Started my 29gallon salt tank.

[StiersM]

Monday I added the water.

Tuesday I mixed the instant ocean in.

Wednesday I added the Arag Alive. ( Is it ok to use this as my only substrate, or should I add in some sand? )

Thursday I plan to add 5-10lbs of LR from my LFS. ( Is this ok, or should I wait) I would also like to add some Turbo Snails, Decorator Crab, Peppermint Shrimp possibly a Scarlett Hermit. ( Again, I would like to know if this is too early for inverts, or is this ok? )

Thanks for the advice.

 

[ChrisRD]

My suggestion is to add all the rock you'd ultimately want in the tank. Rearrange it until you're happy with the layout. Get your skimmer going and make sure you have plenty of circulation. Let everything sit for about a month before adding any livestock.

 

[silly34]

If you are using aragalive and are stocking w/ live rock then I don't see why you couldn't start introducting livestock. Throw some damsels in there to help establish the bacteria that is currently there shouldn't take very long to get the tank really going cycle wise.

Just be sure to test the water for your ph and nitrites. I jump started my 125 tank w/ just a yellow tank and some LR.

B.

 

[Anonymous]

If you use dasmels make sure you want to KEEP damsels!
If you plan on adding less agressive fish, damsels are bad :twisted: .
They are also VERY difficult to catch once LR is in place (too many hiding spots).
I have been trying to catch a "cycling" damsel for about a month after he began to harrass EVERYTHING! Albeit, 90 gallons is much more area top cover than a 29g.

Good luck!

 

[ChrisRD]

There's not much "alive" in a bagged sand product, regardless of manufacturer's claims. IMO the only way to get real live sand is from another reefer or an LFS that carries the real thing (or if you can collect it from the wild). OTOH, that may not matter much, because even an inert sand product will become seeded with some life from the live rock...

Regardless, adding live sand or live rock to a system does not necessarily mean you can start stocking the system right away. There will be some die-off, even with a precured product and you need to give things time to settle down. If the rock is well cured, you may be able to add some things right away, but why take the chance? What's the rush?

Also, using live fish or table shrimp to help cycle a tank is an outdated idea and unnecessary IME. The die-off from the live rock/sand you introduce will provide plenty of fuel to restablish bacterial colonies. When it comes time to start stocking just do it slowly - the nitrifying bacteria are very adaptable and will quickly multiply to match the new load.

JME & HTH

 

[hillbilly]

Adding livestock to a new tank is asking for trouble. Wait a month, better still wait 2 or 3 months. Give the tank time to cycle, let the algae bloom live mad. This will "clean up" the tank water. Then you can add your snails and cleanup crew without killing them. Then your tank has really cycled, and you will have far less problems in the future.

 

[silly34]

I reckon I am just blessed. When I did mine I had dead sand, no rock, heck no bacteria at all. I mixed up the water let it sit for few days then threw a tang in there :roll: Since then I have only had 1 bloom and it was only for a day. That was months ago but now I have a slowly growing reef (this is expensive!!).

I didn't know about this site so I was doing it all on my own, I got lucky. After thinking about it and reading this stuff I find that I have erred (sp?) take this advice and use it wisely!!

Cheers!

B.

 

[StiersM]

I added 10lbs of LR today because that was all my budget would allow. I also researched inverts that would be beneficial to my tank and would survive the cycle and ended up with 2 small blue leg hermits and a camel shrimp. I realize that the camel shrimp is a risk, but the LFS had it in witht he LR and it was a freebie. I think that my AC Pro 4 powerhead is way to strong. :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Camel shrimp are neat..if it makes it through the cycling process you might consider adding a couple more..i had a few and i really liked them...Do you have a skimmer running? I agree wholeheartdly with ChrisRD on adding livestock...best not to until your cycling period has ended..the crabs are ok but i wouldnt add fish, even damsels..they can be a pain to get out once you are set up...I also suggest a good parameter test kit so you can keep an eye on your parameters ie nitrites, ammonia, ph etc...all those things will flucuate in the next few weeks..once they settle then you should be good to go on adding livestock...HTH 8)