New Saltwater tank

code3emt808 · Dec 6, 2018

Hey everyone just started my first ever saltwater tank 29 Gal just want to know how long it tanks for the bacteria to take hold so I can grow live rock and sand any advise will help!

Mahalo!

NY_Caveman · Dec 6, 2018

Add saltwater to a tank and it takes 30-45 days to cycle generally. Having rock in the tank while cycling will give bacteria surface area to grow. Some try to speed up the process with additive bacteria products, but this is not necessary. The bacteria will come naturally if you do nothing.

A rotting piece of raw shrimp from the grocery will help feed the bacteria with ammonia as it decays.

NY_Caveman · Dec 6, 2018

And welcome to R2R!

Taxman20 · Dec 6, 2018

What he said. Ive been out of this for about 8 years now and am just now looking to get back into a reef system, so I am about to do the same thing you are. Ive had quite a few tanks from 30 to 180 gallon. All I can say is take your time. I rushed a few and it sucked at times because you end up chasing things. Start slow and let it grow naturally and get the ammonia cycle to happen. I tried the additive to speed it up but wouldn't use them again. Just get a few pieces of Live rock and maybe some sand from an established tank. Those will help a lot. Test the ammonia daily if you can because you can actually miss the spike happening. So you could wait longer than really needed. Then add your live items slowly.

And have fun.