Just starting out.

[mplocar]

Greetings

I have just taken the plunge into Saltwater aquarium keeping I have 2 fresh water systems and have always wanted a saltwater system so now I do.

Here is the skinny on what I have so far

55 Gallon tank
Emperor 400 bio wheel
Bak-Pak protien skimmer
2 power heads
heater

I am useing crushed coral for the substrate of about 1 1/2 -2 in in depth

I have alot of decrotive hard coral skeletons that came with the tank( I bought it from craigs list)

My hydrometer reads about 1.021ish
ph is 8.1-8.2

I have added about 10lbs of live rock "uncured" from the local pet store.

The lighting is the old bulb that came with the tank a 40w floresent "Wide spectrum" bulb

My idea is to let the live rock "Seed" the gravel and hopefully the other rock I have in the tank. then to add the invertabrates followed by the fish and hopefully an aneonome and or some corals.

Patience is key I know and I am in no hurry to have the task completed However I would like to see some life enjoying my labors.


I plan to include Dwarf hermits, shrimp and a sea star in the invert crew, which of these would be best to start off with and how soon could I put them in and expect them to live?

The live rock has been in for about 48 hours and I have little to no algae would I need to put in dried seaweed to keep them alive for now or should I wait till I see algae growth to begin introducing them.

Also if I should wait to introduce them should I turn off the protien skimmer for a while to promote alge growth?

Thank you in advance for any and all assistance.

[RyanG]

Welcome to the reef first off. You should probably replace the crushed coral with sand of the same depth, the crushed could be a problem in the future as it will trap detrius and other organics that will lead to a nitrate problem. The bio-wheel ould also be replaced with a canister filter if you so choose.

What are your plans for this tank is it going to be FOWLR(Fish Only With Live Rock) or a reef? If its going to be fish only(NO CORALS) then your lighting will be fine, if you plan on keeping corals you will need to upgrade to a good T5 or Metal Halide set up.

You forgot to add snails to your clean up crew, most people here use them as the main part of their CUC. Astreas, Narcissus, and Mexican Turbos are what most people use. DO NOT ADD ANY INVERTS UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETELY CYCLED YOUR TANK. That is when Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate have all rised and returned to 0ppm(Nitrates under 20or less).

Keep you skimmer running constantly and you should think about investing in more live rock(1-2 lbs per gallon) as it will be your main source of biologic filtration. I said earlier that the bio-wheel should be swapped out for a canister, most salty system only use a filter for circulation and occasionally carbon or a phos-removal media is run to polish the water. Your skimmer is your main source of mechanical filtration.

[mplocar]

Thanks first off for the quick reply,

The CC replacement is an idea I have read and heard many differnt ideas on that and specificly since the CC came with the rest of the things I got with the tank for now I will just have to hope for the best later on down the line.

As far as the direction My wife and I are taking seems to be a reef, fish have all been a second thought. Gobies, clowns, and a few other small species seem to be the only ones we have thought of. Inverts are really what we have been looking at. Corals maybe but not for quite sometime untill we are sure we can be successful with what we have so far.

As far as the LR goes We where kind of hoping that the other rock that we have in the tank would develop into part of the LR solution or will this take much to long. It is all actual coral so we had hoped it might provide a good base for collection of debis and then support of algae other "Life".

Snails where on the list what we are trying to sort out is our particular likes and thier compatablity with each other I dont want alot of the circle of life killing off of livestock by live stock.

Any advice on that? Thanks again..

[RyanG]

How much Rock total do you have the live rock will seed the base rock in time, doesnt take that long for the bacteria and such just the coraline will take a while. Let me rephrase my original statement you should have 1-2lbs per gallon of total rock in you tank, not including the substrate, this may be composed of live rock and base rock or all live rock. The breeds of snail I posted earlier will all coexist. The hermits will kill snails for their shells, you should put extra empty shells on the floor of the tank but the hermits will still be snail killers.

