Welcome to the forums bigperm. Finding this site was one of the most useful things you could have done to ensure your success in this hobby. We don't have the numbers of people that the other site has, but IMO the people here are more knowledgable, more helpful, and much more friendly. To start out, I will say that the method in which you set up your first tank is far from normal, and in most circumstances it leads to disaster. However, it looks like the LFS set you up with quality rock, sand, and water and it is very obvious that the owner of the store stands behind his products 100%. I believe you will be successful, but make sure you are aware that this is far from normal and do not try to set up future tanks this way. My biggest concern was with your clam, but if the LFS owner is that certain it will survive then you must have the aquapod with the metal halide bulb. If this is true, then you should be fine. I would place the clam up somewhere in the upper half of the tank on some stable rock, though, and not in the sand bed. As far as testing goes, if you are fine with taking water to the LFS all the time then that is fine. But it is better to have the essential test kits on hand in case of emergency, and also to become more familiar with how reef tanks work and to become less dependant on the LFS. I am glad to see you took the initiative and purchased a few kits. The next purchase you should consider would be a refractometer like lawdawg suggested. This is a very important tool that not enough reef keepers use. It is important to always know what your salinity is. Even though you are buying the SW premixed from the store, adding sw + sw = different salinity unless the two sources of sw are exactly the same. Also, water evaporates from the tank every day. Salt does not. As your water level goes down, your salinity increases, and you need to top off the tank with FRESH water. Knowing the salinity will tell you how much freshwater you need to add. During water changes it is very important to use new water with the same salinity as your tank water. Also when you purchase live stock and bring it home, knowing the salinity of the bag water vs. your tank water helps you determine how long you need to acclimate for. Plastic hydrometers are very unreliable, and if you cannot possibly afford a refractometer (but judging from your purchases you can) then at least get a good quality glass hydrometer. Okay, i'm off my salinity rant. What's next...
Feeding - the girl you talked to is wrong. Pretty much wrong by a complete 180 degrees. A reef tank is a closed system, and a delicate balance of nutrients (input) and filtration (output). If you feed too much, the filtration can't handle it and the nutrients build up. Not only does this cause algae outbreaks, it can actually crash your system and kill fish, corals, and other inverts. What you should be shooting for is feeding just enough for your fish to eat in 3-5 minutes, twice a day. Feed small amounts at a time, ensuring 95% of the food gets eaten while still in the water column. What you don't want is piles of food on the sand and in the corners of the tank, as your gut instinct was telling you. For the frozen food follow the instructions lawdawg provided to limit phosphate. I wouldn't feed any liquid coral or invert food. None of those corals really need it. If you feel more comfortable doing so, feed very sparingly and only twice a week. Despite what alvin wrote, that clam does not need supplemental feeding. Only baby clams (less than 2" long) require feeding and from the pics your clam looks bigger than this. You mention having an anemone but I don't see that listed on your original post. What kind is it? It may be moving around trying to find ideal light and current. Let it choose its own spot. If it looks like it can't find a good spot you might need to place it higher up (to get more light) or rearrange the current. You should feed the anemone 2-3 times a week. Something like silversides or whole shrimp with the shell on is good. Do not force feed it, but hold the food near its tentacles and try to get it to pull it in on its own. Since the tank is new and the anemone is stressed it might not feed. Just keep trying once every couple days until it will. Again, do not force it.
Do you have any current pics? In your original pics your corals were not opened all the way, and your newer pics are too out of focus to tell. I would like to see how they are doing. Anyway, I hope this helps. I believe you will be successful as you seem to have a good gut feeling of what is right or wrong, and your lfs owner will stand behind his products and advice. I would recommend getting another book or two to help you understand the biological processes that go on in our tanks. Knowing these (bio filtration, nitrogen cycle, relationship between ca and alk) will make everything a little easier, as you gain an understanding of why everything is happening. I like Natural Reef Aquariums by John Tullock, and there are other great recommendations if you do a search for books on this forum. Also check out advanced aquarist online magazine (there is a link at the top of the page) and the library here (link also at top of page). BTW I love your fish, especially the helfrichi, I don't think you understand how great of a deal you got. That is pretty much the creme de la creme of nano fishes and the vast majority of people can't find or afford one. I would advise against adding any other fish into that tank for a long time, and even then only one or two small ones. Anyway, good luck, welcome, and post any other questions you have.
