Hi Everyone, just Starting Out:)

[Trigger Man]

Hi Krista,
welcome to Canreef,
as mentioned before a cover is useful if you plan on buying fish known to jump. I use a glass cover on my tank more so that I don't get as much salt creep on my light reflectors.
For cleaning the sand bed you are still cycling so you should be good for a while. You can stir it up a little here and there and if a lot of gunk piles up you can suck that out. Right now as you cycle you do not have to have your lights running, so this should reduce the chance of unwanted algae blooming.
As for cleaning filter material you would clean it the same as you did in your freshwater changes. If possible I would recommend a sump if you can tie one in as filter systems tend to get nitrate/nitrite problems later on if not diligently maintained.
Enjoy your new adventure into reef keeping, and ask away whenever you have a question. There are many great people on here with plenty of knowledge that they are willing to share.

Originally Posted by mumster

Hello, I am new to reefing and I`m so excited. I have been reading and following along on the forums for several months now. Thank you for all the covert advice. I have some simple questions:
1. do i need a tank cover, I`d rather not if possible.
2. when do i do any cleaning of the sand , tank is one week old.
3. do i clean the filter material in the same manner as for a freshwater tank, by rinsing it in the water taken out when cleaning and doing a water change. ( sorry there are no question marks, my keyboard is being stupid and i havn`t figured out how to change it back).

I will do a more complete indepth post about my tank and what I have, but I have to run out for a while. Thanks for all your help. Krista