I am ready to make the jump to saltwater after several years of keeping african cichlids. I have 4 tanks, a 75g, 55g, 30g and a 20g. I am going to use the 75 for the conversion. Equipment already have is as follows, 260 watt power compact and a 120 watt strip, fluval fx5 and a fluval 405, 2-250 watt heaters, 2 aquaclear 70 powerheads. I am going to go with a fish only with live rock tank. Do I need anything else to get up and running besides the salt and testing kits? I want to cycle the tank with damsels and live rock, is this a good idea? or should I just go with the fish until it cycles? all info everyone can give will be greatly appreciated as I am a newbie to saltwater.
Help starting a saltwater setup
- Thread starter dodge4x4man68
- Start date
...just do it with live rock for a month then get fish you actually want.
Find someone in your area or a LFS, make friends, then barrow somer filter media/and or live rock. If you could get a hold of some used media that would help jump start it a lot, cut your time needed to cycle way down.
I say use the Damsels to cycle then as snacks for the fishes.
I say use the Damsels to cycle then as snacks for the fishes.
DB junkie;1708134; said:Find someone in your area or a LFS, make friends, then barrow somer filter media/and or live rock. If you could get a hold of some used media that would help jump start it a lot, cut your time needed to cycle way down.
I say use the Damsels to cycle then as snacks for the fishes.
shut it you! whats the point in buying them for cyceling... its not like cycleing goes any quicker
I really dont want to look at a tank full of rock for a month or so, if I use the damsels for cycling I would keep them around after the cycle is completed. If I use the fish and wanted to add some live rock during the cycling process which would I use uncured or cured? I was planning on slowly adding live rock over a few months time starting with maybe 20 pounds or so
If you choose to use damsels for cycling the tank, believe me, they will turn into your worst nightmare with aggression and territory....
Fact of life, you NEED patience with marine keeping...without it, you'll be throwing your money down the drain.....
Fact of life, you NEED patience with marine keeping...without it, you'll be throwing your money down the drain.....
if it's a 75 gallon you could immediately put a couple small fish in, there is more water than they will be able to dirty. But if you want live rock put it in first and let it get the tank started and then start adding a cleaning crew. you could also buy live bacteria bio-spira. One thing I would also do is invest in a good protein skimmer if you haven't all ready
damsels are a pain and when you add live rock it will usually cause an ammonia problem unless it was well cured. I usually start my saltwater tanks (community) with clownfish because they are very hardy but more amiable
damsels are a pain and when you add live rock it will usually cause an ammonia problem unless it was well cured. I usually start my saltwater tanks (community) with clownfish because they are very hardy but more amiable
Just start with liverock and let it cycle that way. It will take like 4-5 weeks. Even if you buy cured rock you will still go through a small cycle. I started my last tank using all cured rock from existing tanks that had been set up for over a year and still took 20 days for ammonia to disappear. I would also sell the canister filters and buy a good protein skimmer.
thank you all for your input keep it coming...another question for everyone...what is a good price to pay for live rock? my lfs gave me a price of $6 per pound (normally charges $8 but I am a great customer)
if it's good looking rock $6 a pound is great... the cheapest aorund me is like $5 but that's total crap, the cheapest 'good' rock is like 7.50...