hey REPLY ASAP PLEASE

[mattsfishin2989]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#hey watsup im new to the hobby and i have a 30 gallon tank i know its not much i got live rock 2 chromies, clown fish , and sea erchin and a cps (the shrimp with red stripes and claws) and i have a standard light with a top fin 30 filter and a water pump i have had the tank for 2 months and everything is working great but i want some live coral wat do i need to do to be able to have them and make it work and do i really need another filter or no thanks for any help you can give me.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Reptoreef]

Please, tell us what you are now doing to maintain your tank. What kind of water do you use? Are you dosing anything? There may be some simple corals you can keep even now.

[mattsfishin2989]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#hey this is mattsfishin i am using ammonia killer liquid stuff and the 20 percent water change every four weeks. im also using a buffer and thats about it.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Guido]

Well, as far as filtraion, I would get rid of the filter (or you could probably keep it in there or use it in a qurantine tank or something) and get a sump/refug. I don't have my tank setup yet so take my information as you will, but my sump/refug was my first priority (just waiting for the idiots who i ordered my glass from to cut it and call me). As far as lighting goes... if you want to go with big stuff, your probably going to need a better lighting. MH lighting seem to be better then average. I'm personally going with a 2x250w MH 2x110VHO canopy. With your tank I'm sure you could get by with 175w MH's. (MH are metal halides by the way). But, if you ever plan on upgrading your tank later on in life, you might want to get some 250's. A couple of powerheads, 1 or 2 would work, and an RO/DI unit would be awesome. The RO/DI unit will make your water much more pure, making the water much safer for corals. If you don't have a skimmer, I would probably get one if i was you. Thats my second priority for my tank. My tank is a 75g and I'm going to probably get the Aqua C EV 120 skimmer. This would work perfect for your tank as its rated for 60-150g, (I'm assuming that they rate that on net volume, so with my 29g sump, my total gallons of water equal to around 104 (give or take a few gallons so as to not overflow sump or tank in case of power outage). If you would like to look at some sumps, or even learn how to build one, heres a good site to do it (i was given this site by someone here on this forum because I was not to sure what exactly a sump was, and after looking at the diagrams and reading it, it's quite simple and seems like the best way to go as far as filtration... IMO) www.melevsreef.com Everything I'm suggesting by the way, are things that I've got/buying/or going to use, as well as many others here use the same/similar equipment. (As far as using sumps, skimmers, powerheads, RO/DI units). Better to spend more now, then spend some, and end up spending more anyways in the long run. At least you got most of everything you need. Your tank is setup and healthy so your off to a way better start then me :) My process is slow going, but I'm hoping my patience pays off. Anyways, i hope this helped you and didnt confuse/scare or anything like that. If there are any questions or other questions you may have (and I'm sure you will, no one knows everything... unless your names dakar or graphixx lol), someone here will be more then willing to help. Good luck and post some pics!! I love seeing what I'm missing out on lol.