Just starting;advice appreciated;cycling

[frank malone]

We have 30 gallon tank w/ 30# LR and 30# live sand. Have the temp at 78-80. We have spotted lots of little "critters" (few snails, spider-looking bug, some pale pink flower-like anemones (?), and other little mite-looking bugs, etc.) We have had it up and running for a little over a week. What is our next step? We want to go slow so we won't have any problems. Do we test? And if so what do we test for????? What kinds of creatures do we add to our tank first and how long do you wait until you add fish? We want a community tank that is colorful and pretty to look at. Thanks in advance for any input. Frankeli

 

[farieslayer]

ok, u get your tank set up, is been a week, which is not done cycling. U need to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph. u will know when u done cycling because, ammonia, nitrite will become 0, when u done. clowns fish are nice for the beginning, they are very hardy.

 

[striker]

Definitely use a test kit. It will let you know when the cycle is over and conditions are safe to make any new additons. The critters you are seeing are great for a reef tank. You can add a little more rock to your set up. I have a 29gallon with 50+lbs of lr. It will be my only source of filtration in the near future. You can add a reef pkg from this site which is great. Free shipping and you can choose one of their pkgs or make up your own. I bought one last week and added a few mushrooms which are a good for beginners. Good beginner fish are percula clowns(very active), purple firefish, royal gramma(colorful but shy), cardinals etc.. Corals should wait a little longer and anemones I heard should only be kept by experienced reef keepers. Lighting should be considered before you purchase anything but patience and research are your greatest friends in the beginning.

 

[krux]

There are several companies that sell combination test kits for saltwater tanks. You can also purchase single tests, many that use strips of paper, but I found that I could get a kit that tested nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, ph, and hardness for about 20 dollars.... hard to match in single type kits.
You can probably also take a small sample of water into your lfs and have them test it for you. I would recommend that even if you do test your own water that you take it to your lfs to make sure that your readings concur.
There are a number of ways to accelerate you tanks cycle, you can search using the search feature on this site for cycling to find more information. Some people like to use damsels, and it seems most lfs will try to sell you some, but they are really hard to get out of your tank and they are too agressive for most peoples' taste. Another way to cycle is to use a fresh shrimp from the local fish market or butcher shop. Again all of this can be found in detail in other posts.
Good luck.