new aquarium, need help

[stephenie]

I have just purchased a new salt water system and it has been up and running about 3 days. I have been reading everything I can and am still confused. I was told by the lps that I should introduce fish to the system with in 24 - 36 hours. (should I?). everything is testing fine with the exception of the amonia which is staying between .4 and .6. Also the water has become cloudy. Any ideas and help????

 

[lesa]

Do not add fish at this time, let your tank cycle, all your readings should read "0" before you add fish.
To jump start your cycle you can put 3 raw shrimp in there.

 

[thomas712]

Stephenie - Welcome to Saltwater Fish Forum, you've come to the right place.
Your LFS = Local fish store person may have told you to add fish right away to get the bacteria going, getting the bacteria going is the right idea, however it is very stressful to the fish, other methods have been found to work wonderfully as well. Like the suggestion of adding raw cocktail shrimp, this decomposes and starts your ammonia cycle and your on the road to cycling your tank. Others suggest damsals or other fish to start the cycle, however they are hard to get out later if you have live rock.
The cloudiness can very well be because of the ammonia. This phase should last only a few days to a week. Your nitrites will last longer.
Do not add the fish, and then only after you have researched the needs and habits of that fish, or ask here.
Glad you came here first, come back often.
Anything else?
Thomas

 

[cb]

Welcome .Please let your tank cycle before you add any fish and then once it is done go slow when adding livestock to your tank this is a hobby of patience. while you tank is cycling read all you can on here. Good Luck.

 

[stephenie]

with the amonia going up they told me to add some evolution to get rid of it.. I don't think that sounds right.. I though that it would be part of the process to let it go. any suggestions?

 

[cb]

An ammonia spike is part of the cycling process and will go down as the cycle nears it's end. HTH

 

[thomas712]

The ammonia will take care of itself in about a weeks time, no need to do anything to it, NO ADDITIVES OF ANY KIND are usually necessary at all. Your ammonia will give way to the nitrites and then to the nitrates, just be patient and you will see.
Thomas

 

[stephenie]

Thank you so much for all of your help

 

[tlk]

Welcome to the board! Please read everything you can. If your lfs tells you something that doesn't sound quite right, check here. You will find lots of helpful advise.

 

[stephenie]

This might be a dumb question but I live close to the ocean can I get live sand my self or is it a bad idea????

 

[thomas712]

Depends on the laws.
Depends on polution.
Close to shore no way would I trust it.
Just my opinion.

 

[stephenie]

you have a valid point.
I have yet another question. If you are adding ls does it have to be on the bottom of the substrate or can it go on top and just filter down???

 

[lobstergrabber]

Live sand should be your substrate. What do you have on the bottom of the tank now? If you have crushed coral everyone says it is a nightmare to remove later. And if you cover it with sand it will just work its way up so no good there. Everyone else is right about one thing take your time and keep asking questions. There is so much info out there it can be overwhelming but it is not really all that hard.
Rich

 

[stephenie]

it appears to be a lot of crushed shells and rock. I read the bag and it did not say crushed coral it just said substrate. I really do not know. This is bad

 

[robn70]

I would remove the shells and rock substraite and get the Live sand before you add your live rock and inhabitants. It's a pain to change once your tank is completely setup. I found this out the hard way. Alot of people use southdown (yardright) sand from homedepot if you can find it and then seed it with a smaller amount of live sand. This will save you some money. Not sure about the availability of it in TX but up here in NJ we have pallets of it at the local Homedepot. Good luck with your tank and take it slow.

 

[lobstergrabber]

You can look for the southdown/yardright there locally. I think I saw some one in texas saying they had some or that they found some over there might be worth a search. Truly with a 29 gallon tank you could get it at the LFS though. I would think 60 pounds would be a nice depth in a 29. Could always go with 20 live and 50 south down if you can find it though. And I would say your substrate definitely sounds like crushed coral.
Rich

 

[stephenie]

Thank you so much for you help. I will have to get the live sand then start over. It is best to do it now than later. What is a good % to mix with the regular sand???

 

[stephenie]

once this has cycled what is the best things to start with. The cleaners or fish or both?

 

[thomas712]

Take it slow. I would start with a hearty fish or two at the most. Your tank will still be unstable for a few months. A cleanup crew can be added as well, snails, crabs, and well maybe even shrimp but I feel shrimp are more sensitive to say an alkalinity change then snails and crabs. you can add fish at a recommended rate of one or two every couple of weeks to let he bacteria catch up with the load. Crabs, snails, and shrimp do not put as high a demand on the bacteria as fish do.
Stay away from sand sifting critters like sand stars, they will only deplete the sandbed of pods.
Thomas

 

[cb]

If you go to the classified forum I believe there is a post there that reads found southdown in DFW I don't know how close that is to you. After the tank has cycle you can start adding fish and inverts but go slowly as not to overload all at one time.