Beginner needs help

[jones1483]

I have a 75 gal tank with base rock and a 1/2 to 3/4 inch sand bed. The tank is filled with water and I have tested the salinity and it is around 1.022. I still have a sandy dusty cloud in my water and am waiting for it to settle before I throw a cocktail shrimp in my tank. When I put the shrimp in how long do I wait before I start running the test on the water? Also while cycling the tank what all equipment should I be running? I have a circulator, two heaters, protein skimmer and an old fluval 404 filter. I would also like some advice on what chemicals I should add to the filter. I was thinking of atleast carbon but didnt know what else I should add. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Sniperhank]

You can throw your shrimp in even though your sand hasn't settled. After throwing it in, give it a day or 2 and start testing to see where you are at.

For what you should run while cycling, I would run it all except the skimmer. The only reason for running the filter is that it will give you another place for bacteria to grow. I would only run carbon with the filter, you wont need chemicals. They usually only mask an issue rather than solve it.

 

[jones1483]

Thanks sniperhank, another question, I use two 200W heaters had them set for 78 degrees which the tank had reached that temperature I then turned on my skimmer and the temperature dropped to 71 degrees so I shut the skimmer off. Do i need to set the heater to like 82 and run my skimmer and filter to see how far the temperature will drop then adjust the heater accordingly?