Brand new to SW, a few questions

trailer

trailer

Member
Hello all, I am brand new to this hobby and have kept some freshwater fish before but never any marine. I collected all of the info I could before jumping into it and thought i did a pretty good job but now i am slightly confused. I have also spend countless hours on here tryong to find a solution to my prob but no posts had a concrete answer for my problem. Here are my tank stats:
55 gal glass
aquaclear 70 power filter
had a fluval 304 until it broke (that thing is a POS)
maxijet 900 powerhead (235 GPH)
.05-1 mm Caribsea aragonite sand bed (1.5 - 2" deep)
~ 10 lbs of LR
2 50/50 bulbs, 20 W each
I got my tank set and clear (after a change from CC) with the proper salinity and SG. I knew it was then time to aquire my LR so i drove on down to the local fish store (this is before i knew about this site mind you) and picked up 10 lbs of cured LR. I know it is fully cured becasue it has been there for 3-4 weeks and has coralline algea all over it (i think i am the only SW hobbyist in the area!!). Anyway, I broght it home and set it in my tank 3 days ago as I was informed by LFS guy that it will help cycle the tank faster.
Here is my question: Do I still need to add a shrimp or some sort of food to develop beneficial bacteria or will this harm the current LR? Will it speed up the cycling process? Also my levels seem skewed. as of 11PM last night they were:
Temp: 79
PH: 8.0 (norm)
Ammonia: between .25 and .5
Nitrite: .25
Nitrate: between 80 and 150
I thought during cycle ammonia spike, then nitrite, then nitrate. all seems to be spiking at the same time? I understnad patience is key but i just want to make sure i am doing things right. thanks for reading this disertation and the help.
 
tim_12

tim_12

Member
For adequate bio filtration, you're going to need 50 - 100 more pounds of live rock. If at all possible, add it now while you have no inhabitants in your tank (hopefully). It will probably cause your ammonia to spike a bit more, so you're better off doing it now to avoid harming any fish or inverts you may add later. You dont need to add a raw shrimp anymore. Your cycle is already well under way. Its normal for all your levels to be high at once, they dont go up and down one after another, but more overlaped. Heres a quick graph of how it works.
 
trailer

trailer

Member
hey guys thanks a million. yeh, you guessed right, there are no inhabitants in the tank. i dont want to hurt or kill any of them. i am definitely getting a protein skimmer when the time is right and i read you dont want to run one during the cycle so i am just saving the funds. i plan on getting 50 lbs online and curing it myself in a rubbermaid bin. is that the best idea or should i just buy it a little at a time from the LFS? i also have another powerhead on the way so that should provide for some more water circulation. any other tips?
 
tim_12

tim_12

Member
Wether you get the LR online or at a LFS is up to you. Its usually cheaper online, but then again, you dont know what you're going to get. If the price difference isnt much, or isnt an issue, get it from your LFS so you can hand pick the rock for its shapes, coraline growth, size, ext. As for water movement, a fish only setup will require about 10x - 15x hourly turnover. A reef tank will require 15x - 20x, some people do up to 25x. It all depends on what you're planning on getting. The only thing I can suggest is to research everything before you get it. Have a look at the FAQ forum. Theres tons of first hand information from lots of great people.
 
mikeyjer

mikeyjer

Active Member
Originally Posted by trailer
hey guys thanks a million. yeh, you guessed right, there are no inhabitants in the tank. i dont want to hurt or kill any of them. i am definitely getting a protein skimmer when the time is right and i read you dont want to run one during the cycle so i am just saving the funds. i plan on getting 50 lbs online and curing it myself in a rubbermaid bin. is that the best idea or should i just buy it a little at a time from the LFS? i also have another powerhead on the way so that should provide for some more water circulation. any other tips?
You can order the 50 lbs of live rock and put them all in right now while your still cycling. Save the trouble later. :happyfish
 
trailer

trailer

Member
Originally Posted by Mikeyjer
You can order the 50 lbs of live rock and put them all in right now while your still cycling. Save the trouble later. :happyfish

you sir have just answered the question i was about to post. so it would be fine to add 45 lbs of live rock to the tank while cycling (LR will be shipped)? i guess the die off would help the process.
 
hagfish

hagfish

Active Member
The disadvantage of getting your LR online is you can't see what you're getting. I ordered some online from a different site and while it wasn't bad as far as size and shape, I can't say I would have bought any of those pieces had I seen them in the store. What you might want to do is get some of it online since it's cheaper and then look at your LFS for some better show pieces later to fill things in.
Are there any local reef clubs in your area? If you are near a major metro area there is likely to be someone selling some LR. I live near St. Louis and it's fairly easy to find things cheap once you find the right connections. If you want to, send me an email at waynehags@yahoo.com and I can point you to a couple places that might help you out a little.
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
I love cycling a tank with fresh, uncured live rock. lot's of little critters you won't get by buying cured rock.
If you go that route, be sure to do water changes to keep your ammonia under control. That's not a universally accepted opinion, but I posted a quote from an email I received from Dr. Fenner stating that ammonia at too high of a level is toxic to even your bacteria.
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...t=fenner+email
 
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