Stocking options for my first saltwater tank

[Kimlafeiet]

Thanks Mebbid! I will not be putting any sps inthe tank, if/when I do jump into corals, it will be mainly softies and a few lps. I will look for caulerpa instead.

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Ok. Rinsed and scrubbed my base rock today, it is pretty gross and dirty.
Concerned about it. Can i put it in the tank and start my cycle, or should I try to cure it first? How exactly do you "cure" dead rock?
Since I am cycling with a little live rock added to seed, will it make any difference to cure it first or not?
The piece of lr I got today is a beautiful piece with lots of coraline, and there is even a small xenia on it. Was not expecting the xenia, so now, Im hoping to find a way to cycle the tank and seed this base rock without killing it. :-(
Thoughts, suggestions? What should I do with this base rock? Is it ok to put it in the tank? Got quite a bit of "mud" scrubbed off, and the rock looks really white and clean for the most part, but I was surprised how dirty the water was when I was cleaning it.

 

[Big Tex]

Ok. Rinsed and scrubbed my base rock today, it is pretty gross and dirty.
Concerned about it. Can i put it in the tank and start my cycle, or should I try to cure it first? How exactly do you "cure" dead rock?
Since I am cycling with a little live rock added to seed, will it make any difference to cure it first or not?
The piece of lr I got today is a beautiful piece with lots of coraline, and there is even a small xenia on it. Was not expecting the xenia, so now, Im hoping to find a way to cycle the tank and seed this base rock without killing it. :-(
Thoughts, suggestions? What should I do with this base rock? Is it ok to put it in the tank? Got quite a bit of "mud" scrubbed off, and the rock looks really white and clean for the most part, but I was surprised how dirty the water was when I was cleaning it.

Don't hard bristle scrub so much as just brush off the dead bacteria mostly the dusty part of the rock and put it all in with the lr piece in the middle of it all.

 

[Mebbid]

"Curing" Is the act of allowing all the dead organisms on dry rock to decompose which turns into ammonia. Once the ammonia in the tank with the curing rock stops rising then it's cured. In a cycling tank it's perfectly fine to use it.

 

[Rmckoy]

The coralline algae is fine but I don't think there is a way to save the Xenia .
Unless you have a established tank to keep it in while your tank cycles .
There will be toxic levels that not too many things will live through .
Surprisingly bristle worms, sponges and a few hermit crabs that came as hitch hikers made it through .

 

[Jtisle506]

I would reccomend a BH100 protien skimmer, they are great for smaller tanks

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Tank is up and going. Seems to be doing well. I put the live rock with the xenia in my empty Fluval spec lll, using the stock led and a clip on lamp with one of those 50/50 cfl bulbs. So far, so good. I know its not long term, but hopefully it will survive while my tank cycles, then I can move it over. Added a small hermit crab to it today. Params all ok. Ammo and trites 0, trates just barely over 0, would guess 1-2. Salinity 1.025 with refractometer. What else should I be testing for? I only have the saltwater test kit, and a phosphate kit...........
Will start my build thread soon with pics

 

[Jtisle506]

Ph, make sure that stays balanced during the cycle

 

[Kimlafeiet]

Update: stinky cycling

Oh....my....word! I added a shrimp (dead, from the grocery store) to the tank on Sat as I thought my cycle might be stalled, and holy crap, my room smells like a**!
I know this is normal for cycling with shrimp, but wow, I had no idea. My husband is sleeping in the guest room tonight and I am not sure he will ever forgive me, lol.
When can I take this thing out, and is there anything I can do to help cut the smell a little? I am going to throw another powerhead in there, aimed closer to the surface for more oxygen exchange, and crack the window ( but it is getting cold now and it is supposed to dip to the 30s at night this week).

Tested tonight and Ammo is at about 1, no trites yet, trates are less than 5. Obviously the shrimp kicked the cycle into high gear cuz ammonia has more than doubled in less than 48 hours. I have read once ammo reaches 2ppm, I can take the shrimp out. Is that accurate? I also just ordered some extra purigen, carbon, and pure ammonia, rushed, it will be here Thursday. Once the shrimp is out, should I continue dosing with ammonia as needed to complete the cycle?

I read about this "smell factor" with cycling, but dang!!!!, they dont really mention you might end up divorced over it! Hahahaha

Oh, also, looking for a good in tank skimmer, 37 gallon tank, no sump. I really dont want to skimp on this, but it has to be fairly quiet, and i would rather spurge on it now than cheap out and have to replace in 6 months.

 

[Mebbid]

Hehe yeah you can remove the shrimp when the ammonia arrives. I would keep dosing with pure ammonia until the tank is fully cycled after you remove it.