Brat
Delta Sigma Theta
You need to remember that the invertebrate will need space too and will produce waste as well so you don't want to overload your tank which can be easily done. Yeah the tiny Nassarius Snais may be small but you don't know how big their appetite is until they are in your tank, so it's best to start off with like 2 or 3 and see how those keep up with the algae.
When you add live sand typically your tank doesn't cycle. If you want something cheaper than live sand aragonite sand or oolite sand. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+7321&pcatid=7321
You can then get a cup a live sand from an established reef tank or from your LFS or your buy a live sand "seed" mix http://ipsf.com/ and do it that way. You will save money.
Cycling your tank is when you add live rock to your tank. Live rock is basically remains of old reefs that contain a diverse amount of organisms on them. You can always buy half live and half "dead"rock"and allow it to become seeded by the live rock. Live rock will contain lots of living and dead things. When you receive live rock it goes through a dieback process. Typically if your tank is brand new with nothing in it but live sand people will use live rock as a way of cycling their tank, by putting the rock in their and keeping the lights off during the cycling process. You will need to use a soft brush to scrub the rocks to remove dead debris from the rock almost daily. You also need to do water changes constantly because everything will basically spike. Once parameters have become stable some people will again do another 10%-20% water change and test again to make sure amnonia and nitrites are 0 and that nitrates are close to zero or better yet at 0.
It's totally worth it once you get through the initial process and setup. I'm personally trying my hardest to avoid a nano tank because I want a bigger tank, but I may get a nano tank to tide me over until I'm able to get my big tank.
When you add live sand typically your tank doesn't cycle. If you want something cheaper than live sand aragonite sand or oolite sand. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+7321&pcatid=7321
You can then get a cup a live sand from an established reef tank or from your LFS or your buy a live sand "seed" mix http://ipsf.com/ and do it that way. You will save money.
Cycling your tank is when you add live rock to your tank. Live rock is basically remains of old reefs that contain a diverse amount of organisms on them. You can always buy half live and half "dead"rock"and allow it to become seeded by the live rock. Live rock will contain lots of living and dead things. When you receive live rock it goes through a dieback process. Typically if your tank is brand new with nothing in it but live sand people will use live rock as a way of cycling their tank, by putting the rock in their and keeping the lights off during the cycling process. You will need to use a soft brush to scrub the rocks to remove dead debris from the rock almost daily. You also need to do water changes constantly because everything will basically spike. Once parameters have become stable some people will again do another 10%-20% water change and test again to make sure amnonia and nitrites are 0 and that nitrates are close to zero or better yet at 0.
It's totally worth it once you get through the initial process and setup. I'm personally trying my hardest to avoid a nano tank because I want a bigger tank, but I may get a nano tank to tide me over until I'm able to get my big tank.
