new to the hobby cycling ?

[jonathan]

how's the tank coming along?

[seabass]

well i have added some live rock and some base rock when i went to my lfs the clerk told me i could get by using base rock with some live rock i took his advice being live rock is #8 lb. I also took a sample of my water to him for testing. he said everything was OK a couple more weeks and it would be ready for fish. My only thing is i will be adding more base rock and live rock this week. Due to budget i didn't add all of it at once. Besides that everything is going good? I hope lol
My nitrites are high seem to have a brown spot on the tank. From reading on this site that is a good thing tank is starting to mature.
Thanks
Tony

[queshibo]

hi seabass, i studied/worked on my tank for a almost a year and to date have spent more then $2000 being 11 months into it. I tried not to rush things but when I found out I was moving to Hawaii, I was exited, only to find out that the laws here are so crazy that I almost gave up on this hobby. for example, you cant go out to the reefs and pick your own rock, not to mention they dont sell it in any LFS plus you cant import it. Well i grabbed some dead rock and cultured it myself. I put my tank together about 3-4 weeks ago with about 50lbs of live rock and so far so good. I dont know if my tank cycled all the way through but my test kit said I did. Brandon1023 can you tell me which is the best saltwater test kit there is because I dont wnat to wake up tomorrow to a horror in my tank, although they have been in for about 2 weeks. Right now I just have the Tetra Test Laborett kit, which to me is not very accurate in numbers, as you can only match the colors are all kits the same?

[Brandon1023]

Oh wow, ummm the best kit? Sorry to tell ya bud but I have no freaking clue. I have a VERY old kit that I used to use but at this point my tank is completely self sustained. I have some test strips that i use every now and again, but like i said earlier i just let nature take its course. My corals and fish are all flourishing. All I do, literally, is top off the water. Its been at least 6 months since my last water change. They are just not necessary, for me. The way i see it, the fish and corals are fine and happy, so i must be doing something right. Right? If it aint broke, dont fix it!

[Phayes]

what about trace elements brandon? How is freshwater replenishing those? You must have to add something aside from top ups.

[omard]

One thing very important not to overlook when moving a FW tank to SW...is testing for Copper in tank prior to adding inverts or live rock.

If you ever treated your FW tank with anything Cu based, this is a MUST!

If you don't know, it is also a MUST!

Please get a Cu test kit or have LFS test for you.

Will save you gobs of grief and $ in long run.

Good luck and enjoy new tank...

Learn to Live With It

Adam Blundell M.S.

"...As surprising as it may seem your tank will look ugly at first. This happens to all new marine aquariums as they cycle through their initial filtration phase. Your tank may go brown, and then green, and then red, and then just look junky. It happens. Consequently the one coral you really want to keep may not live. You may struggle to raise the prize fish you originally intended to acquire. It's okay; just learn to love whatever is working for you. Remember, not only is this a hobby, but we are keeping living ecosystems. Special efforts should be put forth to enjoy and appreciate what we are keeping, whatever it may be. It takes time and patience to turn a glass box full of rock into a beautiful, thriving reef tank..."

Good Luck!