[ajd916]

hey folks...ive been lurking for quite a while and now ive got my 37 gallon sw setup. i cant wait to participate more regularly in conversations, and im sure i will. i got the water in the tank two days ago and since i have added 12 lbs of live rock (two small boulder size pieces). i plan to add more rock, but the dehydrated so that i can spend less on it. i put 40 lbs of sand in the tank but i think my bed may be too deep so im taking some out. right now the depth is between 3 to 3 1/2 inches and im going down to between 2 1/2 to 3. my light is a t5ho 30" with one white and one actinic (sp?) bulb. im also using the marineland biowheel 200. i will get the powerhead in the next week or so but since i have no fish or havent completed my cycle yet, im saving to buy a little nicer one. my heater seems to be working pretty well, pretty acurate on the dial compared to my thermometer. i dont have any testing supplies yet, but thats coming this week too. i did already buy marine buffer thats supposed to be guaranteed to buffer ph to 8.3 and no higher even if overapplied. i also put this biospira (little purple bottle) in today. i wasnt going to use it but i decided to since i want the cycle to take the least time as possible. ive seen good reviews about the stuff too. any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[zona322]

first welcome to the site

slow down the faster you go the more problems you are going to have. Let's get to your tank you need your test kits asap your cycle should be around 5 to 6 weeks but could take longer. do weekly water changes and test 2 to 3 times a week when you levels come down to 0 then you can start adding fish but one at a time because your bio load will not hold that much at first. if you can not get the test kits asap take some water to your lfs and ask them to test it for you. good luck and ask as many questions as you can we are all here to help
craig

 

[ajd916]

today i added another 5 lbs of lr. i think thats all the cured rock that i need in here for that cost. i plan to buy about another 20 pounds of dehydrated rock. how long does that process usually take to colonize the rocks with bacteria and 'cure' and by the way, what exactly is the live rock curing process? i talk to my lps guys about 3 times a week right now, and they say to bring the water in tomorrow so we can test it. the reason i dont have the test kits yet is they are out of the ph tester. im going with tetra based on their recommendations. if im not mistaken he said its almost $40 though. is that high?

 

[zona322]

they are a good test kit i use the red sea the hole kit is about the same price. both are grate test kits.
craig

 

[petlover516]

Welcome to the site! a bio-wheel is no-wheres the amount of filtration needed for your tank. b4 u start spending money delicate, expensive SW fish, buy at least a little protein skimmer. for test kits, i always use API. "live rock curing" is how your tank will be cycled. as of now, due to shipping, live rock has lost all of its beneficial bacteria. over a period of 6-8 weeks it will regrow the BB. while the live rock cures, ammonia (NH4) is released, and, overtime, the first type of bacteria (Nitrosomonas) "eats" the ammonia and "poops" nitrites (NO2). than another type of BB (Nitrobacter) "eats" the nitrite and "poops" nitrates. than other various kinds of BB on the LR get read of nitrates, as well as partial water changes.

 

[comler]

im going with tetra based on their recommendations. if im not mistaken he said its almost $40 though. is that high?

I have two FW tanks, so I bought the API FW Master kit. I found that on Amazon from a reputable seller for just around $15 (which is pretty low from what I found). I'm not sure what the SW kits sell for, but I would definitely see what kind of price you can get online. I know my LFS thinks that everything they sell is gold-plated.