Brand New 55g Reef Tank

[Pko9876]

Hello! I will introduce myself here, then ask questions.
My name is Tyler. I'm 19 years old, live in St. Petersburg, FL, and own a small self storage business.
I am 99% new to keeping fish. My dad had a 55g tank when I was like 3, so I remember little to none. I had a beta when I was 10 or 11. Lasted about 3 months, I cleaned the tank with soap after putting the fish in a little bucket. Rinsed the tank, put the fish back in, ended up dead the next day or two. I'm a bit more intelligent nowadays, however. I have taken a few biology classes, along with a lot of other science, so I know how most of the science works and the basics of it all.

I'm jumping straight into putting together a 55g reef tank. I don't know if this is considered reckless or absolutely fine.
I went to my LFS and purchased items from a list I made after about 3 hours of info gathering on the web. I don't have exact models, as I'm not at home.

-55g tank (this was actually free, got it from some guy who got it from a guy after I asked him if he knew anyone with a tank I could buy)
-Regular lights that came with the kit tank
-2 75-100g rated powerheads
-~20g? TSUNAMi Sump (with a sock, I know bioballs are horrible things)
-500gph general purpose return pump
-overflow box, siphon method.
-in-sump hangon skimmer (lady at LFS said it was the one she uses)[I'm afraid it isn't working, as I don't know how it should look when it is working. Nothing reaches the collection cup at the top. The water gets sucked in to maybe 2 inches above water level. Maybe someone can help clarify how it works?
-heater set at ~78, inside the sump
-Premade saltwater from LFS. salinity is about 1.022, I believe it should be 1.026 for reef?

-50 pounds of live rock
-60 pounds of live sand
-20 pounds of dry rock

I poured in enough of that bacteria-in-a-bottle stuff to treat 70 gallons.

Let the tank run for 24 hours

I also bought 2 blue damsels. Put the bag in the tank for 45 minutes and then let them in. (This is mostly for my own experience and testing purposes, just to see what happens.)

I have:
-1 cheap floaty hydrometer
-a "master" test kit, nitrite (0), nitrate(0), ammonia(0), pH(8.0).

The specific questions are:
-How can I measure how my tank is doing in relation to health and cycling until I put fish in?
-What are telltale signs that the tank is done with the initial cycle and it is safe to begin bioloading? (What types of imbalance should I see before the tank stabilizes? How soon should I start to notice imbalances?)
-What order should I load the tank? Inverts first? Does it matter?
-How should I choose my invertebrates (i assume this includes corals, anemones, etc.)
-How should I choose my fish?
-What more will I need to do in the future (during both cycling and after I've loaded the tank up) other than clean the hardware

Any tips for a 100% beginner would be appreciated
Any advanced tips would also be excellent.

I intend to start a log tonight after I get home.

[Sugar Magnolia]

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

The first thing I would suggest is to read through all of the stickies at the top of this forum. I know it's a lot to read but they give the absolute must know basics in information for beginners to this hobby.

I noticed you didn't list test kits in the things you have obtained so far. You'll need to buy kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate to begin tracking your cycle. Don't ever trust a LFS to test your water for you. They will generally tell you the tank is ready to stock then sell you fish, which generally end up dead because the tank wasn't truly ready. Start your log, test your water every couple of days. Ammonia will rise first, followed by nitrite then nitrate. Once ammonia and nitrite have zero'd out and nitrate is ~40 ppm, do a 20% water change to lower the nitrates. All of this being said, You've already added two fish to the tank, which is not how a tank should cycle. The fish are left in a very hostile environment and exposed to high levels of ammonia which is incredibly cruel. If you can catch them, take them back to the LFS.

On to your lights...those won't be sufficient for a reef tank. Corals need strong lighting. Look into getting some T5 or halide lighting, or if you have deep pockets, LED's are the trend right now.

[Biotopes]

I don't think LED's are a trend, more like a replacement for T5's and Metal Halide, but they are extremely expensive! Go for around 2-6 watts per gallon, not a solid rule, just a guideline to get you in the ball park.

[CoralReeForrest]

Seems like you've done some research. Good. As stated read through all the stickies up top. Most people will give you a hard time for cycling with a fish, it will most likely die. Your cycle should take approx 4 weeks. Ammonia spike, then nitrates and nightrites. During that time do a lot of research. Put together a stocking list and research that list, a 55 gal can support 4-7 fish happily as I was planning for a 55 but am now Doing a 75. And look into light pricing and start to save for them or get them. Good luck. A lot of info and knowledge here.

[Spyderturbo007]

Please return your fish to the store until your tank cycles. They will most likely die a painful death due to the ammonia produced during the start of the tanks cycle.

[Cymonous]

Your tank has not cycled. A cycle typically takes at minimum two two weeks. Your fish will suffer and probably die from ammonia poisoning like Spyder said. Read the sticky threads at the top of this forum.