I don't understand

[Johnhunterwork84]

New to all of this. Bought 20g tank with light and filter and heater. Added live sand and live rock. Now what? Just wait? Test water? I'm lost.

 

[Azedenkae]

Cycling is next, which to clarify from the get go, will not be 'just wait'. Testing is involved. Here, have a look at this: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cycling-an-aquarium.306554/

 

[Jekyl]

Read all the the stickies posted here.
Welcome to R2R!

New to Saltwater & Reef Aquariums? Post Here

If you're new to the Saltwater Hobby and have questions please post them here. So you finally decided to take the plunge. The only dumb question is the one you don't ask!

www.reef2reef.com

 

[vetteguy53081]

Saltwater/marine is a constant waiting game. Unlike freshwater, everything turns out best when you go slow.

 

[brandon429]

live rock does not recycle, it shows up ready, old cycling rules wouldn't apply here if that rock came from another reef tank and was just moved to your house

so where did the rock come from/was it wet

100% of all cycling material you read is for dry rock starts. None have been written to allow for skip cycling, that's new science even though we've been using it for twenty years in reefing, they just won't write about it lol.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

welcome to the hobby!. I see you are the 'do first and ask questions later' type of guy. Nothing wrong with that, but I suggest your first step is to research "what is a cycle" and "how to cycle a saltwater tank". it will save you a lot of frustration and money.

 

[elysics]

Are those hardware store pebbles? If so, I'd quickly pull them out again

 

[Jekyl]

Agreed. Get the pebbles out and add more live rock

 

[Johnhunterwork84]

Cycling is next, which to clarify from the get go, will not be 'just wait'. Testing is involved. Here, have a look at this: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cycling-an-aquarium.306554/

Then you. Bought a selinity digital tester. But need others. How about parameters?

 

[Jekyl]

If you plan on keeping corals I'd recommend the salifert tests.

 

[Johnhunterwork84]

If you plan on keeping corals I'd recommend the salifert tests.

Going to look that up now will that cover everything or what. Sorry I'm so green

 

[Jekyl]

There isn't a master kit like API as far as I know. They're more expensive but much more accurate. Nitrate, phosphate, calcium, magnesium, ph, and alkalinity are the needed ones for coral

 

[Hermie]

What is your goal?

 

[N.Sreefer]

Going to look that up now will that cover everything or what. Sorry I'm so green

Before you worry about anything else like others have said be sure to take the pebbles out they'll likely leach heavy metals and may kill any livestock you add later.

 

[Johnhunterwork84]

There isn't a master kit like API as far as I know. They're more expensive but much more accurate. Nitrate, phosphate, calcium, magnesium, ph, and alkalinity are the needed ones for coral

Found one. Also got master kit.

 

[Johnhunterwork84]

What is your goal?

Goal is honestly a few trumpets and a few clown fish... nothing too fancy. Maybe to expand later

 

[Johnhunterwork84]

Before you worry about anything else like others have said be sure to take the pebbles out they'll likely leach heavy metals and may kill any livestock you add later.

Really? I should pull out the pebbles? i had no idea

 

[Hermie]

Really? I should pull out the pebbles? i had no idea

It's one of those things that is an unknown, and it's generally better to err on the conservative side for reefing instead of experimenting. Since the rocks aren't really meant for reef aquariums, the specifications for their production could allow for heavy metals or anything else that might be a negative factor in a reef tank. You could leave them in and see what happens, which may be nothing very harmful after a regular series of water changes; or they could negatively impact the tank, it's hard to say really.

 

[Johnhunterwork84]

It's one of those things that is an unknown, and it's generally better to err on the conservative side for reefing instead of experimenting. Since the rocks aren't really meant for reef aquariums, the specifications for their production could allow for heavy metals or anything else that might be a negative factor in a reef tank. You could leave them in and see what happens, which may be nothing very harmful after a regular series of water changes; or they could negatively impact the tank, it's hard to say really.

Thank you

 

[zukihara]