New to the Hobby

[certainti420]

Hello my fellow aquarists,
I am bran spankin new to the hobby, in fact I don't have anything in my tank yet. Just live sand mixed with black Tahitian sand. I plan on running a reef tank. I have a 35 gallon bowfront glass aquarium, protien skimmer, 300w heater, 1 850 gph power head and a hang on back bio wheel filter for up to 75 gal ( i figure a little overkill never hurt anything) I have 25 lbs of live rock coming in tomorrow. My tank has been cycling for about 3 weeks. So my question is... the live rock I ordered is supposedly "pre-cured" but there is no way of knowing what kind of shape it will be in when it arrives. So, would it be ok to do any additional curing in my display tank? I would think that it would actually build a stronger biological filter, but that is why i am looking for advice from you. As of right now I don't have anything to cure it in.

As far as lighting goes... right now I only have the single bulb florescent hood that came with the tank could I put a T5 10,000k florescent or a blue actinic into this fixture? Or do I need to buy another fixture?? ( If you know of a good quality light fixture for cheap like under 100$ please let me know.)


~Jon

[CAVINCA]

The "precured" rock will most likely cause another cycle. if i were you id just stick it in and aquascape it then let the cycle finish. you are correct though it will strengthen your biological filteration.

as for lights i not exactly sure. i just got a second tank in which im having to deal with these light issues. i dont think you can use a t5 bulb in a standard flo. fixture. the actnic on the other hand i believe you can. your best bet is to save up and get a nice light set for your tank. dont skimp. if you can afford one look at retrofits or straight diy fixtures.

[BigAl07]

Just put the new rock in your tank and allow it to finish curing. There will always be a slight cure even with precured rock.

No you wont be able to simply put a T5 into a standard fixture. Two different animals.

Like Carl has suggested... just take your time and save up for a SWEET fixture. Don't do like I did and buy THREE different ones before I was satisfied. I started with standard "Petco" fixture. Then let the LFS sell me a single bulb PC unit (when I knew I wanted more). I was happy maybe a month. Then I decided I wanted more so I went back and bought a Dual bulb fixture (again one he suggested since he had it IN stock). Maybe another month until I decided I wanted MORE so I bought a whopping 130w fixture and really got serious about my reef tank.

Go big bro!!

Welcome and HAPPY REEFING!!

[AQTCJAK]

Welcome Aboard