what elsedo i need

started my 1st marine tank love to make ita reef tanki have20#s of fossil corals base rock 5#s of cultured live rock with nice coraline and acouple of clams on them 2 rocks total ihave 1" of black hatian live sand askimmer that a buddy gave me( that i had to fix ...works great) and i know i know a wisper filter and two coral hood floresent lights tank has been set up 1.5 months do i need to do any thing to help the live rockculture the base rock having a blast but dont wanna screw up
p.h)8.2
ammoina).5
nitrate).25
nitrite).25
salinity)1.25

 

Well you need to let your tank finish the cycle...ur nitrites will be 0 ammonia 0 and nitrate ideally will be 0 for a reef...but to achieve that ur going to have to ditch that whisper filter, and go with an overflow sump with a refugium to get the water quality ur gonna need for a reef. How big is the tank?

 

also your going to need a brighter light (t5's are great IMO), and the chances of ur clams making it are about slim to none (hate to be the bearer of bad news...but)..Also I think you may want to add at least another inch of sand to ur tank...1" just probably wont be enough IMO..3" is about as shallow as I would go..esp if ur ever going to want a goby or any other burrowing invert or fish.

 

o srry 55 gallon yeah i knowabout the filter ..maybe santa(my wife .lol) will buy me one how longe do i need to leave itto cycle

 

ok a reef tank will prolly have to be a future endeavor but ...stilll will my live rock live and should i be adding like the zooplankton or what ever or do i just leaveit alone..also i justread that i could bust up a small live rock and sprinkle the sand with it for better culture of my base rock

 

you said 25lbs of rock right?...I would go with about 30lbs more. I'm assuming your tank is not drilled...so I would reccommend searchin ebay for an overflow tank...at least 600gph flow rate...then ur gonna need at least a mag7 return pump. If I were u i wouldnt buy a trickle filter (bio-ball) if you want to keep a reef. The best way would be to try and find a 20g fish tank (at least)..do some research on a refugium type set-up...also there really isnt a "fixed" amount of time for the nitrogen cylce to finish...your tank may take 2 weeks, may take 2 months..it varies case to case...but just know that it isnt finished cycling until those readings drop to 0...your PH is fine at 8.2...i keep my reef at 8.3 but 8.2 is stable. Also you didnt mention that you have any powerheads in that tank...you need at least 2 powerheads for water flow in that tank

 

I think he is talking about scallops. Just a good filter feeder type of bivalve. They need no light and are a great addition to any tank.

Usually a cycle will last about a month to a month and a half. There are way to many variable to get specific unfortunately. It is just a waiting game.

You can continue to use your HOB filter, but you must keep those filter pads changed regularly. They are a nitrate breeding ground.

You said that you had a skimmer. What kind is it?

A sump is not required. It does make things a lot easier though. More water, means a more stable system.

 

I would just leave it alone..dont bother crushing anything..lol it will seed fast...but you def need a filter upgrade to get that water quality to where ur gonna need it....when ur readings drop to 0, your gonna need to do about a 20% water change...u need to get RO/DI water or ur gonna get algae blooms that will drive you absolutley nuts. The most important thing to having a successful saltwater aquarium is PATIENCE

 

its a Jebo 2000l\h yeah your prolly right about scallopsthey have been opening regulary
no power heads yet on my way now to fix that and get moresand and base do i need more live?and do i need tank cleaners?what is recomended

 

k this ismy learningtank like i said havinga blast used to be a navy brat lived in hawaii just trying to bring a little of it to ga
and pateince is one thing i got ill post pics later gonna go try andmake a trade with a buddy for a sump filter wish me luck.lol