Brand Newbie with a few questions.......

You can safely put live rock in an uncycled tank. The cured rock will actually help a lot in the cycle process. It wont brake down the beneficial bacteria, but might kill off the coralline. Good thing is that once you cycle it and start dosing calcium, it will come back (coralline) with full force!

Also, to start with low ammonia levels and help cycle faster, buy some catalina water and fill the tank using that. When I started the cycle on an extra 20 gallon, the ammonia was just at 1ppm, not bad to start off the cycle. I poured in cycled water from my 30g reef and it should have gone down considerably.

 

Hi
Welcome to 3reef!!!!!!!
As far as live rock is concerned. If you buy live rock and have it shipped to you in a cured state, when it arrives to you, the possibility of more things dying on you live rock is very good. Therefore you will have to perform the curing process again as not to have a cycle again of ammonia, nitrate and nitrite in your tank unless you have a separate tank to do this. (One pound per gallon of water is the norm.)
As far as a protein skimmer goes, get the next size up for your tank. Example, with your 55gal tank, don't get one for tank up to say a 55gal.tank, get the skimmer for say up to a 75-90 gal. skimmer. Bigger is better in regards to protein skimmers, especially since this will be your most important form of reducing waste etc.(as well as the live sand and rock)
Adding things you find at the beach etc. is not a good idea because it will pollute your water, and could pose problems with things dying in your tank. Sea fans, gorgonians, rocks and dead pieces of coral, I would tend to pass up as far as putting in your tank.
*use RO(reverse osmosis)water if at all possible. Better because no phosphates and other chemicals,minerals etc. to depreciate water quality.
*if you are having just a fowlr tank, then it isn't very important to have intense lighting. However, you would be better off by getting atleast 3-4 watts per gallon(power compacts) for your lighting needs up front so you won't have to in the near future, because most people who start with a fish only tank will regret not getting stronger lights because they now decide to experiment with corals. Why waste money skimping with money now only to have to spend more to upgrade later and buy lights twice.
*Aqua c remora protein skimmers are very good!
*I would purchase a canister filter as well to compliment your protein skimmer(Eheim or Fluval) are good.
*the best advice is to get a testing kit to check water perameters. And most of all read,read,read and GO SLOW. Everything in moderation.
*be careful what you add to your tank as far as fish compatability is concerned(likewise with inverts and corals if you choose to do so in the future).
GOOD LUCK and have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I agree with coral reefer i would buy a canister filter to just for the added help it depends on what fish you plan to have some or a big bio load on a system.

 

Thanks again for the warm welcome and all the great information!

To confirm, I should get around 50 pounds of live rock (for a 55 gallon tank) and since I am just beginning my tank I can put it in right after I get my sand and water in and get all equipment up and running? I know that I need to clean the dead matter off the rock before putting it in but I have read that the rock can really stink up the house, is this correct? I am really not looking for my basement to wreak like rotten fish for 2 weeks but I don't have any other tanks to put the rock into.

This is a hobby that sure makes you do a lot of thinking! Maybe I should have stuck with Texas Hold' Em! I am looking forward to getting started with the science project though.
;D

 

If you are getting your rock via mail then you will have to re-cure it IMHO. The best way would be to use a rubbermaid trash bin or container with a power head in it. While the rock is curing you can set up your tank and cycle it. If you have a local fish store where you can buy pre cured live rock, it would help to buy a few pounds and put it in the tank while cycling. As for skimmers, I'm partial to Remora skimmers just because they are set and forget although you have to keep them clean to maintain efficiency. (there are better skimmers though: ASM, Euro Reef) I would recommend the Remora Pro over the smaller Remora if you can afford it. If you get the smaller remora, get the Rio 1400+ pump, the skimmer works better with it. Mag 5 or Rio 1700-2100+ for the Remora Pro. As far as filtration goes, you will want a couple of powerheads for water movement and for mechanical filtration you could go with a canister filter or HOT box filter like a penguin 330-350 and remove the bio wheels. They are easy to clean and you can add various media like carbon. They also use only 6 watts of power and can be bought for about $25 on line.
Good luck and hope this helps some. There are many options available to you, its just a mattter of money!

 

So people have said to "cook" the rocks I have from the beach before I put them in the new tank I am getting ready to cycle. What does this mean? Do I just need to boil them to kill off any bad stuff?

Thanks!