Cycling

[drew00c]

Im sure there has to be a hundred threads on this, but ive been on this forum for about 10 minutes and am still trying to find my way around . I set up new Aquarium today, Ehiem Classic, 2 powerheads, basic stuff. The person at my LFS said, i should mix the salt add water to the aquarium and wait a few days before introducing live rock. He then informed me that a cycling period of 4 weeks would be good before adding any animals. Ive heard such conflicting information regarding the length of time for the cycle. My head esplode
Whats a good ball park figure. And what is a good species to start with.

[UnderwaterWorld]

I don't think that you have to wait before introducing the live rock

Your cycle length can be anywhere from 2-6 weeks. You will need a saltwater test kit to be sure.

I would get a basic one with Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, and High PH

My cycle only took 2 weeks, but I had live rock that was fully cured and I live only 2 minutes away from the store and my water came out of their coral tanks.

I would say probably 3-4 weeks for your cycle though

For fish you can look at this link
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/s...fm?pCatId=2124

These are just some of the ones you can get


I love clowns and you could get two of them and they will pair up eventually, just make sure one is bigger than the other

[UnderwaterWorld]

I would add a cleaner crew after your cycle is complete, and then wait a few days to a week before fish

Also when are you planning on getting some good lights and what's the ball park of what you can spend?

[drew00c]

Silly question, but any ammonia nitrate and nitrite kit will do, or does it have to be specifically for marine. I have a ton of test kits lying around. im thinking to start small 2 maybe 3 fish and a shrimp maybe a few little crabs ( not all at once though)

[UnderwaterWorld]

I'm not sure if it will. You'll have to get someone else's input but I think that at least some of them do.

I would start out with some snails and maybe some hermits, one thing you should know is that hermits will kill snails or other hermits for their shell if they can't find a bigger one to fit their needs

I would get 3 peppermint shrimp or a cleaner shrimp

[Bifferwine]

A cycle can take anywhere from a few days to 10 weeks. It all depends, every tank is different. Buy NEW marine test kits. The ones you have are probably old anyways, so even if they did work for saltwater, they've probably expired. I wouldn't trust freshwater kits for my tank, at least.

First your ammonia will spike, then your nitrites will spike, then nitrates will spike. At this point, ammonia and nitrite will drop to zero. Once ammonia and nitrite hit zero, do a 20% or so water change to reduce nitrates. Doing water changes is the best way to keep nitrates down.

After you've done this water change, you can add a fish and a small cleaner crew. I would avoid hermit crabs if I were you, they will kill any snails that you have.

[drew00c]

Cool. Thanks for the info, ive been trying to read books and articles, they have very conflicting info then what people have been telling me. Ive kept freshwater for years, and also deal with the same problems of bad information. Thanks for the help on this.

[MikMcgyver]

First off, welcome to the reef, there is a lot of good info runnin around in here. When you start adding cleaner crew, add a lil bit at a time, you dont wanna add to many and have a bunch of snails and crabs dieing on ya when they run out of food. Just enough to keep the rocks and sand clean.... Add you fish slowly, if you are gonna add 2 clowns, add em at the same time, make sure one is bigger than the other or they will battle.. Patience is the key with SW...

[Doc]

welcome to the forum. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Don't get discouraged, this hobby takes patience. Try not to take short cuts, it will make for a bad day if your short-cut to save $10 ends up costing your tank.

Yes buy a new test kit, I like salifert tests. Use good sea salt as well, it makes for better conditions for your tank. I used to look for the cheapest salt, now I use only Reef Crystals or Oceanic.

-Doc

[Bifferwine]

Kent Marine and Seachem also make good salts. I rotate between those and Oceanic (whatever is on sale at the time that I need salt).