Just starting

[clevan]

Hi
I recently purchased a 34 gallon tank and (red sea max) and I am new to salt water tanks (or any tanks for that matter). I have set the tank up with live sand and rock as instructed by the store and I am waiting for the tank to cycle. How long does this take and should I buy some cheap fish to start the cycle? It's been running for about 2 days......any other information would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[ChrisRD]

:welcome:

No fish - just wait it out. There's plenty of organics in/on the live rock/sand to fuel the bacterial populations.

As for the time frame - it depends on the condition of the live rock/sand (how much die off, etc.). You may see some ammonia/nitrite/nitrate, you may not. I don't recommend adding anything to force a "cycle". IMO this thinking is not applicable to systems setup with live rock/sand. In fact, I generally do anything I can to keep ammonia levels undetectable right from the start (ie. good skimmer, strong circulation, water changes if needed, etc.). The less toxic the conditions get in the system, the more stuff will survive IME.

Personally, when setting up a system with new rock/sand, I prefer to wait it out for a few weeks and let the pod pod/critter populations start getting established before adding fish (regardless of whether it's safe to add them sooner or not). It also gives me some peace of mind that if any fish parasites have hitch hiked in on the rock/sand, they'll have some time to die off (ie. having no host fish for an extended period of time can break the life cycle of some parasites).

JMO & HTH

 

[clevan]

Thanks for the response. So I don't have to see a rise in the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate with water testing for the tank to cycle, just wait 2-3 weeks?

 

[ChrisRD]

Correct. Live rock/sand come well populated with bacteria. Often times these populations are well established enough to handle the bioload from the initial die off, so there is no significant accumulation of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate (ie. you won't get a reading on most hobby test kits).

 

[clevan]

Thanks for the help, I imagine you'll be hearing from me a lot!

 

[clevan]

Sorry, just a couple of more questions. Should I still perform water changes weeky while I wait to stock the tank? Do I have to flush the mechanical filter (sponge) and when do I have to replace the carbon filter?
Thanks

 

[Brian5000]

Keeping good water quality is good for helping hitchhiker animals to come out of your live rock and establish. Do water changes and everything else you would do if your tank where full of fish. It helps you figure out your maintinence routine as well.

It's important to clean out sponges before anything caught in them begins to rot. It's probably a good idea to check them at least once a week. I'm not 100% sure about carbon, but I have been told it generally lasts a couple weeks.
_________________
Sp-8

 

[ChrisRD]

Personally, I would rinse anything that's accumulating detritus (mechanical filter, carbon filter, etc.) at least once a week. I'd change out the carbon monthly.