tons of questions

[natifishguy513]

Ok first i've done saltwater before on a tiny budget an tiny tank and ended in disaster this time around i hopefully got it right bigger tank 55 gallon with a emperor 400 filter, penguin 550 powerhead i plan on getting 3 more of them,a marineland dual temp heater and a protein skimmer, I got a regular fluorescent light for right now i plan on putting a 10,000 k bulb in shortly. Also to start of i got 5 lbs of live rock.. I wass kinda of leaning on fiji lr getting about 20 lbs of base rock and 20 pounds of the good stuff. For starter fish i got 2 green chromis and plan on getting 3 more.. I want to be able to slowly turn this into a reef tank that will not only be sweet but will thrive an be a success.. Are there any suggestions that will help me with this process anything from livestock to liverock and corals etc..Also after adding the fish how fast will the cycle start???Advice would be helpful thanx..

 

[nigerbang]

Originally Posted by natifishguy513
http:///forum/post/2725887
Ok first i've done saltwater before on a tiny budget an tiny tank and ended in disaster this time around i hopefully got it right bigger tank 55 gallon with a emperor 400 filter, penguin 550 powerhead i plan on getting 3 more of them,a marineland dual temp heater and a protein skimmer, I got a regular fluorescent light for right now i plan on putting a 10,000 k bulb in shortly. Also to start of i got 5 lbs of live rock.. I wass kinda of leaning on fiji lr getting about 20 lbs of base rock and 20 pounds of the good stuff. For starter fish i got 2 green chromis and plan on getting 3 more.. I want to be able to slowly turn this into a reef tank that will not only be sweet but will thrive an be a success.. Are there any suggestions that will help me with this process anything from livestock to liverock and corals etc..Also after adding the fish how fast will the cycle start???Advice would be helpful thanx..
If your going to do a reef, go ahead and save up and buy the nicest light fixture and skimmer you can.. Better then buying a fixture and then not being satisfied with it.. Do lots of research also and take it slow.
Might want to ditch the power filters and look into a Sump/Fuge setup instead

 

[9supratt4]

So your tank isn't cycled?? Before adding any livestock you should add all your rock and substrate you want then let the tank cycle. There are many ways of starting the cycle. Once it's cycled, you should then add your clean up crew and then add your livestock. I don't know what you did with your previous tank, but it seems as you might be going to quickly. Patience is a virtue in this hobby!!

 

[nigerbang]

Originally Posted by 9supratt4
http:///forum/post/2725904
So your tank isn't cycled?? Before adding any livestock you should add all your rock and substrate you want then let the tank cycle. There are many ways of starting the cycle. Once it's cycled, you should then add your clean up crew and then add your livestock. I don't know what you did with your previous tank, but it seems as you might be going to quickly. Patience is a virtue in this hobby!!
Good point.. I missed that on the 1st read...Cycling with fish is a cruel and outdated practice..Should take the fish back and ghost feed or use a peice of raw shrimp

 

[aquaguy24]

uncured live rock is good enough to start ur cycle. ur hob filter is fine...if u want reef in the future but on a bubget, i recomend T5's with individual reflectors..what kind of salt are u using..starting off with a good salt will give u good kick off. Oceanic or reef crstals to name a couple. i use Oceanic salt.love the stuff...fiji premium rock will be fine or u can get base rock..it will become live rock eventually.u can seed it with the 5lbs of live rock u already have...also dead sand will become live sand aswell if u choose to add dead sand instead of live sand...u'll save a lot of money that way...use that money u saved on a good quality skimmer..and do u have a test kit..if not get one asap...for starters a test kit with ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,ph,akalinity should be fine..u can check out the sticky post to see the correct way to start ur cycle..while ur tank is cycling u can research on fish and inverts u want to keep...

 

[jimvette1]

IMO, If you are planning on a reef tank, listen to the above posts.
Very good advice, GO SLOW.
Now my $.02 worth.
Pick your fish with a lot of thought on what the future of those fish are going to play in your reef tank. IMO most Damsels are more trouble than they are worth. Don't use them to cycle your tank! Remember they are 100 times harder to remove than to put into your tank!

This is a great site
Read and ask questions.
Good luck and take pictures, we love pictures.

 

[mr_x]

excellent advice jim.
+1 for don't put anything in your tank you don't want there forever. that includes invasive corals!

 

[butrfly2536]

The advice that I wish I would have liked to have followed was to buy what you will need not what is the cheapest. We purchased 2 different tanks, 3 different lights and 2 different protein skimmers before we got what we actually needed.