Are we ready??

[LoveJC03]

Saturday we got our tank up and running with 50gal of saltwater, 40 or so lbs of base rock & 70lbs of sand. Ammonia, Nitrates & Nitrites are all 0.

Can we go ahead and buy some cured live rock, chaeto for our sump & some cleaners? :mrgreen:

 

[fastrd400]

I would buy the live rock, put it in the tank, but wait on the rest for right now. Your tank has only been up and running for 3 days, so you need to start your cycle. Throw in a piece of raw table shrimp to start it off. Depending on how quickly you cycle, you are looking at about 3 weeks before adding any living thing to the tank.

 

[LoveJC03]

I would buy the live rock, put it in the tank, but wait on the rest for right now. Your tank has only been up and running for 3 days, so you need to start your cycle. Throw in a piece of raw table shrimp to start it off. Depending on how quickly you cycle, you are looking at about 3 weeks before adding any living thing to the tank.

Thank you, we're only going to be adding a few lbs of live rock at first because our LFS wants $6.50/lb. It's also cured, can we start our cycle without the shrimp?

 

[Bluesaltwater87]

holy crap 6.50 a lb!!! wow. i know a hole saler that sells to busnesses here in sacramento and i go to a place for 2.50 a lb. but i cant talk to much i have paid 16.99 a lb for some extreamly good stuff.
I wish you the best of luck. o if you want to get cleaners and stuff like that for CHEAP. here is the link
ReefCleaners.org | Clean Up Crews and Macro Algae

 

[fastrd400]

Thank you, we're only going to be adding a few lbs of live rock at first because our LFS wants $6.50/lb. It's also cured, can we start our cycle without the shrimp?

You can get dry, or base rock to add with your live rock. The live rock will seed the dry rock. You really need to get something in that tank to start decaying to start your cycle.

 

[Bluesaltwater87]

You can get dry, or base rock to add with your live rock. The live rock will seed the dry rock. You really need to get something in that tank to start decaying to start your cycle.

true so so true

 

[LoveJC03]

holy crap 6.50 a lb!!! wow. i know a hole saler that sells to busnesses here in sacramento and i go to a place for 2.50 a lb. but i cant talk to much i have paid 16.99 a lb for some extreamly good stuff.
I wish you the best of luck. o if you want to get cleaners and stuff like that for CHEAP. here is the link
ReefCleaners.org | Clean Up Crews and Macro Algae

Yeah, it's VERY expensive..I see it on Craigslist alot for $2.00-$3.50/lb. It's fiji rock, the tonga and some others at our LFS are higher than $6.50 :shock:

Thanks for that link, I'll check it out. Our LFS sells turbo snails for I think $4.99 and the astrea and..another one is around $2.

 

[LoveJC03]

You can get dry, or base rock to add with your live rock. The live rock will seed the dry rock. You really need to get something in that tank to start decaying to start your cycle.

Yeah, we have about 45lbs of base rock in there already :) We do have 40 lbs live sand "Carib Sea Ocean Direct" not sure how live it is though. I was reading about bagged live sand online and it's hardly live..just has some bacteria in it.

Would 5-10 lbs of live rock be enough to seed and cycle?

 

[FishyReef]

As you might already know, you should aim for 1-2 lbs of rock per gallon in your tank. I would add more dry rock to the 45lbs you already have, and then pick up a few pieces of live rock. The few pieces of live rock will turn all of your other rock live over time. You can get decently priced dry rock from bulk reef supply or marco rocks if your LFS is charging too much for it. Once you get a few pieces of live rock in the tank, just add an uncooked piece of shrimp to the tank to get your cycle started. Then your tank will be ready to go in a few weeks so that you can add your clean up crew and first fish!

 

[Northstar24]

As you might already know, you should aim for 1-2 lbs of rock per gallon in your tank. I would add more dry rock to the 45lbs you already have, and then pick up a few pieces of live rock. The few pieces of live rock will turn all of your other rock live over time. You can get decently priced dry rock from bulk reef supply or marco rocks if your LFS is charging too much for it. Once you get a few pieces of live rock in the tank, just add an uncooked piece of shrimp to the tank to get your cycle started. Then your tank will be ready to go in a few weeks so that you can add your clean up crew and first fish!

This is the route you want to take. I am guessing that you're reading 0 ammonia and nitrite because there was nothing to decay in the tank to start off the cycle

 

[LoveJC03]

We just have diy base rock (crushed oyster shells & portland cement), 30 lbs sand, 40 lbs live sand and salt water that we made. Ammonia, nitrate & nitrate all 0.

Also, the rock we will be getting is fully cured from our lfs which is 20 min away.

 

[FishyReef]

Even with fully cured live rock you still need to cycle your tank.