Almost Fully Setup...

[pimp4cheddar]

I've added my Crushed Coral, 30 gallons of saltwater, filter and heater. My numbers are great, however I would like to add fish.

It's going great, however now I need to add ammonia. I've tried reading...and I have no idea which ammonia to add or how much to add.

There's a Wal-Mart right near my house, so any advice?

There are no fish in the tank. It's a new tank that I'm setting up for SaltWater.

 

[Crazy fishes]

I've added my Crushed Coral, 30 gallons of saltwater, filter and heater. My numbers are great, however I would like to add fish.

It's going great, however now I need to add ammonia. I've tried reading...and I have no idea which ammonia to add or how much to add.

There's a Wal-Mart right near my house, so any advice?

There are no fish in the tank. It's a new tank that I'm setting up for SaltWater.

Are you using live rock? If you are then you don't have to add ammonia as the die off from the rock is sufficient. If not then what filter?

Regards

 

[pimp4cheddar]

OK...I'll be a bit more specific...

I own a 30 gallon tank. The tank is brand new and has never had fish in it.

I've layed down the Crushed Coral, installed the filter and heater. I've mixed the salt and the salinity is on point. The temp is ok and the water is finally clear and settled.

I have decided to go LIVE ROCK...and I'm still alittle unsure about what I'm doing. I was under the impression that I needed to add ammonia...thus the reason for this thread...

I will be buying the live rock this week. Is there anything I should know about live rock and my tank? Should I wait to add fish? etc...

I'm fully open to all info and thoughts of the PROFESSIONALS on this thread.

Please help.

 

[Sea Turtle]

OK...I'll be a bit more specific...

I own a 30 gallon tank. The tank is brand new and has never had fish in it.

I've layed down the Crushed Coral, installed the filter and heater. I've mixed the salt and the salinity is on point. The temp is ok and the water is finally clear and settled.

I have decided to go LIVE ROCK...and I'm still alittle unsure about what I'm doing. I was under the impression that I needed to add ammonia...thus the reason for this thread...

I will be buying the live rock this week. Is there anything I should know about live rock and my tank? Should I wait to add fish? etc...

I'm fully open to all info and thoughts of the PROFESSIONALS on this thread.

Please help.

No, you can't add live fish at this point and time. You risk killing all the fish and losing your money invested in them. Put the live rock in, wait a bit until your ammonia and nitrate levels stabablize (to zero) and then you can add fish. Even if the rock is curred you may still get some die off that could spike you ammonia levels. It's best to wait until you know you are good to go. Have patients, it will come along.

 

[pimp4cheddar]

Thanks SeaTurtle!

But what am I missing?

Should I just go out and buy Live Rock? Do I need sand or is the crushed coral ok? Once I buy the Live Rock, do I need to add anything into the water or just let it wait...what should i look for...how much rock for a 30gallon tank...etc....

I'm truly a newbee

 

[Sea Turtle]

Thanks SeaTurtle!

But what am I missing?

Should I just go out and buy Live Rock? Do I need sand or is the crushed coral ok? Once I buy the Live Rock, do I need to add anything into the water or just let it wait...what should i look for...how much rock for a 30gallon tank...etc....

I'm truly a newbee

Yeh, go ahead and buy some live rock either on line or from your lfs. I bought mine from www.saltycritter.com and I am very pleased. They aslo sell uncured live rock which I wanted to cycle my tank with. So, once you get this, watch your ammonia levels and nitrate levels. They should go way up at first within a couple of days. This will come back down over a period of 2 to 4 weeks, sometimes much quicker. Mine cycled in a little more than a week, but I let it go for about 3 just in case. If you get cured (much more expensive) rock than you might have your cycle completed much quicker!! Up to you though. With gas prices and the economy going down the toilet, God knows what delivery migh cost you now for that... I would say that you generaly should have 1lb of live rock per gallon. So, 30lbs would be a good start. Also, the more you have the nicer it will look in the long run which will give you more spots to place corals.

Hope this helps

 

[CageUK]

To follow on from what seaturtle says. If you can get a good deal from a local lfs, then you could cut down cycling time quite dramatically if you buy fully cured live rock.
I got some really good stuff locally, got it home quickly and my tank was fully cycled in two days... awesome.
Uncured will take substantially longer but is cheaper. Fully cured live rock bought online is likely to have more die-off so will take longer to cycle. This is due to the transportation time.

As you are using live rock for your filtration you will not need your filter. You could take the filter medium out of it (polywool, pads, noodles etc) and effectively just use it as a powerhead. It can then be used for special needs such as nitrate/phosphate reduction as and when you need it.

Live rock needs a good flow of water to work so you must make sure the tank has plenty of water movement. The de-facto recommendation is 20x the tank volume every hour so you'd be looking to shift 600 gallons per hour to meet this requirement. If you haven't already done so then you'll need to look at additions pumps/powerheads.

Have a read up on the forum as just about any question you can ask has already been asked and there is a wealth of knowledge even on the current threads.

Good luck

Cheers

 

[SkiFletch]

Are you in the US or the UK? If you're in the US, USUALLY you get better rock ordering uncured stuff online. Either way, it never hurts to check out what the LFS has