New to SW

S

SlyRider

Reefing newb
Hey Guys, new to salt water and have a super easy question. Switched my 55g tank over the weekend to salt and 40lbs of live sand. been running well, water finally cleared up. I have tested my water and all seems to be where it is supposed to be as far as nitrates, nitrites and ammonia. The local aquarium shop said that I should put about 8 chromis in the tank to help with the cycle. You guys are all saying about 2 weeks before putting fish in. Help!! Also, I have a UV sterilizer plumbed in from when I was running fresh. When can I turn it on and run it? One last question, I am wanting to get a new light. I just have cheapo light hoods (2 x 18") that came with my aquarium. But I dont want to spend alot of money. I was lloking at an Odyssea 48" light on ebay, will that be sufficient for whatever I may want to do. Dont know where I am going yet, but prolly some live rock and fish. Dont know about corals but would like some clams. Thanks.

55g Tank
Fluval 305
Vectron V2 UV Sterilizer
 
you do not need to add fish to cycle the tank just put some food in the tank every day and that will start the clcle. also do you have any live rock in the tank i sugjest 1-2 pounds of rock per gallon since the sand and the live rock are the main filtration for the tank. a clcle can last anywere from a few days to a month or more every tank is different. can you post a link to the lights you are thinking about.
 
yes a skimmer is almost a must look into the octo skimmers
https://www.livingreefs.com/forums/product-reviews/15913-octopus-oct-bh-800s.html

to tell you the truth is you want to keep a clam you will need better lights than that. pc lights are really not that great. you would be able to keep softies with those light but you will be limited on lps and no sps or clams and nems. look into getting something like this. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+18700&pcatid=18700
 
You don't need fish to cycle. You can add some but it'll be rough on the fish and you risk loosing them. You fell you need to stick with 1 maybe two chromis or damsels, not 8.


The light you're looking at will not keep any clams alive for long. Clams need ALOT of light. It will however keep softys and some LPS. Odyssea used to have an extremly bad rep, but I have heard they're getting better. I don't think there output is the greatest, but it'll work for low light stuff.
 
Added a Koralia 3 to the tank. With it and the filter, I am now creating the water flow I need to get the 10x. Also added about 15# of rock. Kind of exciting. Ordered a new light. A 48" Lunar Aqualight Power Compact. Hope this will work for what I want. It is what I could afford. got a great deal. Only paid $200. Next on my list is a Protien Skimmer.
 
I think the light is around 260watts. As far as the tank, I am not sure where I am going with it. I decided to convert my fresh to salt and now just kind of winging it. Prolly Fish with rock for now. I am hoping to go to a bigger tank within a couple of years. just trying to learn right now without a huge investment
 
That light will do about everything but clams and SPS. However if you had no plans for corals, you probably bought a light fixture that is way more than what you need.
 
Others are right about cycling using fish -- there's no need for that. All it will do is most likely kill the fish. And the ones that do survive will be impossible to catch if you decide to take the tank in another direction.

Since you have live rock, that's going to cause somewhat of a cycle. To speed things up, put a little bit of fish food in the tank and let it rot. It will accomplish the exact same thing as adding live fish. Instead of fish food, you can also use a raw frozen shrimp (people food). The rotting shrimp will also kick off a cycle.
 
I've heard the shrimp one before but not the food, makes sence tho... I've also heard that thoes shrimp are a good food for snowflake eels, your thoughts?
 
ok cool, next time i go to the grocery i'll pick up some from the delli. So far my snowflake has been chowing down on some specled trout and redfish that i cought a couple months back down at the coast. he/she really diggs it. How do you tell if its male or female?
 
MAN,Its been a while since I had a mess of Specks and redfish.
I have no idea how you could tell a male from a female eel.
 
the oddesey light is pretty good i have a 24 inch one with 2 pc lights the only thing i don't like is the fans are cheap and small so it does heat up pretty good just becarefull, maybe invest in a larger fan. i wouldn't turn the uv on until you get and algea issue. you want to grow algea to help the cycle and some algea is good forn the tank to reduce nitrate and phosphates. i also started with a canister filter and did great i just kept it very clean about once every two weeks as i did water changes. good luck and hope you do great!!!!!
 

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