New to salt water take 2

OK.....I took the fish back to the store as several of you had advised, and this is what they told me. Buy some live rock thats been through a cycle in our tank, your fish will be fine. Keep a sharp eye on them, make sure theyre eating, not looking sick and swimming normally.
I bought about 4 lbs of rock, they said i could add up to about 25 lbs of it over several weeks (3-5 lbs per week). Ill keep this thread posted with updates.......

 

Outta curiosity did you pick up any test kits while you were there?

 

+1 on the test kits, also do you have a power head yet? Id look into getting a power head to ripple the surface of the water if you dont have a skimmer. This helps with teh gas exchange and allows more oxygen into the water. Also look into a skimmer as well, try to find a use HoB skimmer like a Aqua C or Bac Pak

 

Even though it's already cured rock that was in their tank, you will still have a cycle. If it was new sand, then that will cause the cycle too. Just keep an eye on things and it might work out.

 

nah, no test kit....i asked about it and they said to just bring in a sample anytime i want. theyre only about 2 miles away....do you need a sump in conjunction with a power head, or can it just cycle tank water?

 

Yes and no, not much of a cycle, maybe a mini one, but as long as the rock was truly cured and brought right from the store to your tank, and you only add a small amount like stated above, you will be fine and wont really hit a full cycle.

 

how much are they going to charge you for the test? Since you have a smaller tank your going to want to test more often then people with larger tanks because with less water volume things can turn crappy rather fast. Test kits really aren't that expensive so its worth getting one.

 

I know they said you can just bring in your water, but it's always a good idea just to have one for yourself. And yeah, ocean is right. The cycle would only be a little one, nothing like the regular cycles.

 

can anyone suggest a good affordable power head.....

 

theyve been testing it for free, and they didnt mention charging me ever. ill def look into getting one.