Live Rocks in the tank...Now what?

[SmedleysReef]

I got some live rock in the tank after a 24+ hour salt check...some have said to wait a week before adding fish...some say 14 days. :headwallblue: Is there a correct answer or certain levels of chemicals I'm looking for? I'm sure this has been answered many times and maybe pinned but I have yet to find a clear answer.

Also, should I leave the light on and then turn the night light on for the LR or leave it off all the time?

I'll post some pictures later of the rock and MY FIRST CREATURE after just minutes of the LR being in the tank. :thumbsup:

[SmedleysReef]

Here's the photos of my rock and first creature lol :lol2:

What is the creature?

[oscarinw]

Ammonia and Nitrites to 0 after both spikes.
Check this thread and you should have all your questions answered.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2075632

Good luck with things

[SmedleysReef]

Thanks oscarinw,

I didn't see anything about if lighting matters during the beginning stages of the LR. Well the LR came out of the tanks at my LFS, so I'm assuming its cured and just needs to give my tank the nutrients it needs.

[TheLastPolarBea]

I would either run a normal light cycle (about 8 hours), or a little less. I'm not sure if you absolutely have to, but thats what I did. As for adding stuff to your tank, wait. wait. wait. Get a chemical testing kit that does Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. Amazon has them for under 30 bucks I believe. API kits. A lot of people say they are junk, but for the basics, I never had a problem.

Your tank has to cycle. First, the Ammonia will spike, then your Nitrites, then your Nitrates. You need to wait until that cycle is over. All of those are bad for animals or coral in your tank. It could take up to a few weeks, if not more. (there is no set time for this..every tank is different. I've even heard of tanks cycling in under 7 days) The fish store will tell you its ok to dump fish in right away. They say it helps with the cycle, because the fish will cause waste, witch in turn will add ammonia and further the cycle. DONT do this. It's extremely painful for the fish to be swimming in that stuff and ultimately can kill them.

You can toss a piece of raw shrimp in your tank to speed up cycling and really kick it off, but you already have live rock in. Wait and test your water and watch your chemical levels. When I cycled my tank, I charted out all numbers my test kit gave me and I actually made a graph. Pretty cool to see. It took a while for everything to be good. You want Ammonia to read 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm and Nitrate below 20 ppm for fish and soft corals, 0 or close to 0 for hard corals. (I think Nitrate levels is debatable. Some people say absolutely 0 at all times, others say its acceptable in small levels and then others say it does not really matter.)

Be patient with it. I know how you feel. Want to buy up everything in the fish store. We all feel the same way. If you start buying stuff when your levels are not the way they should be, stuff dies and you turn into a sad panda. Might as well just burn your money. Do it right the first time and it's much more rewarding.

[SmedleysReef]

I would either run a normal light cycle (about 8 hours), or a little less. I'm not sure if you absolutely have to, but thats what I did. As for adding stuff to your tank, wait. wait. wait. Get a chemical testing kit that does Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. Amazon has them for under 30 bucks I believe. API kits. A lot of people say they are junk, but for the basics, I never had a problem.

Your tank has to cycle. First, the Ammonia will spike, then your Nitrites, then your Nitrates. You need to wait until that cycle is over. All of those are bad for animals or coral in your tank. It could take up to a few weeks, if not more. (there is no set time for this..every tank is different. I've even heard of tanks cycling in under 7 days) The fish store will tell you its ok to dump fish in right away. They say it helps with the cycle, because the fish will cause waste, witch in turn will add ammonia and further the cycle. DONT do this. It's extremely painful for the fish to be swimming in that stuff and ultimately can kill them.

You can toss a piece of raw shrimp in your tank to speed up cycling and really kick it off, but you already have live rock in. Wait and test your water and watch your chemical levels. When I cycled my tank, I charted out all numbers my test kit gave me and I actually made a graph. Pretty cool to see. It took a while for everything to be good. You want Ammonia to read 0 ppm, Nitrite 0 ppm and Nitrate below 20 ppm for fish and soft corals, 0 or close to 0 for hard corals. (I think Nitrate levels is debatable. Some people say absolutely 0 at all times, others say its acceptable in small levels and then others say it does not really matter.)

Be patient with it. I know how you feel. Want to buy up everything in the fish store. We all feel the same way. If you start buying stuff when your levels are not the way they should be, stuff dies and you turn into a sad panda. Might as well just burn your money. Do it right the first time and it's much more rewarding.


Thanks for the detail man. This has answered all my questions to this point besides what that little micro bug is...I'm sure its part of the process. I was just wondering since it was the first one I saw, a milestone in my salt life lol.

Thanks again. :cool:

[cloak]

That bug is an amphipod. Check this out.

http://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhiker/hitchhiker.shtml

[SmedleysReef]

Awesome link cloak! Bookmarked it for sure.

Thanks for the post. Looking forward to seeing more good creatures in the coming days or weeks, months and years lol