Have everything, now what?!

[luke.s]

Ok, I finally have everything and am ready to let my tank cycle... but what next? FOWLR. Plan on getting a small amount of live rock then some dry rock but not till i get paid next week

I have a 29gallon tank
50lb bag of Instant Ocean Sea Salt
20lb bag of CaribSea Live Aragonite Sand
Aquaclear 50 filter
Finnex HPS100 heater
&
some random pump, i think a Visi-Jet VJ100 that someone gave to me for free.

So... Fill the tank with water then what? sand and salt, and turn the filter on? or do i wait to add the live sand? I dont have any measuring tools yet to measure ammonia, nitrites n stuff. Gotta buy books first n see how much I have left over. It might sound easy but I dont wanna screw anything up! help!

 

[joy13]

You will want to mix your water first. I usually add the sand then the saltwater. An easy way to get the water from the bucket to the tank is a hose that is attached to a power head. You need to measure your SG I prefer a refractometer for that.

Are you going to add live rock? I find it is best to do that when you are cycling your tank. An API is a good test kit to have it has all the basics. Wait until the sand has settled before turning on your filter.

 

[jsmith]

Hose from power head? I didn't receive hoses with mine

 

[luke.s]

Is it okay to add the sand, then fill the tank, then put the salt in? After the sand has settled, turn on the filter?

 

[luke.s]

Oh, and do I need to add all the ornaments and stuff in there like caves before cycling or can I start the cycle now and add them next week