New guy

[keystone]

Hello all-
Last night i set up my first salt water tank(i use SETUP loosly). I went to the pet store and told what I had and give me what I need to get this thing started. I read the word "Cycle" a lot, what does that mean and consist of?
Here is what I have in it so far.
55 gal tank
60 lbs of sand
1 330 Penguin filter
1 power head
1 3 lb live rock
and i mixed 55 gal worth of salt into the water. (Mixed well)
Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!
THANKS!!!

 

[simm]

cycle is bottled up bacteria that starts the cycle. However to keep the cycle going you have to add this stuff continuously which is a waste of time and money. the best way to cycle your tank is throw a piece of raw shrimp into the take for a few weeks.

 

[keystone]

How do I know when the tank is ready?
What type of shrimp do I use? Grocery store, Pet store???
What is a protien skimmer?

 

[birdy]

Raw grocery store shrimp just throw it in, it will start to decay and will get your cycle going. You need a test kit for Ph, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate, I tested daily to every other day during my cycle. First the Ammonia will spike then the Nitrite, then they will both start going down and Nitrates will rise, your cycle will be done when Ammonia and nitrites have been 0 for at least a week and Nitrates are below 20.
A protien skimmer is a type of filter that you will want eventually. I recommend one as soon as possible. I am not very good at explaining how they work hopefully someone will post who knows better than me.
I would try to put some more live Rock in, it will help a lot with your filtation. LR is a natural filter
Welcome and keep asking questions

 

[timo]

Go to vatoelvis.com/cycling.html for "What is cycling" question.
Also you want to have the proper water test kits. Buy them. Very important. And read as much as you can on various topics at this site. Most informational searches can be done at Google or the like.

 

[keystone]

Thank You Birdy.
How much live rock do you recommend at the start?
Do you recommend buying Live Rock on the net?
What should my salt level be at during this stage of cycling?

 

[birdy]

It depends on what you are wanting to keep if you just want fish (which is recommended if this is your first tank). Then I would get 1-1.5 lbs of rock per gallon of tank.
I have bought all my LR online, this site sell good stuff for a good price, it is a big investment intially but the benefits are well worth it. If you do buy the rock online, the rock in itself will start your cycle. This is how I start all my tanks.
I keep my SG at 1.024-1.025.

 

[thomas712]

I'm one that prefers the raw shrimp method as well. If you do this place the shrimp in one of those micron bags or part of a nylon stocking, I wish I had done that when I used a large prawn in my 90, eventually it will fall apart and is a mess to clean. You should only leave it in for a week or two.
Your ammonia will spike first, during this time the first stage bacteria will form breaking it down into Nitrites - this stage will last about 3 weeks or more. The second stage bacteria form and break down the nitrites into Nitrates.
When your ammonia is 0, your nitrites are 0, and your nitrates are low its time for your first water change. I changed 40 gallons on my 90 and then let it sit for another week before adding two blue/geen chromis to keep the system active and the nitrification cycle going. Then the diatom blooms were in full swing I added a small cleanup crew. 6 ateria snails, 3 turbos and 4 scarlet hermits, a very small crew and you can go larger than that if you want to.
Many things can effect the cycle. If you use Livesand and Liverock to begin with your cycle will be shorter. You can use LS and LR just to due your cycle but I like the shrimp idea because it will really challange the cycle to get started and completed.
On your 55 I would reccomend eventually using 2 of the penguins and 2 powerheads in addition to your sand and liverock. Learn how to do a proper water change by mixing it a day or two in advance, heated and airiated, matching temp and salinity.
Thomas

 

[cjpaske]

Birdy or Thomas, I also have a 55 gal and I need to know when I add my saltwater to the tank when can I add my LS and LR . And how long do I need to wait to add the cleanup bunch?

 

[birdy]

If you are mixing the saltwater in the tank let it mix for 24 hrs. You can add the LR and LS at the same time.
Are you going to have a DSB of at least 4", if you are I like to use dry base rock for the layer that is covered by sand, this way you are not using expensive LR under the sand, If you put the rock on top of the sand you risk something burrowing under your rock and toppling the rock work. Wait to add a clean up crew until your cycle is finished for at least a week or two, then you can do a small water change. You will know when you need a clean up crew because your tank will go through several algae cycles.
Also I highly, highly recommend using a reliable source of RO/DI or distilled water, you will save yourself a world of trouble by using a pure water source.

 

[cjpaske]

Birdy, I plann on using abbout 4" LSB. I was going to purchase some BR along with LR, how much of each do you recommend for my 55 gal?
Also I purchased and RO system from HD, I was planning on buying the water the first time, then using my system for any additional adds, what do you think?

 

[birdy]

I do not know much much about home depot ro units, best thing to do is let it run then test it for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and Phosphates. If they all come up 0 then your water is great. Be sure the water you are getting initially is from a reliable source.
As far as how much base rock and LR it just depends on what type of tank you are wanting. If you are going reef then at least 2lbs per gallon of water (that would be for porous rock like figi you would need more if you are using fl. rock). If you are doing a FOWLR then you can get away with using less rock around 1-1.5lbs, as far as how much base rock to LR, it is up to you, the more LR you get the better natural filteration you will have, but the base rock will eventually become live. I think I put 25lbs base rock and about 80lbs LR in my 46 gal.