including the eel if its possible)
Would like a grouper but i understand it becomming to big and eating my smaller fishies.
5)Anything else i should be aware of , any constructive critism?

Apprecaite the time

 

[Bifferwine]

For a hex tank, you will most likely want a hanging pendant light. It is hard to find lights on legs that match the length of the sides of the tank. Check out the MH pendants at fish need it;lights; food;Sponge. The 150 watt MH pendant would be perfect for your tank.

For filtration, I would stick with water changes and live rock. Equipment will take up space in a tank (and hex tanks are already cramped), and for a small tank like that, you can keep your water parameters good by just keeping up with weekly water changes. So I would skip a protein skimmer.

Any grouper is way too big for that tank. They need HUGE tanks (hundreds of gallons). 5 small/medium fish should be fine in it -- but that is the max stocking limit. I would be hesitant to add the eel. They sometimes won't eat animals that are already in the tank when they are added, but that's not a guarantee.

 

[blando]

+1 to Sarah :) Filters can be expensive and as long got ur power head thats moving the water the live rock will do the filtering and like she said do weekly water changes. Just wondering if your using sand or crushed coral?

 

[Odanhammer]

Using sand , added it in about 15 minutes ago
Going to move the mass of my 10 gallon tank over to the 30 gallon tommorrow , as the they shouldn't be any real amount of cycle from just moving live rock across the room.
Think i'll see if i can find a small snowflake eel , i know it will grow but figure if i get it small and feed it enough it will not have any reason to go eating the other fish in the tank.
Althought once i really start looking at what fish to get i might just scrap the eel all together.

 

[Odanhammer]

also what about a canister filter? i found one rated for 100 gallons for 100 bucks at petsmart. Or this a bad idea?

 

[blando]

I think.it.is possible could start cycle little cycle.

 

[blando]

I think canisters cause issues like nitrates and all..I ggot a sump well I built my own. It works great.

 

[Bifferwine]

Pass on the canister filter. They generally are not useful in saltwater tanks and can even worsen water quality. As I said originally, I wouldn't use any filter or skimmer. Just rock and water changes.