10hrs and 44 min i just finished

[jcegt87]

so right now i have my power heads and the drizzle filter running im keeping my fingers crossed that i didn't break the return pump (yeah i plugged it in to see if it work OUT of water then i read the back of it and it says SUBMERSIBLE ONLY:shock: ....oops:frustrat: stupid mistake)

so if everything is fine and dandy tomorrow and i dont wake in a puddle i shall go and

DUN DUN DUN

heres my Question

should/can i

1) just to be safe buy a new return pump
2) go and buy some live sand and a SMALL doze of live rock say 5lbs to start cycle
3) just let tank sit for about a week alone to be sure that all salt is dissolved ,reading right now is 1.020
:question:

 

[Piggy]

I would go ahead and buy live sand and as much LR you can afford and let the cycle begin. Did you test the pump underwater to be sure it still works? I've done that same mistake before and never had a problem with my pump. As long as it was only for a few sec I really don't think it damaged it.

 

[jcegt87]

I would go ahead and buy live sand and as much LR you can afford and let the cycle begin. Did you test the pump underwater to be sure it still works? I've done that same mistake before and never had a problem with my pump. As long as it was only for a few sec I really don't think it damaged it.

yeah the pump is still working

what happened was i thought it was broken so i kept turning it on and off LOUD SCREECHING NOISE kinda gave me a headache the when i read it was submersible i unplugged and put in water and it worked right now my tank is really well "foggy" is that norm since i have the power head running

 

[jcegt87]

also should i plug the skimmer and UV sterilizer in right now or wait i just have the sterilizer with water from the filter running threw it with no light :compute:

 

[Piggy]

Did you take the pump apart and check the impeller area to make sure nothing broke? If all you have is your water in tank I would wait until you add your sand and rock to turn on the skimmer. Let the power head run it'll keep water movement and will be sure all salt is dissolved. What type of salt are you using?

 

[jcegt87]

Did you take the pump apart and check the impeller area to make sure nothing broke? If all you have is your water in tank I would wait until you add your sand and rock to turn on the skimmer. Let the power head run it'll keep water movement and will be sure all salt is dissolved. What type of salt are you using?

yep i took apart nothing broke the salt was instant ocean

what about the sterilizer

the sterilizer that came with it is the same as this one
Tetra TetraPond GreenFree UV1 9 Watt UV Clarifier

 

[Piggy]

That's the one I run on my pond. Can you use that one for saltwater? I don't have my manual to check to see if it says. No need to run it now anyway all you have is water in the tank.

 

[hotimportknight]

Once the saltwater is mixed and in the tank I would buy all the live sand you want, or non living sand and seed with live sand, and as much live rock as you want to put in the tank. Each time you add live rock in any decent amount it will restart the cycle. If you put in 5 lbs of rock and let it cycle for a month, then add more rock you will be waiting all over again. I doubt running your return pump out of water would have hurt it, unless it ran for a minute or so dry and over heating. But if it was for a few seconds it should be fine as long as its still moving water when submerged.

 

[jcegt87]

how long should the "fogginess" of the water last

 

[hotimportknight]

I wouldn't run the UV sterilizer until you get it stocked, i don't know if it would slow down the cycle or not, but it would do no good and just wear out the bulb for nothing.

 

[hotimportknight]

Do you have sand or substrate in at all? If not I dont see why it would be foggy?

 

[jcegt87]

no nothing maybe its just the power heads bubbles i see

 

[hotimportknight]

Once you add sand or substrate it varies depending on how good it was. My live sand when I added it didn't make any cloudiness at all. Some people reuse substrate from old tanks or sand that isnt as clean as mine happened to be and I've heard it can take hours to 3 days or so to clear up with filtration running. My friends tank we just set up had about 1" or less visibility, running his skimmer hard it pulled out enough so you could see through the tank to the back after 1 night.

 

[hotimportknight]

Are you running a skimmer? Bubbles could be created from your pump being partially submerged and sucking some air. Your powerheads could be sucking air as well, micro bubbles are probably your cause of cloudiness if you have no substrate. Another major cause is a new skimmer that isnt broken in.

 

[Piggy]

no nothing maybe its just the power heads bubbles i see

Seeing all you have in tank is water they probably are.

 

[jcegt87]

is the wet dry filter suppose to be full
of water? Mine is half full its been like that since yesterday

 

[hotimportknight]

Yeah, some where between 1/4 full and 3/4 full of water depending on what kind it is I guess. take some pictures of your set up and our advise will be a lot more accurate.

 

[jcegt87]

sure thing when I gt home I'll do it

 

[reeffreak]

The system will not cycle with just water.You will need something to trigger the cycle so go ahead and get the sand and as much live/base rock as possible.

I would not start the UV until after the cycle.You want the beneficial bacteria to establish and colonize as much surface area as possibe.Running the UV now will just kill them.The cloudiness should last several days,less if you're running some kind of mechanical filtration.Aim to get the SG at 1.024,its a good medium for fish,snails,crustaceans and corals.

 

[yote]

how long should the "fogginess" of the water last

Did you dump the salt in before the water,or water then salt?
If all you got in there is salt and water,it should clear up pretty quick.