# Marine Aquariums > Saltwater Beginner's >  Taken the plunge

## billythefish

Hi all first post so go easy on me. Starting my first ever nano tank and have ordered a Orca Tl 450 and a R/O filter and hope to pick some other stuff up this weekend.
Hope to stock this with
1 yellow tail blue damsel fish
1 green chromis
1yellow watchman gobie
and a cuc
As the tank matures I would like to add a few corals
Which salt do you think would be best ,a normal marine salt or a reef salt
Also would like opinions on buying fish on the internet and recieving them by post, would be great for me,give me a bit more choice, but surely not good for the fish ?

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## Timo

I would spend a little extra and get reef salt, Deltec H20 is good or Red Sea coral pro. 

I buy all my fish from shops and never off the net because I like to see it in the flesh first before it goes in my tank.

Yellow tail blue damsel fish green chromis can be very territorial and aggressive you would be best to add them at the same time once the tanks matured fully.

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## billythefish

Thanks for the info timo,been doing a little research and I think the damsel is out, seems to aggressive, and read that the chromis is a shoaling fish,so they are both probably best left to people with more experience than me.
My first lesson in marine fish, do your research.

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## Timo

Very cheap damsels but can turn into a pain. Invest in some nice live rock full of life.

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## Gary R

Hi and welcome billythefish  :Wink: 

As Timo says start off with a good reef salt, i use Red Sea coral pro as its a good price and its got everythink in it.

After setting your nano tank up with your rocks and water and getting all the setting right IE: salt, temp, ph, and so on, adding a couple of green chromis
 would be ok and help the tanks biological cycle to get going......plus get yourself some good test kits as this will save you money in the long run.....and the best advice we all can give you is take your time.

have a good read at some of our marine setting up posts we have on here, and we are always around to help out  :fishy: 

Regards Gary

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## billythefish

Certainly gonna take my time,don`t expect my tank to arrive for 2 weeks,R/O filter has come though. don`t expect to be ready to add my live rock for at least 2 months
While I`m waiting 4 my tank I`ll be getting my testing kits, hydrometre, salt, ect ect
Just planning to far ahead concerning stocking my tank I suppose, but There`s not many lfs around here, and I want to decide what`s going in my tank before I visit  so I don`t make the big mistake of buying unsuitable fish just because it`s all they have in stock.
I think ,even though it`s a nano, and only suitable for 3 fish,it will take a while to stock it,as once I have decided wich fish would best suit my set-up, I will probably have to wait until they become available locally.

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## lost

Hi mate and welcome you have picked the right place for all your marine needs i can agree with what the guys are saying about the damsel fish i had to take one back it was a right bully but have two yellow tail damsels now and they are not two bad

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## billythefish

Hi guys
Tank arrived on fri, setting it up was pretty simple, even ran the skimmer for twelve hours and had no bubble problems 
dont know whether they have uprated the pump on this model but have ajusted the spray bar got good surface agitation AND ,I think agood flow in the main tank for my live rock, Ive got a Korilia nano as well but dont think I`ll need it, but we`ll see how it goes
At first when I turned it on the back chambers over flowed, but I removed the rubber plug from the hole by the spray bar and that sorted it,I`ll need to cover this with mesh or modify the plug to allow water to flow through but keep my stock from ending up the pump chamber.
Pump is a bit noisy,but this this because I have removed the ceramic noodles and balls,the pump usually sits on these and at the moment is kinda hanging there vibrating against the side of the chamber,when I get my live rock rubble for this chamber I`ll be able to seat it properly 
Had trouble getting temp right, set heater for 26 on fri, by sat it was 28.I checked the heater ,and the brackets that hold it ,if you clip it in as you are meant to, leaves about 3 cm out of the water, so I clipped it in and and after I had removed the ceramic balls was able to push it further down,Now getting constant readings of 26, even ran the lights for 10 hours today and it`s still 26
So all in all it`s looking good, I have put some Agralive caribsea sand in and am going to a lfs on sun to look for my live rock

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## Timo

Korilia nano's are great in small set-ups i would use it straight away from the start. Good flow rates are essential to get the best out of the surface area of your live rock  :Big Grin:

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## lost

Sounds good mate keep us informed as to how you get on

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## Gary R

Its good to hear that it is coming too........once you have added your live rock, you will need to start doing water tests every day as you will have to do a nitrogen cycle so you will have to test for ammonia, nitrites and nitrate.

Did you use RO water as well this is a most as in the long run it will save you money when adding corals.

Regards Gary

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## billythefish

Sorry forgot to mention,I brought an ro filter before I got my tank,£48.00 with 2 spare cartridges,it`s pretty slow but ok for a nano,borrowed a TDS and tested the water,and it`s reading 0, so it works,
When I filled the tank I also put in some live sand [agralive caribsea fuji pink]  left it for 4 days then tested for PH-8.2
I also tested for ammonia,nitrate,and nitrite,just in case the livesand had started a cycle, all read 0, but I didn`t really expect the sand to start the cycle.
Not many lfs around here so ,although I`d hope to, I might not get my liverock this weekend,and I might have to order it off the net.

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