New Tank

[rwood]

After setting up my new tank how long should i wait untill i put fish in it, i set it all up about 4 days ago

 

[reefnut]

About 4-6 weeks or until the cycle is complete. What did you use to kick start the cycle??

 

[rwood]

well what should i use im farely new to this

 

[magickyl]

Use Live rock to start the cycle.

 

[rwood]

yeah i put some live rock into the tank probaly about 30 pounds

 

[rwood]

Also how do you know when the cycle is complete

 

[reefnut]

Tell us about your setup... size of tank, pounds of LR ect.
Live rock will work IF it is uncured or has a adequate amount of die off. I would add a uncooked cocktail shrimp and let the tank run for a couple weeks. After the ammonia and nitrites have spiked and fallen back to 0 your cycle is over. At this point you should have around 20+ppm nitrates. Do a 20% water change and add your first fish along with some cleaners. From there... add another fish every few weeks if desired until you have all of the fish you want. Waiting longer between fish will not hurt anything but I wouldn't add more than one every few weeks.

 

[rwood]

the size of my tank is 60 gallons, about 30 pounds of liverock,excalibur protein skimmer,aqua clear 70 filter, and about 40 pounds of reef sand and some base rock and some artificial corals

 

[reefnut]

Sounds like a good start!! You may want to consider another 20-50 lbs of base or live rock.
Are you doing a reef tank?? If so, what lighting do you have or plan on??
With the cycle, I'd do as suggested above. Be patient and try not to rush the tank.
HTH,

 

[rwood]

alright thanks ill post a pic once i get it all together