How to start a SW tank?

[Dav3]

Clearly you need to do more research and not rush it. Have you even added an ammonia source to the tank? If not cycling will take longer or never fully complete.

 

[Fishman007]

Clearly you need to do more research and not rush it. Have you even added an ammonia source to the tank? If not cycling will take longer or never fully complete.

Yes i dosed 4 ppm of ammonia and in couple hours it was hone ive done my research and have gone to alot of fish stores

 

[Dav3]

Ok so i got the tank of craigslist with 30lbs of live rock, a canister filter, a cpr bakpak protien skimmer, and we saver 15 gallons of there water (there tank was up for 5 years.)
And then bought 20lbs of live sand, a power head,and 22 gallons of SW. I tested right before we got them and it was
0 ammonia
0 nitrates
0 nitrites
0 phosphates
Ph 8.4

Its cycled

Are you sure their tank has been up for 5 years? That rock looks new, not aged. I would wait a week and test again before adding anything to make sure there isn't any die off from the rock and especially the live sand.

 

[Rmckoy]

Are you sure their tank has been up for 5 years? That rock looks new, not aged. I would wait a week and test again before adding anything to make sure there isn't any die off from the rock and especially the live sand.

Wow ,
This has to be the fastest research to purchase time ever!
Question and inquire one day,
And the next purchase a tank , and fish ,
The tomato clowns are too beautiful to sacrifice and I will guarantee your tank will begin a cycle in a couple of days after adding these 2 fish .
The rock is too clean/ new looking for it to be cycled .
But as for a few other threads I've read ,
The best lesson is self taught .

 

[Fishman007]

Are you sure their tank has been up for 5 years? That rock looks new, not aged. I would wait a week and test again before adding anything to make sure there isn't any die off from the rock and especially the live sand.

Yes that is what they told us and the sand is new

 

[Dav3]

Well... I'm inclined to think they were lying to you. That rock doesn't show it. And new live sand that has been sitting on a shelf will have die off that will cause a cycle.

 

[Rmckoy]

Well... I'm inclined to think they were lying to you. That rock doesn't show it. And new live sand that has been sitting on a shelf will have die off that will cause a cycle.

I think we should turn this into a photo gallery of rocks



These rocks are in my tank and I bought them used in another tank ,
I cycled them when I started , they are about 2 years old , only in my tank less then a year .

 

[Masoniac]

I agree with everyone else wait a week or two testing the water every 3 days and if everything stays zero (I do not think it will though) then you're good to go.

 

[Fishman007]

So what should i do with the clowns?

 

[Rmckoy]

So what should i do with the clowns?

If you believe the tank is already cycled and everything is good what do you have to worry about ?
I will recommend reading about new tanks , especially the nitrogen cycle .
It will explain how all your parameters are good now but will explain what you could possibly be in for ,
Good luck !

 

[jwh0818]

Have y'all ever heard of a fish in cycle?

Anyone criticizing this guy?

If so then why are you grilling him?

His money, his time, let him decide.

I for one can say you can clean LR while its in your tank. I have a buddy who has a 450g SW tank and he cleans his LR every month.

Who knows if he was misinformed? Not me nor you so dont judge or critisize what you do not know. Just because your LR looks like crap doesnt mean his LR has to as well.

 

[Dav3]

Yes you can cycle with hardy fish which tomato clowns are. But better to risk a cheaper fish like blue green chromis. And it's still a risk. Why do you think fish less cycling is so much more popular.

The op wasn't aware he would still likely have a cycle. Just wanted him to be aware.

Cleaning rock is one thing. But no one can keep rock that clean. It looks like dry rock that may or may not have been cured yet. Not like rock from a 5 year old reef tank.

 

[Rmckoy]

Have y'all ever heard of a fish in cycle?

Anyone criticizing this guy?

If so then why are you grilling him?

His money, his time, let him decide.

I for one can say you can clean LR while its in your tank. I have a buddy who has a 450g SW tank and he cleans his LR every month.

Who knows if he was misinformed? Not me nor you so dont judge or critisize what you do not know. Just because your LR looks like crap doesnt mean his LR has to as well.

I don't think it was grilling or bashing .
The transition from thinking of a SW to buying one was rather fast ,
1 day ,
And purchasing a tank and shoving fish in it when being led to believe I was already cycled ,
It appears like another normal newby .
In a rush to put as much in to make It look like a reef ,
We all has done it and learned by our mistakes .
A fish in cycle can be done ,
I've heard of using black mollies .
They are dirt cheap and are brackish water .
You can switch them to salt water ,
But they are stressed just from switching , then adding the stress of a cycle they probably won't live .
I highly recommend going to the seafood counter and buying a few raw shrimp and putting them in a sticking ,
A great ammonia source .
To speed up the process buy a bottle of bacteria the one I bought was called colony .
It works great and speeds the process up by a couple weeks .
The best advice I heard was take your time !!!
Research everything.
And don't add too mucho be stock too fast .
1-2 fish every couple weeks .
Give your system time to adjust for the bio load it will soon have to maintain .

