Help With Fish-Only Tank Questions!

[ccccooorrryyyy]

Okay, soooooo! I'm starting up a new 55 gallon fish only saltwater tank. I have a successful 47 gallon reef tank already but I would like to have a few more fish in this system. I have been researching a few topics but cant seem to find clear answers. Number 1, I would like to know how long it takes a new, dry piece of rock to have enough bacteria to be good enough to place in a new tank. For example, I bought dry rock for the 55, I placed about 6-8 rocks and 3 filter-like pads in the sump of my reef tank. I would like to know how long it really takes for this rock to be beneficial enough to place in my 55. Number 2, I would like to know a good way to truly tell if my tank is cycled. I know that generally it takes about 8 weeks to fully cycle, but I started off with two carrib-sea Fiji Pink bags of sand, 30 gallons of water from the reef, and about 2 cups of the skimming off my old tank. So I'm not sure if all of these make the cycle quicker (as the sand bags say you can add fish immediately). That brings me to my last question, is adding the skimming really useful. As we all know, skimming is good to tank out, it wouldn't hurt to have it back in the tank as that is where it came from. Thank for all of your answers and participation, cant wait to get a few more followers on my reef/fish journey!!!

 

[Brew12]

Okay, soooooo! I'm starting up a new 55 gallon fish only saltwater tank. I have a successful 47 gallon reef tank already but I would like to have a few more fish in this system. I have been researching a few topics but cant seem to find clear answers. Number 1, I would like to know how long it takes a new, dry piece of rock to have enough bacteria to be good enough to place in a new tank. For example, I bought dry rock for the 55, I placed about 6-8 rocks and 3 filter-like pads in the sump of my reef tank. I would like to know how long it really takes for this rock to be beneficial enough to place in my 55. Number 2, I would like to know a good way to truly tell if my tank is cycled. I know that generally it takes about 8 weeks to fully cycle, but I started off with two carrib-sea Fiji Pink bags of sand, 30 gallons of water from the reef, and about 2 cups of the skimming off my old tank. So I'm not sure if all of these make the cycle quicker (as the sand bags say you can add fish immediately). That brings me to my last question, is adding the skimming really useful. As we all know, skimming is good to tank out, it wouldn't hurt to have it back in the tank as that is where it came from. Thank for all of your answers and participation, cant wait to get a few more followers on my reef/fish journey!!!

There are many variables that impact bacterial growth in our systems. It is possible you could immediately add a few small fish to your system after transferring the rocks. A great way to test it is to get some pure ammonia or ammonia chloride. Dose the tank to 2ppm and see if the ammonia drops to 0ppm in 24 hours.

I don't understand your question about skimming.