A few newb startup ?'s

[02WRXGT30R]

I have a 50gal tank with a 25gal sump/fuge. I put saltwater in it about a week ago and let the temp and SG all stabilize and basically test the system then i went to the LFS and picked up 10# of good liverock and place in the tank and have another 40 to 453 of base rock soon to aquascape with as well as 2" sandbed in tank and DSB in fuge

anyways i have a few questions i couldn't find a answer for i tested for ph ammonia and nitrate and my ph and nitrate was ok and ammonia was high is this normal my temp is 78 and SG is 1.024

also i know this is a stupid question but using already cured live rock and base rock i shouldn't see much of a cycle right and should i run my skimmer and lights or do anything special

Thanks for bearing with me and any help you have

[kraze3]

The ammonia spike is due to the cycle. Even if you used cured LR there will be some die off. How high is the ammonia? If very high I would do a small water change. If not high then youll be fine. I would deff turnt hat skimmer on and let it start pulling out some bad stuff. The lights are up to you. I reccomend keeping them off. Eventually your tank is going to have some algae outbreaks and the lights are only going ot help it grow. If you want to stare at the tank it is not wrong to have them on. Another way to explore the tank is with a flashlight with a red bulb or red cover on the front. You can use this to search for critters and stuff.

[02WRXGT30R]

well Iv had 13# of cured live rock in the tank along with the rest of my dry rock and sand for about two weeks and the second day I saw a rise in ammonia then two days after that no ammonia or nitrites and around 12mg/l nitrates I have yet to see any algae and i was wondering if i could start introducing anything yet I am not sure about CUC because of the lack of algae should I add a fish first to get some waste for the cuc first

planned stock list mixed reef whit a pair of clowns a couple jawfish and a scatter bleeny and maybe some others if there is enough room

[svynx]

I'd hold off on adding anything for a little while. Keep an eye on your nitrites and nitrates. After you see them rise and fall, then slowly add your CUC, but still keeping an eye on your levels. Too many at one time might cause a mini cycle. If you are going to put coral in, you can start at this point, since they don't add to your bio-load.

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