Very new at this, just a few questions

[finally]

Hi, I am new to the saltwater game. I have had several fresh water, but never salt. I was given a 90 gallon tank, but I don't have any idea of what equipment I have with it. I know that I have 2 sets of corallite lights with blue and white lighting, I have no idea what kind of filter I have. (how can I find out?) When the tank was set up 2 weeks ago, we changed 100 lbs of live pink sand. We have mushroom coral and I believe bubble coral, a purple carpet, 2 clowns, 1 anthias (there was 3 but only 1 survived the move), a hippo tang, and a jaw fish. We added a coral beauty angel and a naso tang. Every one seems to be doing well. I would just like to keep it that way. We have live rock, but I am not sure how much, there are about 9 pieces. So, my question is this, what is a cycle and how do we know when we have cycled? Thanks.

 

[ice4ice]

Read "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Fenner. Start with alot of reading and rersearch in saltwater keeping.

 

[aztec reef]

WELCOME!

Finally, is your tank cycled?
One way to learn about everything is to do a search Here on previous posts and ask questions on things that don't make sense to you.
Saltwater is totally different game than FW, in SW patience is one of the major keys to success..
you weren't supposed to have any live stock other than your Liverock. until cycle has been achived.(it takes around 3-4weeks usually)
you need to Test for NITRATES, NITRITES & AMMONIA. A.S..A.P. and others such as ph, salinity ect..

 

[trigger11]

Welcome to the boards and also welcome to the most addictive hobby on the planet.
It sounds to me like your Coralife lights are PC lights. The blue colored bulb would be an actinic bulb. I would check and see if you can find out any model numbers or any other identifiying marks on them. If they are PC lights they really arent going to be strong enough for the anenome's you have. They could possibly be T-5 lights but it doesnt sound like it to me from your description.
Filtration-
More description would be required to help determine what kind of filtration you have. For example, do you only have the 90g tank and no other smaller tanks? Is there any equipment hanging off of the back? What does all of the plumbing go to? Etc...
Cycle-
It is highly likely your tank will have some sort of cycle during the move. Especially since it sounds like you switched out the sand? Did you get all new sand or just take off some of the "Pink Sand"?? The pink sand description is confusing to me. Realistically you would not have wanted to add any more fish during the move but there is nothing you can do about that now. A big move will be a lot of stress for the fish. I highly recommend testing your water parameters every day. PH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, alkalinity. If you didnt get these kits with your purchase they are a must have. You have a lot of expensive livestock in the tank and knowing the water parameters is essential to keeping them alive.
Live Rock
It is hard to tell how much LR you might have because it varies by density. A good rule of thumb is you can never have too much. I myself like to have the tank pretty full of it so it looks more natural like a reef. Additionally, LR is essentially most of your filtration so again the more the better.

 

[alix]

i just wanted to add on that "the more the better" thing with live rock doesnt mean it should be to heavy, actually it need to be real light or else there wont be enough placed for things to grow. i started out buying a ton of really dense live rock until a friend told me i was wasting my money, because its sold by weight.
GOOD LUCK

 

[finally]

Thanks so much for all the info. I got the tank from a friend who had it for 2 years. The fish that came with the tank are doing well. (they came from her also) However, the fish I added are not doing as well. I have checked the water (amm., nitrites, nitrates, and ammonia) and all are 0 except nitrates which are 20. We did a water change on Saturday. My naso tang (the one I purchased) is about to die. It won't eat and really hasn't since I got it, and now it is just hiding behind every rock it can find. Any suggestions on that? This is going to be a trip!! Thanks!