 

[jwh0818]

I don't think it was grilling or bashing .
The transition from thinking of a SW to buying one was rather fast ,
1 day ,
And purchasing a tank and shoving fish in it when being led to believe I was already cycled ,
It appears like another normal newby .
In a rush to put as much in to make It look like a reef ,
We all has done it and learned by our mistakes .
A fish in cycle can be done ,
I've heard of using black mollies .
They are dirt cheap and are brackish water .
You can switch them to salt water ,
But they are stressed just from switching , then adding the stress of a cycle they probably won't live .
I highly recommend going to the seafood counter and buying a few raw shrimp and putting them in a sticking ,
A great ammonia source .
To speed up the process buy a bottle of bacteria the one I bought was called colony .
It works great and speeds the process up by a couple weeks .
The best advice I heard was take your time !!!
Research everything.
And don't add too mucho be stock too fast .
1-2 fish every couple weeks .
Give your system time to adjust for the bio load it will soon have to maintain .

Like I said, ever heard of a fish in cycle?

It might not be the best choice but its still a decent choice that even im not ashamed of. Its the tried and true way

 

[TheTodd]

Fish-in also causes damage to your fish. If you don't care about the health of your fish, then use fish-in and hope they make it. It works, it is just pointless, IMO.

I agree that the OP jumped the gun on putting fish in that soon. Adding live sand and rock does not guarantee an instant cycle and if there is any die-off from moving the live rock, parameters will react to that soon. I disagree that old rock has to look old though. I just got a 240 with about 275 lbs of live rock. It was a FOWLR and all the rock was relatively clean. This guy had owned it for a few years and the rock came from the owner that had it before him for a while.

I didn't feel anyone was bashing the OP...just expressing concern about how quickly they were moving. Saltwater aquariums are not good to rush. Patience is key.

 

[Rmckoy]

Fish-in also causes damage to your fish. If you don't care about the health of your fish, then use fish-in and hope they make it. It works, it is just pointless, IMO.

I agree that the OP jumped the gun on putting fish in that soon. Adding live sand and rock does not guarantee an instant cycle and if there is any die-off from moving the live rock, parameters will react to that soon. I disagree that old rock has to look old though. I just got a 240 with about 275 lbs of live rock. It was a FOWLR and all the rock was relatively clean. This guy had owned it for a few years and the rock came from the owner that had it before him for a while.

I didn't feel anyone was bashing the OP...just expressing concern about how quickly they were moving. Saltwater aquariums are not good to rush. Patience is key.

I think different kinds of rocks and it depends where they come from .
There is home made rocks available to purchase .
The only thing is they are made with Portland concrete , I'm a little concerned about adding this even though it would soak and rinse for a considerable length of time .
Mine took a long time to get the color it is now .
The pinks and purples are beautiful . Why would anyone want to clean that off ?

 

[Fishman007]

If you believe the tank is already cycled and everything is good what do you have to worry about ?
I will recommend reading about new tanks , especially the nitrogen cycle .
It will explain how all your parameters are good now but will explain what you could possibly be in for ,
Good luck !

Yeah i know what cycling is.

 

[Fishman007]

I don't think it was grilling or bashing .
The transition from thinking of a SW to buying one was rather fast ,
1 day ,
And purchasing a tank and shoving fish in it when being led to believe I was already cycled ,
It appears like another normal newby .
In a rush to put as much in to make It look like a reef ,
We all has done it and learned by our mistakes .
A fish in cycle can be done ,
I've heard of using black mollies .
They are dirt cheap and are brackish water .
You can switch them to salt water ,
But they are stressed just from switching , then adding the stress of a cycle they probably won't live .
I highly recommend going to the seafood counter and buying a few raw shrimp and putting them in a sticking ,
A great ammonia source .
To speed up the process buy a bottle of bacteria the one I bought was called colony .
It works great and speeds the process up by a couple weeks .
The best advice I heard was take your time !!!
Research everything.
And don't add too mucho be stock too fast .
1-2 fish every couple weeks .
Give your system time to adjust for the bio load it will soon have to maintain .

Not a day a week

 

[Fishman007]

Ok so the tanks been up for a month now, the tomatos died a week after they were bought but when i went to petco they told me that whole shipment had died except for 1 remaining clown. I now have
1 valentini puffer
2 ocellaris clowns
1 snowflake blenny
5 red legged hermit crabs
2 emerald green crab
1 cleaner shrimp
1 porcelain crab
1 blue legged hermit
2 turbo snails
1 snowball uchin

Corals:
5 purple ricordea mushrooms colonies
5 green ricordea mushrooms colonies
6 palley zoanthids colonies
8 green zoanthids colonies
8 purple zoanthid colonies
4 encrusted momapipoas
2 green star polyps

All my perameters are good
Havent lost anything but the tomato clowns early on and everyones eating and active