Hello all. I'm new to SW and wanted to express my appreciation for all the knowledge shared in the forums.
I've had several FW tanks over the years, but always wanted a SW reef tank. My lfs had a huge sale last month and made me a deal I couldn't refuse. I traded in my 60g FW and picked up an Innovative Marine SR-80.
I'm going to start cycling tomorrow. I've got about 100lbs of live rock, 10lbs of Nature's Ocean sand and a bunch of dry aragonite sand coming from my lfs. The rock looks pretty good and has been in their holding tank for a few months. I'm hoping not to have too much die off since it will be straight from their tank to mine.
I plan to cycle for at least two weeks without lights keeping a close eye on the water conditions. Once all looks good, I'll light up the tank and add some cuc and a small refugium in the overflow. If I get no spikes, I'll probably throw in an anemone and a clown soon after. I also bought a skimmer and will fire that up when I start adding.
I don't have an RO, but my lfs said the city water would be good enough to start. I'm sure there's lots of things wrong with that, but I'll hope for the best and get an RO system as soon as possible.
I'm not sure what my water parameters should be, so I'll probably try to match the lfs since that's where my critters will come from. Feel free to send me your suggestions or opinions. I'll try to keep this thread going with pictures as I progress.
I've had several FW tanks over the years, but always wanted a SW reef tank. My lfs had a huge sale last month and made me a deal I couldn't refuse. I traded in my 60g FW and picked up an Innovative Marine SR-80.
I'm going to start cycling tomorrow. I've got about 100lbs of live rock, 10lbs of Nature's Ocean sand and a bunch of dry aragonite sand coming from my lfs. The rock looks pretty good and has been in their holding tank for a few months. I'm hoping not to have too much die off since it will be straight from their tank to mine.
I plan to cycle for at least two weeks without lights keeping a close eye on the water conditions. Once all looks good, I'll light up the tank and add some cuc and a small refugium in the overflow. If I get no spikes, I'll probably throw in an anemone and a clown soon after. I also bought a skimmer and will fire that up when I start adding.
I don't have an RO, but my lfs said the city water would be good enough to start. I'm sure there's lots of things wrong with that, but I'll hope for the best and get an RO system as soon as possible.
I'm not sure what my water parameters should be, so I'll probably try to match the lfs since that's where my critters will come from. Feel free to send me your suggestions or opinions. I'll try to keep this thread going with pictures as I progress.