New to hobby. Need some answers.

[nam2212]

Hi to all.
This is my first SW aquarium and I need a few suggestions. I have had FW tanks my whole life so I decided to go for a SW. This is what I have:
29 gal SW setup from Petco
Red Sea Berlin Air-Lift 60 protein skimmer
Visitherm Deluxe Heater 200 Watt
45 lbs Fiji Live Rock
30 lbs Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite Reef Sand
3 small Yellow Damsels (to help cycle).

The tank has been set up for 7 days. The LR and damsels have been in for 4 days. How do I know when the tank has cycled completely? I performed tests on the water yesterday. These are the results:
pH-8.0-8.1
Ammonia- 0.3
Nitrate- 10
Nitrite- 0.4-4
All of the tests were within the normal range, but it seems to me that the tank should take a while to cycle. The fish seem very active and happy, as does the small shrimp that hitchkiked in on the live rock. I test the salinity every day and it has remained constant at 1.024-1.025 SG. I plan on putting a BT anemone and a clown in. I would also like to get a clean up crew of various snails, hermits and stars. I was debating a lemonpeel angel or a powder blue tang, but have read that it is hit or miss with the lemonpeel. Some will bother tankmates, others will not. I would also like to put in coral at some point, but farther down the road. Does anyone have any suggestions that they could give me. How long to wait before adding the anemone and clown? Thanks a lot. Oh yeah, I plan on giving the damsels to my parents when they set up their SW tank. When will my LR start sprouting growth? I have also been keeping the lights off because the literature that came with the LR said to do so to prevent an algal bloom.

[Reefland]

Hi to all.

Hi nam2212, Welcome to Reefland!

This is my first SW aquarium and I need a few suggestions. I have had FW tanks my whole life so I decided to go for a SW.

Just a note to start with, these are two totally completely beasts. A saltwater tank will take much more prudence and patience than the FW tank.

This is what I have:
29 gal SW setup from Petco
Red Sea Berlin Air-Lift 60 protein skimmer
Visitherm Deluxe Heater 200 Watt
45 lbs Fiji Live Rock
30 lbs Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite Reef Sand
3 small Yellow Damsels (to help cycle).

Don't spend a lot of time shopping at Petco for your saltwater supplies and advice, you'll get a lot of un-needed equipment and detrimental advice. With that said...

The Bio-Active sand you have is not to be considered live sand. You will still need to seed the bed with other live sand that has been colllected from Fiji, Florida, etc. Additionally, using the liverock to cycle the tank would have been the best option and would not have added the stress to the fish.

The tank has been set up for 7 days. The LR and damsels have been in for 4 days. How do I know when the tank has cycled completely? I performed tests on the water yesterday. These are the results:
pH-8.0-8.1
Ammonia- 0.3
Nitrate- 10
Nitrite- 0.4-4
All of the tests were within the normal range, but it seems to me that the tank should take a while to cycle. The fish seem very active and happy, as does the small shrimp that hitchkiked in on the live rock. I test the salinity every day and it has remained constant at 1.024-1.025 SG. I plan on putting a BT anemone and a clown in. I would also like to get a clean up crew of various snails, hermits and stars. I was debating a lemonpeel angel or a powder blue tang, but have read that it is hit or miss with the lemonpeel. Some will bother tankmates, others will not. I would also like to put in coral at some point, but farther down the road. Does anyone have any suggestions that they could give me. How long to wait before adding the anemone and clown? Thanks a lot. Oh yeah, I plan on giving the damsels to my parents when they set up their SW tank. When will my LR start sprouting growth? I have also been keeping the lights off because the literature that came with the LR said to do so to prevent an algal bloom.

Your cycle is not completed until you have seen a rise and fall (all the way to 0) in both Ammonia and Nitrite. Nitrate will rise and start to fall but at this point, it's safe to add a very hardy fish to your system. Based on your numbers above, you still have some cycling to occur.

Lastly, please do not add an anemone to your system. Most likely you do not have the lighting to support one and your tank needs to be very established before even considering. They are very demanding and sensitive animals that should not be attempted by beginners.