29 gallon bio cube

[clown316]

:help: I am fairly new to the whole saltwater fish thing... I just began my aquarium about two weeks ago... i have heated the water to temp., the water is at the specific gravity/salinity, and I have added 20 lbs. of live sand / 25 lbs. of live rock.

Does anyone know how long I have to wait before I can add corals? ( I just added the live rock today)

 

[halo_frk03]

you have to let your tank cycle.... ask lots of questions on these boards and go pick up this book "the conscientious marine aquarist" you can find it at most fish stores or amazon, barnes and noble, or on this website... this is an amazing source of knowledge and many many people would recommend reading this book

 

[grumpygils]

Originally Posted by clown316
:help: I am fairly new to the whole saltwater fish thing... I just began my aquarium about two weeks ago... i have heated the water to temp., the water is at the specific gravity/salinity, and I have added 20 lbs. of live sand / 25 lbs. of live rock.

Does anyone know how long I have to wait before I can add corals? ( I just added the live rock today)

Don't be impatient! Search "cycling" on this site. It will be a minimum of 2-3 weeks for it to cycle. Get a test kit and monitor the cycle. Read, read, read unlike I did. It will save you lots of money and time in the long run!
Mc

 

[clown316]

I got that book for x-mas and I have read nearly half of the book.. mostly the important parts.. and how long do I have to let it cycle... I have been told about a couple weeks or so... and when do i begin testing the water with the test lab that I bought??

 

[clown316]

o... the store wasnt all that specific in the testing instructions... and the test didnt come with instructions.... how should i go about testing the water and which tests should i use??

 

[pete159]

have you considered a hampster?
:hilarious

 

[clown316]

Originally Posted by pete159
have you considered a hampster?
:hilarious
thanks for those words of encouragment

 

[kmc]

If the LFS where you got your set up is worth their salt they will test the water for you and show you how to do it. This is the hardest part. Be patient and do not get in a hurry to add a lot of stuff to the tank at once. Go slow now and it will pay off later.

 

[blueram]

Hi there
Im new to SW too, I just set up my tank couple weeks agd. Try to go slow and take your time to choose the fish you want. Do research and ask a lot of questions to people with more experience.
In my case I didn't have to wait 2 or 3 weeks to add fish because I bought the whole set up from a guy who did not have time to look after his tank and he decided it to sell it to me.
The cycle usually takes 3 to 4 weeks ....do not buy any fish during this time because they will die. Be patient and everything will be ok.
Good luck

 

[kmc]

Oh, and for what it's worth, My kid had a Hampster and tat thing was a bigger pain in the ass than this tank has been.

 

[harial]

I think it really depends on how cured your rock is already. My very first tank only needed to cycle for 4 days with the ammonia spike on the second day because all the rock was from an established system and already cured.
Cycling IMO is really just curing your rock so that any an all dead things on the rock are eaten anyway by the beneficial bacteria and so that there is no excess ammonia and nitrates from the die-off. Frequent water changes help to speed up this process by getting rid of excess nitrates in the water.