New to Hobbie

[gonzarv]

I have a 65 gallon hex tank with a 125 wet dry filter and a skimmer. I am planning on doing a live reef. The pet stores here keep telling me to cycle the water before I add fish but have not told me how. I have some live sand and dont know when to add the sand or the rocks. The internet tells me in order to cycle the water I need to have fish waste but I cant add fish until the water is cycled. How do I do this? The internet also says it will take a month to cycle the water before I can add fish. This is my first saltwater tank. Need some help.

[Chasman]

Read the sticky's on this thread. Also go to your nearest big box book store and get the most recient reef tank book you can find. That will enlighten you quite a bit. You have a lot of reading to do.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

Do yourself a favor, don't take the advice of LFS employees as the only/ correct information. Its too risky until the LFS is proven to provide the right information. Websites like Reefland and it's members have nothing to gain by giving you advise (not trying to make money off of you) so in general, the advice given here is much more practical and accurate. One sticky I found to be very helpful was Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium, written by Leebca (a moderator here). I followed the steps found in that thread and had no problems with the initial set up and cycling. Start there and be sure to read all of the other stickies and articles. A good book will go a long ways too. If theres questions you cant seem to find the answer for, ask away. There are a lot of great members here with all different levels of experience who are always willing to help.

[Chasman]

gonzarv

Please don't take that as a turn off. We are here to help you, and we will. But you need to read the basics so you get the idea of what you are dealing with. The initial cycle of ocean water is pretty basic.....the subtles are endless. Like my first flying instructer once said...flying is hours and hours of boredom..topped off by moments of shear terror.

Chasman

[MyNameIsJoe]

You can put a couple frozen shrimp in the tank to help with the cycle process. That would pretty much takes the place of live fish. "Do not cycle with live fish" is good advice, all you would be doing is harming the fish. Add a fresh piece of shrimp every 3-4 days or so and allow the shrimp to decay.

Sand and rock go in the tank at the beginning of the cycle process. You probably already read about this tho.

Good luck, be patient, and you will enjoy the tank a whole lot more once cycling is complete.

[FoMoCo Master Tech]

The internet also says it will take a month to cycle the water before I can add fish. This is my first saltwater tank. Need some help.

There is no set time frame when a cycle is finished and the bacteria colonies have stabilized. Each tank is different.
The way to tell if your tank has finished cycling is to use test kits (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, Ph, etc...) Initially, the ammonia should rise due to the die off of life on your live rock and you feeding the system (a piece of raw shrimp). The ammonia level should begin to fall and nitrites should start to rise. After nitrites start to fall, nitrates should begin to rise. Once ammonia and nitrites reach 0ppm and stay there for a week or two, you can add your clean up crew.
It took 8 weeks for my tank to complete the nitrogen cycle. This information is in the stickies here on reefland in a much more in depth format. Read until your eyes fall out a post questions you may have. Happy reading!