total newb here!!

[socko6774]

so i got my girlsfriends 29 gallon tank for free, with all hte equiptemtn, so i decided to try doing a SW set-up. well after reading marine aquariums for dummies and looking around the web, im feeling VERY overwhelmed!! so far i set the tank up with CC subtrate, filled it with distilled water, bought new filter medium for the filter, put the salt in, checked the leves, everything seem fine. how long do i wait before i add the live rock? and is there anythnig esle i should do to cycle it?? there so many questions ! i went to teh LFS but the guy seemed like a ---- and i felt like i was bugging him so i left rpetty quik.
so basically, i need to know whats next.
what i did so far..
- filled the tank with CC
- added the distilled water( kinda nervous now after reading someone post about the copper they use in some water)
- added the salt
- checked temp and levels, all seem good
how long should i wait to intro live rock? and should i throw some live sand in as well?
this whole cycleing thing is new to me, so sorry if i sound like an idiot for asking. you can only read so much , but if you dont know what your reading its hard to understand.

 

[snapperboy]

I'm pretty new at this as well and i just started a 120G reef. From reading A LOT on this site i have added RO/DI water w/ salt, Put in about 150lbs of LR and 100lbs of southdown CC and 40lbs of LS ( thats about 2in sandbed and 5-6in in a sump chamber w/ rock /grasses) all my levels are Zero and i threw in 2 raw prawns and some bacteria booster to get things rolling.

 

[drewsta]

Originally Posted by socko6774
- filled the tank with CC
This was a bad idea not saying it can't work but IMO you should take the CC out alltogether and use live sand the CC can collect Nitrates and when disturbed in the future by fish/crabs/sand sifters/cleaning will cause a mini cycle in your tank.
Originally Posted by socko6774
- added the distilled water( kinda nervous now after reading someone post about the copper they use in some water)
You should pull all the distilled water out and use RO (Reverse Osmosis) or even better RO-DI (Reverse Osmosis De Ionized)
Originally Posted by socko6774
- added the salt
Did you add the salt with the CC already in the tank? What kind of filtration do you have on there? What kind of salt did you use?
Originally Posted by socko6774
- checked temp and levels, all seem good
What levels did you test and what were they?
Originally Posted by socko6774
how long should i wait to intro live rock? and should i throw some live sand in as well?
Once you get your CC out and put live sand in put your live rock in ASAP to help your cycle process.
Originally Posted by socko6774
this whole cycleing thing is new to me, so sorry if i sound like an idiot for asking. you can only read so much , but if you dont know what your reading its hard to understand.
You do not sound like an idiot the best thing for you to do is ask questions. By the way if you have any more just ask

Hope I helped a little

 

[socko6774]

how long did u wait before u threw the rock n stuff in, the LFS said wait a week or 2 . thats sound right?

 

[socko6774]

Originally Posted by Drewsta
This was a bad idea not saying it can't work but IMO you should take the CC out alltogether and use live sand the CC can collect Nitrates and when disturbed in the future by fish/crabs/sand sifters/cleaning will cause a mini cycle in your tank.
You should pull all the distilled water out and use RO (Reverse Osmosis) or even better RO-DI (Reverse Osmosis De Ionized)
Did you add the salt with the CC already in the tank? What kind of filtration do you have on there? What kind of salt did you use?
What levels did you test and what were they?
Once you get your CC out and put live sand in put your live rock in ASAP to help your cycle process.
You do not sound like an idiot the best thing for you to do is ask questions. By the way if you have any more just ask

Hope I helped a little

man, thanks for all the info!!!!!
where on earth do i get RO-DI water from?
i used " instant ocean sea salt " after i put the cc in.
i have a fluval 204 filter, with the bio cubes and carbon, and mesh filter.
i dont know the levels, i checked it with those color strips. ammonia leverls were in the good, nitrate werer in hte good, ph was in the good.
can i put live sand on top of the CC??
LFS told me not to use live sand with live rock , use one or the other, it would create too much nitro i think she said...

 

[drewsta]

No you put the live rock in asap to help the cycle process. Most likely they said wait because the cycle will kill off the benificial bacteria on the rocks but in my experiance putting the live rock in day 1 has worked great and all my rock "hitch hikers" are still alive and fine

 

[socko6774]

i edited my last post, in case u missed it.
can i put live sand on top of the CC??

LFS told me not to use live sand with live rock , use one or the other, it would create too much nitro i think she said...

 

[drewsta]

Originally Posted by socko6774
man, thanks for all the info!!!!!
where on earth do i get RO-DI water from?
i used " instant ocean sea salt " after i put the cc in.
i have a fluval 204 filter, with the bio cubes and carbon, and mesh filter.
i dont know the levels, i checked it with those color strips. ammonia leverls were in the good, nitrate werer in hte good, ph was in the good.
can i put live sand on top of the CC??
LFS told me not to use live sand with live rock , use one or the other, it would create too much nitro i think she said...
Ok your filtration is ok, the salt you use is up to you I know that people who use IO (instant ocean) usually get a algae outbreak at one point or another. If all you levels where good then your cycle hasn't started yet it will take time. You can put live sand on top of the CC but it will eventually just sink below the CC and you'll have a CC bed again. IMO I would completely get rid of the CC I know thats hard to hear after you spent the money but it really is best. Also if you added the salt after the CC the CC will most likely trap some salt so when you stir it up it might spike your Salinity :notsure:

