In over my head and in need of assistance!

Hey guys, let me try to explain my dilemma here!

So I've had a 50 gallon tank sitting around for a couple of years now, and recently became interested in the idea of having my own saltwater setup.
However, I have basically no idea what I'm doing, and am here sitting down with a murky tank that I recently added the salt mix to and 10lbs of live rock. The tank was formerly a freshwater setup, so I have only the basic equipment for it, filter and heater namely. I have a hydrometer which I also picked up several hours ago.

Basically any information at all at this point would help me out greatly!
And I know, I know, I jumped into this and now I'm in over my head!

Is there a superman among you able to straighten me out and help me figure out how I can get this rock safely into my tank tonight?

Thanks so much in advance,
Jeff A.

 

firstly , just relax. lol. nothings died yet. . was any copper based meds used in this freshwater tank? if so, i hope you scrubbed it good , or you will need to. when did you add your rock , salt and sand? sounds recently, not a prob it will dissolve and clear up. when making salt water, give it a day to totally dissolve before adding. you will need power heads for circulation. you need to cycle your tank for the dead stuff to die off and get the good bacteria going . you will need to test at the start for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. want them to go to zero basically. this cycle will take roughly 6 weeks to finish. if possible you may want to add some more live rock. he;ps with filtration. do you have test kits? if not, dont get the strips . also no water changes til cycle is done. it will only prolong things. im sure i missed some things but its a start. lol. good luck boom. slow and steady and relax.

 

Thanks a lot for the advice, divott! I made notes of it.
However, I was wondering when or if it will be safe for me to add my rock to the tank tonight? I bought pretty much everything just a few hours ago, the live rock, salt mixture and sand. So I added the sand, filled the tank and added the salt mix but my rock is still sitting out in a bag on the table. I know it doesn't have a whole lot of time left sitting out there like that, which is why I'm in such a panic. lol
The tank right now is still very murky, the hydrometer just shoots up as high as it will go which just increases my concern that the tank, as it is now, is unable to support the live rock. Any words of wisdom for someone in this situation? lol

Thanks again!

 

did you test the salinity when you made the water? and what does it read? if the slainity is way too high , you wil need to dilute it some. what type water are you using also? ro\di is what you really want to be using. your rock will be fine if not in the tank yet, but puttin it in now is okay. your water is murky from the stirred up sand, and probably undissolved salt.

 

The salinity as of right now is reading 1.032. It was the same when I mixed it, too.
And thanks for the reassurance, it's a relief to know my rock will be alright.

Oh and the brand appears to be Reef Crystals, reef salt, a 14lb bag.
And the water I used is from my own well.

 

you will want to get some ro water. too many unknowns in tap and well water than will affect what ever you keep. the sg is too high , want it in the 1.023-026 range. to lower it , you will need to remove some of the salt water and replace with pure water. take out roughly a gallon and replace. gonna have to do it that way. but ro is the way to go. good luck boom

 

Thank you very much for all your help, divott. I really appreciate it.

 

any time boom. ask all you want.lots of help here. remember , relax, deep breaths. lol. sounds like a lamaze class. and slow and steady boom. dont be in a rush for anything regarding this. cheers

guy

 

I didnt think my tank would ever clear up when I first set it up.It took probably 3-4 days to really clear good.My advice is read as much as you can.This is a really good place to learn as well as wetwebmedia.com.if anyone knows of other good sites i'd be as interested to hear myself.Have fun,its a great hobby.

 

Sounds like it's handled. That rock, if it dried out, may not be live anymore, but that is NO big deal. It will liven up in short order. I just threw together a tank myself yesterday with a ten gallon tank given to me, some sand I had lying around and rock from my other tanks. You are on the right track.

Now you need test kits. API makes a good beginner combo kit with NH4, NO2, NO3 and pH. At this point that is what I would get if I were you. Stay away from the test strips. They are garbage. If you want to go double live gonzo, you can get Salifert brand test kits for NH4, NO2, pH and Elos for NO3. But if you are just beginning and want to keep it simple, API is OK.

Just test every other day until the cycle is done. Then you can start adding fish at a rate of one every 10 to 14 days (the exception, of course being a mated pair---where you have no choice but to add two). From now till the end of the cycle, you are going to want to figure out what kind of tank you want. Inverts, reef, fish only?????. If you have corals, that will dictate what kind of fish you can get. The type of fish you get will dictate whether or not you can keep inverts also. So start reading up on livestock.

And ask questions right and left. That's what we are here for. Later dude. Congrats and welcome to the dark side.