New to the hobby with many questions

[reefer newby]

I have just steup a 55 gal tank. It will be { I HOPE } eventually , a reef tank. I cleaned the tank , put in all RO water , added the specified amount of pre disolved salt water.Put in live sand. Let it settle and, Turned on the fluval 305 pump. Added 2 curculation pumps. Waited about a week , and probably made my first mistake. I found 60 ponds of used live rock that had been dry for several weeks. I bought it and , to the best of my knowledge , cleaned it. I soaked it in bleach water for a day and the rinsed it as best I could. Soaked it in ro water with added chlorine remover. Rinsed again with watr and let it sun dry for a week. Soaked it in ro water again with dechlorinator added. Rinsed in ro water and put it in my new tank. I put about 40 pounds in at once. The next day I checked my ammonia level and it was at 1.1 using the saltwater test kit. Have I totally messed up or not.

 

[Reefing Madness]

No, your ok, its just going to keep the cycle going a bit longer, no worries.

 

[justgotwet]

Hello and welcome to reef 2 reef!

 

[reefer newby]

Thanks. I can go to sleep now. I dont mind waiting.

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[mike007]

Are you planning on using a skimmer? You might want to ditch the canister and go with a good skimmer and let your rock cycle back to where it was before cleaning. Good circulation, good rock and skimmer is all you need to get started.

 

[Monster Reef]

Welcome to reef2reef. Hope you enjoy the hobby and keep them questions coming cause here on reef2reef we do not mind to answer them. Good luck.


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[VB68]

Welcome to Reef2Reef These guys/gals on here are great at helping new reefers answer questions and get a jump on the learning curve.

 

[bct15]

Welcome to r2r, get used to reefing acronyms, over night emergency post conversations, and becoming a master chemist.

Well your off to a good start testing your parameters...get used to doing lots of tests, try and get into a weekly groove of testing and water changing. As far as your ammonia being up, do not worry about it as its just part of your cycle. My first tank took almost three months before my diatom outbreak (something you'll usually see at the end of your nitrogen cycle). As long as you don't have anything living in there don't sweat it, kee testing and when you see them nitrates drop get yourself a fish and a small clean up crew (cuc), though you can get a clean up crew a little sooner but I doubt you'll see a whole lot of die off after that rock treatment so an early cuc is not needed.


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[reefer newby]

Will I need the canister at some point ?

 

[Reefing Madness]

Nope, do not run a canister. As long as you run the correct amount of Live Rock, that is your canister per say, thats what filters your water for you.

 

[reefer newby]

I have about 45 lbs of live rock in a 55 gal tank. Is that enough rock? I noticed a skim on the water surface when I turned the light on. It kinda looks like a dry skim. Im not sure. I will look into a good skimmer and ditch the cannister filter.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Need 1.5 minimum and 2lbs per gallon to be on the good side.
And a skimmer as close to twice your water volume would be ideal. You prolly have proteins building up on the surface, what do you have for power heads in there?

 

[reefer newby]

I have a 950gph on one end pointed at the surface and a 700gph circulating at about mid level

 

[Reefing Madness]

WOW, thats plenty, no worries there.

 

[reefer newby]

Do I need to do any water changes while my tank is cycling ?

 

[Reefing Madness]

No. The more bacteria built up the better. But you will once its cycled to get the rest of the Trates down.

 

[xACE-13x]

Im sure i havent been in the hobby as long as these guys but i do know that the rock is not going to filter out any debris in the tank. I have 1.5 lbs of LR a skimmer and i run a canister filter and all is great. Its all in what works best for you.


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[Rikerbear]

It also depends on what you plan on keeping down the road. No one ever seems to ask that question before tossing out their opinions as if they were fact.
You say you hope to have this tank as a reef tank...what sort of reef? Softies, LPS, SPS, a mixed reef, what are your plans? Knowing your goal will help you decide on the right equipment and course of action.

 

[reefer newby]

A mixed reef.