ok need some advice

[Butters]

I am currently using a 75 Gallon SW setup and going eventually for corals/fish. I have the sand and water in there now and has been for 2 weeks. I tested the water and everything seems fine so far.(nitrates/ammonia/ph) aslo the salinity is at 1.020.

So...whats my next step? getting the LR or getting a small cleanup crew first?

Also what type of rock is good? I'm thinking price here. Best place ive seen so far is www.thepetstop.com. Now my question is can I go for like 50 pounds of cured base live fiji rock and 30 pounds of uncured fiji LR? I just dont wanna make the mistake of getting the wrong rock. also whats the dif between "base" LR and reg LR? that website shows both reg and base and the base is A LOT cheaper.

Oh and ive got the sump/heaters/protein skimmer/lights etc already.

Any suggestions would be great thanks.

 

[stresco]

Pesonally, i would get the uncured LR because your tank is so young, you can cure the LR in the tank while you use it to cycle you tank at the same time.

 

[sokhamik]

you said that you've added the water and sand.. did you put like a shrimp in there to help get the cycle started?? base rock is rock you put with the live rock in hopes that it will soon become live rock itself.. i would go for uncured live rock too as long as you don't have anything living in the tank

 

[Butters]

nothing in there living at all. not even shrimp. what kind of shrimp should I get and can I get them at a pet store that carries fish? From what I've read so far looks like i need 2 large shrimp? should I wait til i get the LR b4 the shrimp?

so "Base" rock isnt live rock? is there a chance that it wont become live rock? also is it safe in the tank with live rock?

sorry for 50 questions. I have no idea what im doing lol.

 

[alrmc4]

base rock will become live rock it just needs time. i believe the "shrimp" they were talking about is for cycling the tank they are dead uncooked shrimp from the grocery store. shrimp are sensitive if you added one before the tank cycled it would die. plan on hurrying up and waiting this is a hobby that a lot of patience is required.the upside is it is worth it

 

[Hara]

I also think your salinity is a little low, boost it up to about 1.023.
It usually takes several months for base rock to become liverock, it will help
if you buy live rock to get the process going a little quicker.

When you say everything tested "fine", what do you mean? Because what you want is for it to become very "unfine" for awhile, that gets the bacteria growing that you want in your tank. That is where the cocktail shrimp comes in. Toss one or two in your tank, as it rots, the bacteria starts to grow. After two or three weeks, sometimes more, the water will test "fine" again. That is when you know it is safe to start adding livestock.

 

[steve-s]

You could also try Hawaiian Island dry base rock. It will do much the same and save you some $$. A 60lb box is $44.00+$36.00 shipping leaves you with $1.33/lb. A great savings and the dead base rock can easily be seeded by the uncured live rock.

I would leave off any inverts/clean up crew until after the addition of the LR and the ensuing cycle that will follow. Let the tank run for about a month and monitor the levels. After that you should be good to go.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Butters]

ok thanks for the info. i went to the store today and got 2 uncooked jumbo shrimp and put them in my tank.

so not i just play the waiting game? what will the shrimp look like when its due to come out? also should I do a water changes while I let the shrimp rot in there?

 

[steve-s]

The shrimp will end up looking like a ball of goo no doubt. It really depends on how long it takes to cycle the tank.

You should never do water changes while cycling a tank. Especially when no live animals are invovled. It will just slow down the process and remove the necessary nutrient that will aid in building the proper nitrosomonas and nitrobacters.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Hara]

When your ammonia has spiked to large proportions, it is time to take the shrimp out. My readings usually maxed out the color chart.

 

[Butters]

thanks steve....ok now how will i know when my tank is cycled? when the chemical readings turn back tonormal?

currently I just have my sand in there. prolly gonna get my live rock this week. so i guess theres not a problem by just adding the rock when I am still currently cycling the tank. I figure it might take a little longer to get the "base" rock to grow the proper junk on it along with cycling the uncured LR. am i getting this right?

sorry for the newbness again.

 

[reefrunner69]

I notice from your first post you have a sump....does the sump have an area for biological filtration? How much sand is in the tank? I'm wondering if you have enough surface are for effective nitrification. There will be plenty of ammonia produced by the shrimp, but if there is not enough surface area on your biological filter media, you may have constant nitrite problems until you add some rock which will add more media. The bacteria responsible for processing ammonia take up space, the bacteria for the nitrite akso require space....

 

[Butters]

about how long will this take on average? 2-3 weeks? currently my amonia reading is = to the first lowest amonia reading color on the color bar.

last question from me til the cycle is done lol.
hopefully some day i can help with the suggestions

ps i am getting my base rock 30 lbs and uncured live rock 50 lbs for starters this week. is it ok if i just throw them in when i get them during the cycling phase?

 

[reefrunner69]

You should see the ammonia go up within a couple of days or sooner.

When you get the rock, you can add it to the tank, it may set the cycle back a little or it may accelerate it, it will depend on how much of the beneficial bacteria have died off the LR and base rock. When aquascaping the rock, remove at least 1/4 of the water from the tank or 1/2 (keep it standing by in a rubbermaid garbage can or tub) to allow for displacement. When you arrange your rock make sure you have a loose (but stable) aquascape that allows for good waterflow between the rocks.

 

[Butters]

i have a fluval 304/sea clone 150 protein skimmer/penguin 1140 power head.
i know they arent the best but i was told the would be good for now considering my tank wasnt reef ready. also have just about 1" base of sand.

no idea about the fluval and the biological filtration though. im pretty sure it does though . am i gonna have nitrite problems?

 

[reefrunner69]

Since you are getting the rock within a week I don't think there will be a problem

 

[Butters]

ok day 2 with the shrimp in the tank and MAN does it stink!! also noticed some green stuff growing on my power jet hose from my fluval. is that good?

and how do i get rid of that smell?
the room gets to about 80 degrees when im not home (i work b shift)
the tank stays at 78 degrees constantly w/o any heaters on. could this be the reason why it stinks?

also so far in about 2 weeks ive lost about an inch of water from evaporation.

my protein skimmer hasnt picked up a thing yet either. is this normal during cycling or should it be off? also the skimmer is causing a TON of bubbles that arent going away and hugging the insides of the tank.

just hope everything is normal i am so lost
feels like im doing something wrong. i am constantly searching the forum too for my questions.

 

[Butters]

day 3 and now my whole house stinks. i turned off my protein skimmer the whole top of the water was covered with bubbles.

got home from work bubbles are gone but the water is staring to get cloudy.

am i on the right track?

 

[reefrunner69]

Have you got the LR yet?? I think the 3 shrimp were a bit of overkill, I think 1 shrimp would have provided enough to get the job done, but yeah, it sounds like your on the right track.

 

[loganj]

Don't worry too much about the skimmer. It won't pull much from the water to start with anyway. Seaclones, IME, are bad about putting bubbles in the tank. It'll settle down once it "breaks in" and you get it adjusted correctly.