Am I ready?

[rferraro21]

Started with a used tank that was dry for 3 days, also with a live rock from that tank and the sand. Sand was in a bucket of water and rock was out of water for the 3 days. I had it filled up on 3/5 and started monitoring levels on 3/8. I also used some bio boost to kick-start the cycle. Today is the first day I have had zero ammonia and zero nitrites. Is it weird that nitrates have come down? Maybe my color perception was a little different today?

 

[rferraro21]

I have not been running the lights yet and have not noticed any algae blooms

 

[rferraro21]

Also here is the live rock that came with the tank. There is some pale green growth on it I think. I plan to put all the rest of the dry rock in next week

 

[thaitopher]

Can you take a picture of the tire tank?

 

[rferraro21]

 

[thaitopher]

First thing you need to do is add a lot more dry rock

 

[thaitopher]

1.5 pounds of live rock for every gallon of water

 

[thaitopher]

It won't truly cycle unless you do that first

 

[cameronh]

Yes my friend, alot more live rock is needed for bacteria to hold on to.
I would at the very least add 20 more pieces like that.

 

[rferraro21]

I have 50 lbs of dry reef saver here, I'm just waiting for the emarco 400, I ordered it today. Hoping to get it in the tank early next week. After that should I give it another week or so? Thanks everyone

 

[thaitopher]

I would give it at least a month to naturally cycle before adding any fish, then at least 6 months before adding any coral. There is no faster way of quitting the hobby than having a bunch of dead fish in your tank. Patience is the key. Don't rush the process.

 

[rferraro21]

Got the rocks in today, dust still needs to settle

 

[Transporter]

I am far from an expert in this, but I would say that it is going to take a while before that tank is going to fully cycle.
With the only 'live' rock you had being out of the water for 3 days, I would say it had some considerable die off. I would honestly question the amount of life being left on it to reseed the remaining dry rock. I am sure it would happen eventually, but if it was my tank, I would get some bottle bacteria, or throw a shrimp (raw/frozen/etc from the grocery store) in there to help boost the cycle along.

 

[Transporter]

One other thing, and this is just going by the looks of the last picture. Depending on how you plan to stock that tank, it might be a good idea to get the rock off of the sand, and put it on the bottom glass. Anything you put in there that stirs, burrows or sifts the substrate will end up causing the rock on the sand to topple. Been there, done that one....

 

[Fudsey]

Being that that is a bow front tank, please check your cross member for any cracks. I just had to empty my entire tank and move everything to a rescue tank because of this...