Quoted" Dont want you to feel that way. But understand too, that if you fail, many of us here feel as though we have failed too, I being one of them! Bottom line is if you ain having fun you aint doing it right. So try not to take it personal if someone gets a little too sensitive on you. Most here want to truely see you succeed and have a good experience.
We love all of it, the entire experience is awesome and great to have a really great guy to share the hobby with. We do want to suceed, but i feel like i do soooo much research leading me one way and then after it's done, i hear a completely different opionion, which has gotten frustrating. At this point, we have stopped adding, we are focusing on keeping the levels right, and getting more live rock, first. I want to get a protein skimmer too but the money isn't here yet 
I didnt see anything in your post that indicated that the tank was "cycled" before being stocked. If thats the case then thats a HUGE mistake, although one thats commonly made. Even if you use live rock, live sand and all that stuff you need to let the tank cycle. This generally will take 4-6 weeks to occur. Using cured Live Rock and Live Sand just merely gives you a bit of a jump start by providing some benefical bacteria to speed things up and make the transition smoother. Its no substitute for cycling a tank.
False info let me to believe that the tank only cycles when you get damsels, so i got clowns instead. The tank is not stocked, we are only getting these for now.
A Canister filter willwork for the purpose that you have intened it for. The trick with a Canister fiolter is cleaning and maintaining it regularly so that it doesnt become a Nitrate factory. Since your not planning at the moment to have Inverts this isnt usually a huge issue and shouldnt pose a problem. Even should you choose to have inverts later down the road its still quiet possible to use this form of filtration although it can have its limits. 60 lbs of Live Sand is a good start. If you have the thickness in substrate that you want then this is fine. I am guessing off my previous experience on tanks this size that you have 2 to 2.25 inches of sand. 20 lbs of Live rock is hardley enough. This is something that you should defintiely address as time and moeny permits. I mean lets face it not all of us have long arms and deep pockets and cost is usually a factor in any SW set up. I would work on this though. If you are using typical run of the mill Fiji Live Rock you will need about 75-80 pounds total. If you are using some high grade premium Live Rock like Marshall Islands then about 60 lbs will fill the bill. It cost more for this premium rock but as you can see you need considerably less of it per a gallon of water. Another option isntead of buying more live rock you could get some sun dried rock for just a couple of bucks a pound and use snail mail for shipping and then add that to the rock you already have. The Live Rock you already have will seed this rock and turn it live in a few weeks and it will be gin to function as a biological filter for you. I am notorious for doing just this. In fact I have a 55 gallon rock tank with a lot of this in it that has been there for several months with some live rock added to seed it for the sole purpose of providing me high quality live rock if I need to set up another tank. This is how I get around the high cost of starting a new tank and find pieces of rock that is just the right size and shape I want for a new tank.
The live rock was in a tank at my favorite LFS, which is one of those family owned places, it was already in a tank and cured and was sitting there getting beautiful, we plan on getting some each week, as the pay checks come in. That seems like a really good idea, it works?? For the canister filter, it has carbon and bio cylinders, should i leave both??
If the tank hasnt been cycled yet please do not add any more live stock. If and when the tank goes into a cycle you will see swings in Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates that will seriously stress them to the limit. They might survive it none the less for wear and tear, but then again you could end up loosing all your live stock in a tank crash. This hobby is not a hard one to break into but it is seriously unforgiving and and can get expensive fast if you do dumb things, accidently or intentionally, it matters not. Dont want to see you posting any "911 threads" here on the forum even if it aint my tank or my money.
I assumed that people have blue damsels, during this time?? so i got clowns instead and that is all, i will only be out $40, i'm ok with that, but when the levels jump, then i can get more live rock??
About the money side of it. This aint a cheap hobby to begin with but it can be a lot more expensive if you dont have a good game plan and stick to it and reframe from buying things that you havent researched thoroughly. I have a saying I am well known for but havent added to my signature yet...
"Sometimes a lack of funds is a blessing in disguise - It forces you to slow down!" Nothing good happens in a SW tank fast.
We have stopped with the most of it and are watching and waiting for the tank to do it's thing, at least after the biggest portion of money spent, we have something to look at.
Just a little bit. Sit back and relax a bit. Get a plan together and research it thoroughly. Figure out where you want to go with your tank down to the Nth degree. It will take you some time, slow you down and allow you to move forward methodically and avoid many of the common pitfalls many new to the hobby experience. There are a gazillion ways to have a great jaw dropping tank, not all of them work for everyone. By researching and asking questions you can garnner a lot of valuable information and minimize set backs. There are lots of piss poor gear out there to waste your money on, there are lots of inapproprate live stock sold in the aquarium trade that you have no business even attempting...even at the advanced aquarist skill level. But they are commonly available in the trade becuase uniformed people who dont know better buy them. We are consumers and they are suppliers, its just as simple as that. Some quick examples are Mandarin Goby fish. They rarely do well in a tank thats not at least 55 gallons plus and well established mature tank with a huge population of Mysis, Gama Shrimp and 'Pods as they have a lot of difficulty in getting them on frozen preps before they starve to death. However LFS sell them like hot cakes just about as fast as they can order them and get them in! Gonioporas! They look stunning and are an interesting coral however they have a dismal survival rate in the aquarium in most circumstances for more than a few months before wasting away. Flame Scallops are another one. These are difficult to feed properly in the home aquarium. They will do well for a few months and again slowly starve to death. The same can be said for most species of StarFish as well. So buyer beware!
I am going to dare to go against the wishes of many here. In all but the most lightly stocked fish tanks, I most highly recommend a Skimmer, especially if your kinda new to the hobby. Do you have to have one? No. But I think more tanks benefit form using one than not. Nano Reefs are one of the few exceptions to this general blanket statement. Unless your tank is plumbed to a sump with a large Refugium stocked with Macro Algae or as the good Dr mentioned an well designed Algae Scrubber adding a Skimmer is a prudent move on your part.
Ther is a lot of Junk out there for skimmers. Buy quality!!! The difference in price is often just a couple of 20's or so in difference between prices. While there are some nice models out there and many new ones I havent tried personally. Two Hang On The Back skimmers I will recommend is the Ramora with a Maxijet or Mag Drive 3 pump, the other one is the CPR BackPak. If you go to a sump then there are a number of much better and more effcient skimmers I can recommend. This unfortunately is a piece of gear where you get what you pay for although price is not always a guarentee of performance.
HTH's you out a bit. Please feel free to ask questions. Looking at the experienced and knowledgable folks we have here you will get a couple of different angles and veiw points and can choose which is best for you and your situation. Still research it just the same despite![/QUOTE]
