Just getting started - have some questions...

[SmallFry]

OK, it all started on Christmas morning. Evidently the Wife had noticed the amount of time I was spending in the LFS looking at saltwater fish, because in my stocking (well not actually in it) was a 25g fish tank with a pump, stand, wet/dry filter and a light hood.

I've been doing some research (on this and a number of other forums) where I have found a wealth of useful information and have formulated a plan. Any comments/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I want to do FOWLR - at least to start with (and the lights aren't powerful enough for coral anyway)...

My main problem is that I know I should have about 30lbs of live rock in there, however live rock is expensive here - and expensive to ship from elsewhere. I was thinking of using a few lbs of live rock and the rest of base rock (I was thinking of carib sea "south seas rock"). The idea being that the live rock will seed the filter and the 'dead' base rock with the necessary bacteria. Will this even work (I've heard rumors that it will but not sure)?

I'm thinking that this would mean it will take longer for the full filtration going, but does anyone have any ideas on how much longer, and what would be the minimum amount of live rock?

I'm not planning on having too much bio load in there and I also plan on getting a protein skimmer before any livestock, I was thinking of:

A couple of skunk cleaner shrimp to go in after the tank has cycled,
A pair of clowns (of some sort) to go in maybe a month or so after the shrimp,
Maybe a "something else" (I had been thinking of a yellow tang, but it looks like I don't have enough space for one).

Suggestions or opinions would be most welcome (I guess that the clowns and the "something else" might have to change order depending on what "something else" is)..

Thanks,
Robin