Help with a 40 gallon! First tank ever. Tricky situation.

SimplyDani · 11/05/2017, 12:45 PM

Please read the whole thing I'm having a hard time and need LOTS of opinions. So i have a tricky situation on my back.This is my first time ever starting a reef tank so i have lots of questions, i would love many different opinions on. Here's the story.

I have 40 gallon I purchased a few days ago which came with a few invertebrates (a peppermint shrimp 3 snails and 2 hermit crabs) along with an algae blenny and a damsel fish.
Along with the tank came a biowheel penguin filter, and cartridges, a heater, a pump (like a fan thing to circulate the water) beam nova lighting system with remote, some live rock, fiji sand, reef salt, different tests (ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and carbonate hardness and a bobbing tester for salinity ect

and the guys also gave me a 5 gallon tank with a filter.

I got ahead of myself and didn't do proper research, pulled the tank apart, but the fish and invertabrates into the 5 gallon with around 3-4 gallons of water without a filter just a heater and 2 small pieces of live rock, and then poured out the water in the 40 gallon, souped out the sand, placed it in a bucket and washed the tank. Later i noticed there was green algae on the live rock so i used a toothbrush and some boiling freshwater along with peroxide to wash it off. I did rinse the rock off thuroly afterwards. also the rock sat outside in the cold without water overnight. (please forgive me i had no idea going into this)

Then i sat the tank back up with the sand and the live rock, i used tap water and dechlorinator and salt mix, to fill it back up, i also added like 1 gallon of the old water, but i was afraid to add more because the water wast circulated. i started the filter and underwater fan, and thats how its been running since yesterday. i realize i messed up the cycling process which could have been a lot faster if i didn't clean the live rock.

Here are my Questions:

My fish are in the 5 gallon no with their old water a filter and a heater, should that be okay or?
How do i get my 40 gallon cycled (SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE)?
should i slowly transition to RODI water?
Will my light be okay for corals? (heres the link to it o you know which one it is https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-BEAM.../dp/B01M5LK9JN )
How do i know if my tank is cycled?
What parameters are important for me to measure?
how many fish can i have in there after it cycles? How manny corals?
Is my filter okay?
Does the bobing thing that looks like a thermometer measure salinity or gravity? What is the difference BETWEEN Salinity or Gravity?
Also didn't wash the sand so could that help in the process OF CREATING BENEFICIAL BACTERIA?

i know I'm not completely educated, so forgive me! Lastly ENORMOUS THANK YOU! to anyone who helps. I truly appreciate it. Please also ask me questions if you need more info!

11/05/2017, 12:45 PM	#1
SimplyDani Registered Member Join Date: May 2017 Posts: 7	Help with a 40 gallon! First tank ever. Tricky situation. Please read the whole thing I'm having a hard time and need LOTS of opinions. So i have a tricky situation on my back.This is my first time ever starting a reef tank so i have lots of questions, i would love many different opinions on. Here's the story. I have 40 gallon I purchased a few days ago which came with a few invertebrates (a peppermint shrimp 3 snails and 2 hermit crabs) along with an algae blenny and a damsel fish. Along with the tank came a biowheel penguin filter, and cartridges, a heater, a pump (like a fan thing to circulate the water) beam nova lighting system with remote, some live rock, fiji sand, reef salt, different tests (ph, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and carbonate hardness and a bobbing tester for salinity ect and the guys also gave me a 5 gallon tank with a filter. I got ahead of myself and didn't do proper research, pulled the tank apart, but the fish and invertabrates into the 5 gallon with around 3-4 gallons of water without a filter just a heater and 2 small pieces of live rock, and then poured out the water in the 40 gallon, souped out the sand, placed it in a bucket and washed the tank. Later i noticed there was green algae on the live rock so i used a toothbrush and some boiling freshwater along with peroxide to wash it off. I did rinse the rock off thuroly afterwards. also the rock sat outside in the cold without water overnight. (please forgive me i had no idea going into this) Then i sat the tank back up with the sand and the live rock, i used tap water and dechlorinator and salt mix, to fill it back up, i also added like 1 gallon of the old water, but i was afraid to add more because the water wast circulated. i started the filter and underwater fan, and thats how its been running since yesterday. i realize i messed up the cycling process which could have been a lot faster if i didn't clean the live rock. Here are my Questions: My fish are in the 5 gallon no with their old water a filter and a heater, should that be okay or? How do i get my 40 gallon cycled (SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE)? should i slowly transition to RODI water? Will my light be okay for corals? (heres the link to it o you know which one it is https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-BEAM.../dp/B01M5LK9JN ) How do i know if my tank is cycled? What parameters are important for me to measure? how many fish can i have in there after it cycles? How manny corals? Is my filter okay? Does the bobing thing that looks like a thermometer measure salinity or gravity? What is the difference BETWEEN Salinity or Gravity? Also didn't wash the sand so could that help in the process OF CREATING BENEFICIAL BACTERIA? i know I'm not completely educated, so forgive me! Lastly ENORMOUS THANK YOU! to anyone who helps. I truly appreciate it. Please also ask me questions if you need more info!