New Tank-Lots of questions

I will start off and tell you I'm a big newbie so don't flame me too bad.;D

I have a Red Sea Max 34 gallon with 30 lb substrate, 35 lb. cured LR. All of my LR has been tank cured for 9 months and my water came from the LFS. We set up the tank last weekend. Power heads, protein skimmer, lighting was all included. I'm starting out with a FOWLR tank.

My rock has lots of organisms in it. Amphipods, purple coralline, snails etc...
Now I am assuming the saltwater they sell you has been in their tanks and has been cycled?? Please correct me on this cause I'm not sure.

So my water levels are perfect. Temp is 80. So since everything came to me already alive and cured and obviously the tank is thriving with life organisms am I going to go thru a normal cycle?

The guy at the fish store (this is a specialty saltwater store) told me my tank could be ready for a fish in 10 days. I emphasize "could". I am not in a rush at all. I told my son it would be a month before we could get a fish.

So if everything came to me in perfect condition am I going to get any ammonia without a "live" creature in there to start the cycle?
My plan was to test again this weekend and do a 10% water change.
Thanks in advance for any help!

 

Welcome to 3Reef>>>>>

 

I would not assume that the lfs water is cycled maybee more like premixed with R/O water.
You will have a cycle period thats for sure, its part and parcell of the game. I would wait to do a warer change until this period has passed as you will be removing exactly what you are trying to get,good Bacteria.
As the new rock is introduced bacteria is dying off, this should start the cycle the introduction of a small hardy reef fish has become the norm many will suggest a small,
blue orange tailed damsel, they are tuff as nails and as freindly as elmo. and wont take up much space in the future.
Hope that helps

 

Yes, thank you. That helps. I was just trying to figure out how the cycle was going to get started if there was no "waste" to start the process. But the waste will come from the natural life cycle of the LR organisms and bacteria....correct??
So no water change and maybe add a Damsel. So if the water has perfect parameters now how long before I see some changes? As in ammonia, nitrites etc??

See...I told you lots of questions. And thank you again!!

 

It depends on many variables as far as how fast your cycling will be complete. I would add a Clownfish or Damsel to expedite the cycling process though live rock will enable this process to happen as well with the die off on and in the rock itself.

 

Welcome again...Patience! IMO......The LFS might just want you to visit them sooner than you need to, so they can sell you something, that will most likely end up dieing. Wait for that month, but you can drop in a piece of table shrimp or even a damsel. cleaning crew in a week or two, maybe 3. don't turn on lights or the protein skimmer. Feed the fish every three days and keep to that schedule. What kind of tests are you doing? Are you ever going to want corals? or just gonna keep it fowlr? If you do want any corals in the future, you might want to start your tank out like you are going to have corals. I've been converting from FOWLR for about the past year and to tell you the truth, I'm finding out that it's much easier to have a FOWLR than a reef. I probably should have gotten into the mindset of coral keeping right from the beginning...All of this is ofcourse...just my opinion....Again Welcome to 3reef!

Linda aka Cuttingras

 

+2 on that.... NEVER trust a LFS to sell you good water. You never know when they change their filters last or where the water really came from. You should take a TDS reading of the water and see how much minerals are really there. A fish store will sell you a flat tire then say that the air cost extra...be very leary because to stay a float they have to sell stuff.
Glad to see you are excited about the hobby, just don't let people take advantage of your lack of knowledge because they will.

 

Im doing the FOWLR because I prefer fish and I prefer a little easier maintenance. I have to spread myself between three dogs, 1 rabbit, 1 bird and my 7 year old!

I thought about adding a coral or two eventually. I'm kind of set on a Puffer fish so that eliminates the corals and shrimp. But I understand what you are saying. Starting from the beginning is easier than backing up. Thanks for the advice on that. I might want to rethink that.

Testing kit is the normal pH, ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate. Do I need to check Calcium? And I do have the Protein skimmer on. Why should I not? I have the whole system running but with the light off.

We have a local pet store that sells SW fish but lots of other pets as well. Dogs, small animals, birds....I could see them selling me some c**p water. And some unhealthy fish. This other place seems more on the up and up. I could be totally wrong but it specializes in fish only and the sales people were not pushy at all. They were all very knowledgeable. All had their own "systems" at home. They didn't try to sell me on a bunch of supplies. They also were very upfront about the size and kind of fish I could get for this size tank. I was wanting some Tangs and Trigger fish but he told me right up front my size tank would be too small. He gave me a reality check!!
I could be totally off base and they could be taking me for a ride!!

 

you shouldnt need to check calcium unless you want to run a reef you want to keep the skimmer off because it will suck out some of the good bacteria that you want to keep going. im not saying (nor do i think that otty was) to not trust your lfs but just to be wary dont buy every little thing they tell you too and be sure to ask about what it actually does or how it will benefit you i dont think they will intentionally lead you astray but they will probably try to get you to buy a bunch of unnecessary things or bend the rules for you so you will buy something.

good luck and welcome to 3reef
Dan

 

+2 Otty & Godbert.....ditto...I sounds as though you might be able to rely on your lfs but be cautious! I think those of us who have given the advice to be cautious only do so after being the "victim" of unscrupulous stores....
No skimmer, skimmers take out the good and bad. Wait until you actually have a "load"(more fish=more waste) As far as the puffer...yeah they're cute and all that but I'd really think about it before getting one. A shrimp might end up helping your tank in some way and a puffer (IMO) only add to your load(they like meat).

As far as your water.... make it yourself. A lot of here use Instant Ocean(or chose another brand) and mix it ourselves with ro-ro/di water. It's a lot cheaper that way and it really isn't hard to make.

Good luck and keep us posted on your new adventure.