Finally!!!! My first SW tank begins!

[jmmnano]

After many many months of research and data collection. I have now started my 24g jbj nano cube deluxe. I went to my lfs yesterday, got my water, 25 lbs live rock, and 25 lbs of live sand. I purchased it all at 4 o'clock, and after a short trip to the grocery store. I spent until 2:30 in the mourning playing with the rock. Still not entirely set on the rock scape, but if I change one more time in the next few days my wife is gone think if gone utterly insane and have committed. Lol. I am so excited

 

[jmmnano]

Arranging the rock is not as easy as I thought it might be.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Yeah it never is . Some aquarium putty and super glue gel can help to secure things and create different looks. I think it looks pretty good though. You plan on going fowlr or reef?

 

[UABsleeperSRNA]

Looks good! Congrats

 

[54seaweed]

it took me when I set up my 90g almost 2 weeks till I was finally happy with my rock scape , I also tried not to make it too steep so I would have nice shelves for coral
another thing I learned never do it alone as you can't really see what your doing from up top lol
good luck and look forward to see your progress down the line
another pointer if any rock wobbles if you touch it, a fish can knock it over too..
I lost 1 of my very first tanks due to that stupid mistake
so yes epoxy can be your friend

 

[jmmnano]

I am doing reef and due to all the help from you guys help on all my questions I feel so much less overwhelmed. Thank you everyone.

 

[54seaweed]

best advice is take your time , don't rush while your tank cycles plan out your layout
along with what livestock you want , the key is not to overload your tank to fast 1 or 2
things at a time per week , giving your tank a chance to build it's bio load

yes the urge will be there to add more faster but resist

going slow will not only help your tank build its bio load it will help keep you from burning a hole in your pocket to fast ,

ones who rush are the ones with the big problems, overloading a new tank will only cause more doa's and not all fish are cheap this hobby can get quite expensive
taking it slow will help lighten that big blow money wise

asking questions are also key in this hobby

so enjoy your journey into saltwater the reward is a very nice one
and something you can be proud of for years to come

 

[jmmnano]

My lfs told me I could put a fish in after the tank has been running for two or three days. I was under the impression it was more like two or three weeks

 

[jmmnano]

They r a respectable business and have been so for 30 yrs. I trust them but it never hurts get second opinion. Their suggestion was to put one oc. Clown or a damsel. Something hardy. Thoughts?

 

[Dav3]

Don't do that. Don't trust lfs. They are there to make money. Period. That puts unnecessary stress on the fish.

Go to grocery store and ask for one raw shrimp. Put it in a mesh filter bag and toss that in the tank. Wait 2-4 weeks for tank to cycle.

 

[treemanone2003]

Don't do that. Don't trust lfs. They are there to make money. Period. That puts unnecessary stress on the fish.

Go to grocery store and ask for one raw shrimp. Put it in a mesh filter bag and toss that in the tank. Wait 2-4 weeks for tank to cycle.

+1 !!! They are great at trying to separate you and your hard earned money. As others have said, take it nice and slow and add something here and there. Speed kills in more ways than one.

 

[54seaweed]

My lfs told me I could put a fish in after the tank has been running for two or three days. I was under the impression it was more like two or three weeks

Never listen to a pet store clerk all they care about is the commission on the sale , they'll try to sell you things you don't need just to make a few extra bucks on the sale
along with advise that you'll bite your *** for listening too

once you learn some of the basics you'll understand why we try to persuade everyone from taking advice from a pet store

depending if your live rock is cured or not will be a factor on how fast you will cycle
it will take longer with base rock

either method should take from 4 to 8 weeks

this is something you should read it will explain things the simple but right way to do it

Cycle your salt tank - Aquarium Advice

 

[jmmnano]

The live rock is cured. How much of a difference does that make?

 

[54seaweed]

it will help cut cycling time and yes you still need to see it go through the stages to be sure it cycled correctly it just will be faster

 

[jmmnano]

Ok great guys thanks for the info. I will update as progress goes on.

 

[jmmnano]

What would be you guys recommendations for the amount of time that I should keep the lights on

 

[jmmnano]

Ok so I've been running my tank for a week. I am getting water tested today at lfs. Just wondering when should I do a partial water change and how much should I change out.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Don't do a wc until your ammonia and nitrite readings are 0 and have held at 0 for a couple days. Your nitrates should be extremely high and you'll need to do wc's to bring theses down to the 5ish ppm range. Example 100ppm nitrates it would take about 4 50% changes to get down to a safe range (50ppm after the first, 25ppm after the second,~12ppm after the third and ~6 after the 4th)

 

[jmmnano]

How long do I wait between changes

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

A day or so works for me