The tank is up and running

[AH-99p]

This weekend I managed to get the tank up and running...

The tank is a tropiquarium 88 (35 US Gallon) I ripped out the biolife filter and replaced with a Eheim Professional 2 External Filter and an aquaclear powerhead. I kept the 200W Hagen Tronic Heater.

I have a bed of coral sand & 12Kg of liverock.

The aquarium has been running for 2 days now, and I have seen more and more life when i come and look at it... shrimp, worms, snails

How long should i leave the setup before i start to test the water conditions etc?

 

[tecwzrd]

Was the 33 lbs (12 kg) of lr cured from a lfs or shipped? If cured from the lfs then you might to do the fishless cycle using a small cocktail shrimp. If shipped then you probably will have enough die-off from the lr to cycle the tank. I’d test now and about every 3-5 days to see where your levels are. You basically want to see a spike in nh3/no2 and level off to 0 and then keep doing pwc until your no3 drops to <=10 ppm before adding any fish.

 

[melosu58]

Your tank has to cycle first. Look for article on fishless cycle

 

[AH-99p]

Your tank has to cycle first. Look for article on fishless cycle

I completely understand this - i've been a tropical addict for years... just just seeing when i should start testing the water... and to see if anyone had any comments about my setup

I've no intentions of adding fish for a while yet tbh.

 

[AH-99p]

it may be best to ask... is there anything missing from my current setup - i know i don't have a skimmer, but the LFS said to wait 6 months before putting a skimmer on the tank.

 

[Hara]

I would be testing now and often throughout the cycle, it is the only way to know for sure that it has been through the entire process. I do not use a skimmer during the cycling stage, but there is no reason to not put one on as soon as you start adding livestock.