little help

Ok, you are never to use the ammonia chips in a saltwater tank from everything I have read. Now here is some info:

For cycling I would just let it cycle with the uncured Liverock and it will take anywhere from 4 - 8 weeks to properly cycle. While you are cycling I would run your filter with polyfilter material and carbon. During this time is a great time to do your research on water perameters, fish compatability, corals and there needs etc. Do your research it's the most important aspect to this hobby, going slow, and patience as well. Don't rush it, you will have more success with your tank by doing your research and going slow. Don't add any living creature until the cycle is 100% over. Test your water and keep a log of your readings so you know for sure. After cycling the tank then you can add a clean up crew of snails, hermits. Then add fish, but never add more than one at a time...make sure you add the fish with a week or two in between. A new tank isn't stable and can't handle a bioload so it's better to go slow. Then with time start adding corals.

I have crushed coral for the substrate...is yours a larger grain? If so I will advise you now, make sure you vacuum it when you do water changes, this eliminates detritus buildup and will help keep your nitrates in check. Don't do water changes during cycling, this will just cause another cycle to start. I am refering to your future maintenance. Also I would advise in you getting a skimmer, lighting if you plan on a reef tank. Your cycle will not be over in a week try 4-8weeks. Please update your signature with your tank size and equipment, this helps us, help you.

 

Takes about a month with just sand. You might want to buy a damsel or two to help speed up the cycle and then return them to your LFS when your done. You can also speed this process up by adding live rock to the tank as this method will quickly cycle your tank.

 

my tank is a 50 G i have a 802 power head ,surface skimmer,protein skimmer and a hagen 70G filter is this over kill i will post new pic's have a look there some live rock in it now but the pic show's only 5 pounds there's more now

 

the damsels and live rock are a good addition to a cycling tank I startyed my tank that way and the process took me about 6 weeks.It is a good idea to write down during this process which fish you would like to possibly add and check there compadibility.Also brush up on your corals to.Do lots of research on what route you would like to go with your tank this is a good use of time during this cycling process.

 

HOLD EVERYTHING!! If you're using uncured rock, don't use fish to speed up the process. Uncured rock has more die off & takes more work to get things going. You're going to have a smelly tank on your hands for awhile. You're also going to have to do some water changes along the way. If I were you, I'd get rid of the crushed coral & use sand instead. The cc will hold all sorts of dirt & organic matter which will just lead to more problems down the road.

 

funny i was going to go sand and the fs said no way make's a big mess so i should go cure LR then

 

I wanted to go CC so bad because it looked good but thanks for the advice on it.Yeah uncured rock you might wanna stay away from