Going saltwater

[RaceFaceR1]

Alright I've been reading alot about saltwater tanks... Now I have a 29gallon tank ready to be lived in!

Here is were I get confused... Lots of people start by putting a live rock (before fish) but others start right away with the good old damsels (but no rock).

What is the advantage of starting out with a live rock or starting out with fish?

I may not be making any sense but I'm at work and I'm really busy today :?

Any help is appreciated! Thanks!



Marc

 

[insearch]

Not sure what type of equipment you have but IMHO I would start with my live rock and live sand to begin my cycle. Fish and or creatures are not required nor would I put them thru the possible danger during cycle.
Of caorse thats just me.

 

[Anonymous]

And don't put any thing such as fish in that you don't like. I am removing my rock to take out 2 Damsals out that the LFS said I should start out with.

 

[Anonymous]

And don't put any thing such as fish in that you don't like. I am removing my rock to take out 2 Damsals out that the LFS said I should start out with.

 

[RaceFaceR1]

Alright so if I put LV in there... Do I have to wait to put fish in the tank?

And if I put a LR do I need LS or does that depend on the rock?

Sorry about the newbie questions :wink:



Marc

 

[liquid]

Couple of links:

http://www.reefs.org/library/newbieguide.htm
http://www.reefs.org/library/subject.html
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=33928

Start out with the sand and liverock in the tank and allow the liverock to stabilize out. After a month or so, add your first fish.

Shane

 

[RaceFaceR1]

Couple of links:

http://www.reefs.org/library/newbieguide.htm
http://www.reefs.org/library/subject.html
http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=33928

Start out with the sand and liverock in the tank and allow the liverock to stabilize out. After a month or so, add your first fish.

Shane

Thank you!

 

[SRSMITH121]

I added a few black mollies a week after I started cycling my tank. They're cheap and you can do almost anything to them except whack em with a plank before they die. They just helped my tank cycle quicker. After my tank cycled I just gave them back to to LFS as I started adding other livestock.

 

[liquid]

An easier way to do it would have been to just feed your tank small bits of brine shrimp and it would have done the same thing. (what I did when I setup my tank)

Shane

 

[Baianotang]

Lots of sand lots of LR, its hard to wait when you are new.
Think about a big sump (if you can hide it somewhere beneath the tank) as the best solution to pollution is dilution. Volume can make the difference between failure and success.

 

[ded08221]

i just let my tank cycle with live rock only. i'm not a big animal defender, but i don't think damsels should just be throne in a tank that is questionable if they will live or not. but that is just my opinion.

 

[RaceFaceR1]

Thank you everyone... I'm still not sure what I'll do 8O

I'll let you guys know!

I'm taking my time, not rushing into anything!



Marc

 

[liquid]

I'm taking my time, not rushing into anything!

Very good policy.

Shane

 

[SRSMITH121]

I found the mollies to be really hardy. I only lost one to a powerhead. The advantage of doing it the way I did was that the mollies kept eating all the algae & also put quite a bio-load on the tank - so when the tank cycled it was used to quite a load already. I then just took out one or two of them & put in a saltwater fish. The advantage was that there was no additional load put on the system & therefore less stress for the new fish. This is what worked for me - it's just my opinion. The only bummer though was trying to catch the darn things before I wanted to go to the LFS.

 

[Mihai]

Alright I've been reading alot about saltwater tanks...

Marc, I respectfully disagree. My most sincere advice is to read some more before you start.
I read more than you did before I started and yet was not enough to prevent some money loss and frustration.

That's just my advice, take it or leave it.
M.

 

[RaceFaceR1]

Alright I've been reading alot about saltwater tanks...

Marc, I respectfully disagree. My most sincere advice is to read some more before you start.
I read more than you did before I started and yet was not enough to prevent some money loss and frustration.

That's just my advice, take it or leave it.
M.

Taken, I don't care if my tank sits there and has nothing in it for a while!