The CC should be a good buffer for calcium but it will also produce nitrates that will kill your inverts corals and fish in that order. The live rock shouldnt be counted on for debris collection just the nitfifacion and denitrificaiton process, solids and organics should be removed by your skimmer, you will also need good flow to keep them suspended in the water column so your skimmer can get to them.

[daugherty]

looks like Ryan has got you covered. as for flow try to shoot for at a min of 10x tank volume the more the better.

[yote]

Welcome to the reef.
I agree with Ryan.He's pretty sharp.

[mplocar]

Ryan

Thanks again for the advice on this. I will try to address all of answers and advice you gave.

The rock issue I have at the very least 50lbs of total rock which includes the Acropora, and finger coral pieces (these being just the skeletal remains)as well the live rock I bought. So I am good on the rock it is very porous and lots of nooks and crannies for things to settle on and grow. It has come together well in so much as if and when I can get a good "Culture" going it will provide plenty of places for the inhabitants to hide and feed.

The Hermits I plan to use will be the dwarf varieties trying to stick to Herbivores, I will get extra shells from my pet store to keep the attacks down on the snails.

I have the two power heads one in the corner and one in the middle of the tank, when I was using my turkey baster to blow out some of the stuff on the live rock I noticed that the particles were floating around pretty well in the tank from the water flow. I have 2 more power heads that came with the setup if I need to add more later.

I have checked the water and the NH3 is around 2-4ppm the NO3 is non existent as is the NO2 the PH is 7.8-8ish I think that signals a good start to the cycle. I don't know about the PH being low like that will that be alright or should I try to raise it?

I figure it will take a couple of weeks to even out I have read and heard that adding one or two "Sacrificial" hardy fish to the tank might speed it up a little but I am unsure with the NH3 so high. What do you think?

and as always thanks for the advice.
Michael

and as always thanks for the advice.

[RyanG]

I wouldnt kill anyfish you are starting to get some ammonia which will become Nitrite then to Nitrate. If you want to get more ammonia in for a deeper cycle put a raw table shrimp in an old nylon or a plastic container of some sort and let it rot in the tank for a 2 or 3 days. That will jump start you cycle. Or you could just let it be as you are starting to get a cycle now.

[mplocar]

Ryan

I did not mean to imply that I would kill the fish intentionally, just that the LFS had said that you could put them in and that because of the way things happen they might not survive. but if it is starting to cycle that is fine I am leaving the light on and have turned up the heater a little to provide a more pleasant environment for the bacteria.

Thanks again
Michael

[Bifferwine]

Hi,
I would definitely replace the crushed coral with sand before you go any further. Crushed coral will lead to major water quality issues down the road. Not only does it trap detritus and crap like Ryan said, but it also does not have the buffering capacity of aragonite sand and that can lead to big pH problems.

You will definitely need to upgrade lights if you want to keep corals or anemones. The light you have would be just fine for a fish only system, but corals have much much much higher lighting requirements. As a general rule of thumb low-light corals require at least 4 watts per gallon, more demanding corals need at least 8 watts per gallon, and anemones, which are wayyyy more difficult than corals to keep alive, require even more than that. Anemones are not good animals for a new tank and should only be added to a tank that has been up and running healthy for at least 8 months. Anemones are challenging.

The filtration you have will be fine for a lightly to moderately stocked tank, but you may need to invest in a better skimmer if you decided to add a lot of fish or keep inverts that require pristine water conditions.

Shrimp and starfish are extremely sensitive to water parameters and you should wait about a month after your tank is done cycling before adding them. Snails and crabs are more hardy and can be added right after the cycle.

I would not recommend cycling using live fish. Not only do I consider it cruel to add fish to a tank when you know they probably will not survive, but it's a waste of your money. Cycling using live rock or food (when it rots it produces the same waste that fish do) is much more humane and effective.

Like others have said, aim for 1 to 2 lbs of rock per gallon.