Saltwater Newbie Here

[joek18]

Hello everyone. I am new to the saltwater world. I bought a 55 gallon tank and dry rock(was live). I set it up this past weekend. I used 40 pounds of CaribSea live sand and Instant Ocean salt. Im running a sunsun canister filter and about to buy a coralife super skimmer (not sure if its good but has good reviews on amazon)... My mind is in a million different directions on this cycling process. Everywhere i look everyone has different opinions on what to do. So im probably about to ask some stupid questions.

Water change:
some people say 50% weekly some people say 20% week and some say dont do any water change. so what is the correct procedure here? If no water change then do i do a water change before i add fish? after tank is established i was reading 15% water change monthly?

Lighting:
Im not sure that it really matters to much but i know some people say no lights on and some even say cover the tank.

After the cycling process i add some sails and hermit crabs and shrimp to clean the tank from the cycle (im assuming the tank will be pretty nasty?) how long after i add the CUC can i add fish and does it matter if i fish or coral first? Sorry to a bunch of dumb questions i just want to make sure i do it right and not someones shortcut way. Thanks in advance and any advice will be taken. Im sure ill have some more questions after the cycle lol.
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[jgeorge06]

Welcome! I'm only a year into the reefing hobby, but with my tanks (I've upgraded twice, gradually from a 29g to a 75g) I've cycled the tank for about a month, then I did my fish and cuc at the same time...more like a 2-3 days apart. I also started to progressively add coral at that time too.


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[joek18]

did you do any water changes during the cycle? thanks.

 

[jgeorge06]

I did a 15-20% change the day before I added any fish


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[shrimpy brains]

That's a ton of questions for which you are still going to get conflicting answers. Asking is good, but you will still have to decide for yourself what is best for you.

water changes: doing these during the cycle will only prolong the process. You started with dry rock. Did you add any source of ammonia to your tank to start the cycle? Are you running tests to see how the process is going?
After the cycle, I just start doing a 20% weekly water change, but people differ on this.

Lighting: Depends on the what you are keeping. a fish only tank will only need whatever light you want to cover the tank. some corals require lighting with a high output, but you can always upgrade these later.

After the cycle, I tend to add a clean up crew first, but you could add a fish with that. Also, remember that you want to add fish slowly and let the tanks biofilter grow with the bioload.

Welcome to ARC. The only dumb question is the one you don't ask!

 

[jgeorge06]

Shrimpy Brains;1070500 wrote: Lighting: Depends on the what you are keeping. a fish only tank will only need whatever light you want to cover the tank. some corals require lighting with a high output, but you can always upgrade these later.

Lighting is the third most important thing, other than water and filtration, I think. If you are going to keep a variety of coral, you'll be better off with a full spectrum LED or T5 setup with proper bulbs. I use T5, making the switch after upgrading to a larger tank (75 from a 40), and my tank loves it. Only cost me $139 after tax. I had a dimmable black box led that I switched from because another one was $150, then I had to find a way to hang it, since going from my ceiling in the basement isn't an option. You don't have to buy the best equipment, you just how to buy what your budget allows that still allows you to enjoy the hobby.



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[joek18]

Yes I added a bottle some some sort of bacteria the lady at Atlanta aquarium gave me. Its been running for 3 days and my ammonia level is at .50 and my nitrite is at .25

Im pretty excited. Iv always wanted a saltwater tank but always been afraid of it lol. I have a 50 gal freshwater Angel tank. Thanks for the advice! Oh do i need to get a protein skimmer now or when i start adding coral?

 

[jbdreefs]

If the Rock was once "live" but then dried, I would guess that you won't have to add anything to start the ammonia cycle. Using that additive helps shorten the cycling process. As mention before, test regularly so that you can tell what's going on.

Personally, I am not a fan of the coralife skimmers. I started my first tank with one, and quickly upgraded to something nicer.

For a budget skimmer I would look at eshoppes.

 

[joek18]

thanks for all the useful information!