Hey after looking after my friends marines i have now got my own marine tank, Its been set up for nearly 2 months,Its 100 litres, My friend seeded the live rock for me and what ever else he had to do with it and a couple of days ago ive added that, everything going perfect so today i brought my first coral, also got 2 baby ones, 4 snails and a red spot blenny, I was just wondering do i have to keep my coral lighting on during the nite? This is my first marine tank so dont wanna mess it up lol, Also i heard my live rock could be used as my filter is this a good idea or shud i still keep my proper filter in there? its a fluval 3 but im thinking of buyin a external one =]

Hi X, welcome to the world of reef keeping. In answer to your questions no you don't need to be lighting through the night - corals would not receive light 24hrs a day in their natural environment so they aren't going to need it in captivity (remember you're trying to create as close to a natural environment as your able using artificial means).

As for your second question, yes live rock does perform biological filtration when properly cycled so with sufficient rock present (i think the recommendation is in the region of 1kg to 9L so you would require at least 11kg but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong) then you will not require biological filter media and infact will find that it simply competes with your live rock and creates unwanted nitrate.

Quick question, did you fully cycle your tank and ensure water parameters were correct before adding fish and inverts?

hi thank u for advice =] in anser to your question yep i did fully cycle the tank, i have a 600 litre tropical tank so i know the basics but this is my first marine,ive always wanted a marine but didnt want 2 rush into it without knowin the basics lol =]

Using the LR for filtration is called the 'Berlin Method' , worth reading up on if you are thinking of going that way. Click on the link below.

I use the Berlin method on my tank , and use my external filter to just run carbon in.

BERLIN METHOD

What are your levels at the moment ? What test kits are you using ?