Newbie Questions

[shirasagi]

Hello everyone! I'm looking to get my first tank of opae ula started. I'm currently in the equipment gathering and research stage, just trying to get my first tank together and get it cycling for the next few weeks. I've never kept a fish tank before so I'm starting from scratch here, but I want to be sure I'm doing things correctly to save myself from complications down the road. I've already carefully read the opae ula information page here and several pages of the forum. I still have a few questions:

1) I have a small tank and crushed shells substrate (purchased from a pet store for this purpose). I want to clean or sterilize the tank and substrate before assembling my tank and adding the brackish water. What's the best way to do this? Do I need to use distilled water to clean and soak the substrate? I saw that I should not use any kind of soap, so I will definitely avoid that.

2) What is the recommended brand of fish food for feeding? I've seen people mention a "high quality" brand, but being new to this I have no idea what is considered high quality!

3) If I buy or find some dead coral to place inside the tank, what is the best way of cleaning it to ensure that it will not cause ammonia spikes or other imbalances?

4) Do you absolutely need to have a light? I plan to keep my tank on my desk which receives a lot of natural, indirect sunlight throughout the day. I would prefer not to have one, but maybe it's more important in the winter?

5) Any other tips or tricks for a total newbie? I'd appreciate any insider information not already listed on the info page here!

Thanks for your time!

[KenCotigirl]

Shira here is my two cents.

1. New tank and new substrate. Just a warm water rinse.
2. Fish food. Any named brand. Smallest size available. $2 size
3. Coral. Rinse and brush.
4. Light not needed. Indirect is fine.
5. Longer time to let tank mature (cycle) never hurts. 6-8 weeks or at least till you see algae/biofilm growing. Also a few snails and a small bunch of macro algae after about four weeks. Then order shrimp after snails settle in. Say two weeks. Add that up. 6-8 weeks. Ammonia and a nitrite test. Should shrimp die parameters are always asked.

Hope that helps.
Ken