Any help u can give me?

[saltwatertank]

hey everyone i'm new here,
I just purchased a 55 gallon tank from a friend and they gave me their old gravel (crushed coral is what i think they called it) so I used it and now the tank is kinda murky... is this normal? Will it clear up on it's own in a few days? I bought "instant ocean" salt and added it as the directions said...
The lady @ the fish store told me I had to wait a week for the water to cure and then only put one fish in the tank for a month, and if he survives then i have a good tank, and i can slowly start adding in the fish i want...
If u have ANY INFORMATION/TIPS for me please please do so! I would greatly appreciate it! I am so new to this so anything u have to offer me will help!!! Like what kinda fish I should get and what kind I can mix, what do they eat, what kinda corals i can get... the tank is a 55 gallon and the filter is called "penguin 330 bio wheel" If that helps any...
Thank u all in advanced!

 

[sebae0]

crushed coral is okay but not recomended as much any more, also make sure you get a ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kit so you can test the water.
secondly, you don't have to cycle the tank with a live fish you can use a piece of cocktail shrimp(uncooked) to start the process of decay so bacteria will accumulate to break down the waste.
and lastly welcome to the board and good luck, try doing a search on cycling a tank and you will get all kinds of info to help.

 

[ross]

WELCOME TO THE BOARD!
First of all i would really think about taking out the crushed coral, and adding sand. Crushed coral will not allow for the best water quality. You will constantly have to vacum it out.
After you get the tank up and running for a couple days with the salt and everything, i would get some live rock. It is basically just very porous rock with lots of microrganisms that are beneficial to your tank.
To cycle your tank i would just using a raw shrimp from the grocery store. It is cheaper than a damsel and you won't be killing a fish. You need to monitor you ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels(you will need a test kit). Do a search for "cycle" and you will get tons of info all about it.
As for fish, i would recomend clownfish, royal gramma, and firefish. There are really alot of cool fish just go to your lfs and look at them to see which ones you like. Then come back here and ask about them.
For corals you will need special light. A reef tank is alot different than fish only. You will need to do tons of research and read everything you can.
Just do your reasearch and please realize the your fish store is not always right. They will sell you things just to make money. If i was you i would buy a good book and read the whole thing. You will also probably need a powerhead for extra circulation.
Good Luck!

 

[saltwatertank]

Thanks for all your help guys, I appreciate it Just one more question... So I just leave the shrimp in there till it desolves? Sorry for my ignorance...

 

[trigger_d]

yah

 

[harlequinnut]

Just leave the shrimp in there and check the ammonia daily or every other day. Once you get the ammonia to spiked you can take out the shrimp and let the tank cycle checking the nitrite and nitrate regularly. All this should take 3 to 5 weeks. then do a partial water change and you should be good to go.