 

[opus18]

I'm a live sand user myself... And there will be others who will ney-say the CC. One reason is the lack of life in it... It can start generating, if I remember correctly, nitrates...
As for the distilled water... Get it tested... Not everyone follows the rules... Only RO/DI water is truely the safest way to go as it is nearly pure H2O.
If you stay with the CC, be sure to push your LR down into it so that it makes contact with the glass. If you put in anything that likes to burrow (snails and or fish) they could topple your rocks right on top of them and that is simply an ammonia source you don't want to have to trace down...
If your temp is good, and water is no longer cloudy (salt mix) go ahead and add your LR. Try for 1lb per gallon... Check your levels again and toss in a couple of cocktail shrimp (yes everyone, I know I didn't do this, but am believing the masses and plan to do it with my next tank.) The decaying matter will supply that needed ammonia. Do no water changes during this, it'll only drag it out by dilluding the chemicals you're trying to build up. Lights won't really be needed, so unless you want to see the floating shrimp... save the power use for later... Keep the water moving (power-head, over-flow refuge) whatever you have currently to make it move about. Keep testing the water and watch for your ammonia levels to flatten out and nitrites to start climbing. You're 1/3 of the way through at this point. Ammonia should zero out, nitrites should peak, the start to drop as the nitrates build. Once you have zero nitrites... Go for that first water change and get some clean-up crew in there to make it all purty for your new first fish...
It will take time to go through this. Mine went surprisingly fast due to LR that had been clured for so long that it had the bacterias already present... My water went from zeros across the board to detectable nitrates in a week... But, this was a RARE occurance.
Check your Ph, Salinity, Temp, and all the others and let the games begin... Good luck with this "investment."

 

[drewsta]

You CAN absolutely use LR with LS its even better that way it will probably make the cycle go faster

Also don't use the raw shrimp method like everyone says on here just let the LR and the LS do its work

 

[socko6774]

Originally Posted by Drewsta
Ok your filtration is ok, the salt you use is up to you I know that people who use IO (instant ocean) usually get a algae outbreak at one point or another. If all you levels where good then your cycle hasn't started yet it will take time. You can put live sand on top of the CC but it will eventually just sink below the CC and you'll have a CC bed again. IMO I would completely get rid of the CC I know thats hard to hear after you spent the money but it really is best. Also if you added the salt after the CC the CC will most likely trap some salt so when you stir it up it might spike your Salinity :notsure:

man, i REALLY DONT wanna empty this again considering i walked out of wegmans with 26 gallons of Distilled warter, lol.
can i just scoop out most of the CC and then throw in the live sand??

 

[opus18]

Originally Posted by Drewsta
You CAN absolutely use LR with LS its even better that way it will probably make the cycle go faster

Also don't use the raw shrimp method like everyone says on here just let the LR and the LS do its work

You're kidding right??? Then why are so many touting this metheod? Granted I didn't do it, but so many are pushing it...

I've seen the pics of your tank, and it is truly awesome... Though I would agree it has got to be a pain to get to the bottom of... So I would believe your words more than some... Just tired of the conflicting advice I've seen here and other boards...

 

[socko6774]

ps- thanks for the info guys, u really are a big help!!
aquarium places are far and few around here, i have to go to the local pet supply "plus" shop to get most of my stuff, and i can only imagine the quality they have.

 

[drewsta]

you can make sure your salinity is good before adding your live rock. Once you start scooping out the CC I bet your salinity will go up... JMO :notsure:

 

[socko6774]

Originally Posted by Drewsta
you can make sure your salinity is good before adding your live rock. Once you start scooping out the CC I bet your salinity will go up... JMO :notsure:
i was thnking the same thing after what u said before

 

[socko6774]

where do u guys get most of your stuff from?? any links for good places online? is this saltwaterfish.com place good?

 

[opus18]

Originally Posted by socko6774
ps- thanks for the info guys, u really are a big help!!
aquarium places are far and few around here, i have to go to the local pet supply "plus" shop to get most of my stuff, and i can only imagine the quality they have.
GOOD LFS are rare indeed anywhere...
BTW, pet supply Plus was the source of my tank...

$200 for 46G Bowfront and the oak stand... After that, it was a LFS...

 

[drewsta]

Originally Posted by opus18
You're kidding right??? Then why are so many touting this metheod? Granted I didn't do it, but so many are pushing it...

This method is an odd one for me to grasp I have used the live rock and live sand cycle method on 4 tanks with no problems and they have been pretty fast cycles. Why put decaying matter in your tank if you have any life in there at all with your LS or LR this will surely kill it also what do grocery stores put on shrimp to preserve it? I don't want to risk putting chemicals in my tank. Also I don't personally enjoy the smell of rotting shrimp.

 

[socko6774]

Originally Posted by Drewsta
I don't personally enjoy the smell of rotting shrimp.

thats the first thing i thought of, :thinking:

 

[opus18]

I remember someone else point out that starting a live tank with death (shrimp) was just plain wrong. I'm just glad that my tank is doing as well as it is... Now if I could only get some answers in the Reef section with a Brown Jelly detection... <sigh>