Advice appreciated

[ReeferChick420]

I have a 55 gallon aquarium which I want to turn it into a reef tank tomorrow I have over 50 pounds or dead rock (from my previous reeftank two years ago), I'm using instant salt mix, and 20 pounds of black CaribSea live aragonite reef sand(I'm kinda scared using the black sand because I always use the white sand but ima try it) a hydor koralia 1and hydor koralia2 and the jebao ECO wave maker wp 25 (the wp25 is brand new the other two are a bit old but still work) I have both a aqueon 300 watt and a marina 150 watt heater which one is better cuz one is for my 90 gallon tank, I want to use my live rock as a biological filter because my tank will be mainly reef but I will have a maybe four fish which I will discuss in another topic thread but I'm always getting mixed comments about having an actual filter or just use the live rock, so what do you recommend because I have a lot of rock and I plan on keeping just the water live sand and rock for about a month or two before I put my first fish or coral in. Any advice or comments would be more than helpful thanks.

Few questions
what machines need to be on while I'm cycling the tank?
What filter should I use if I'm still using enough biological filter with the live rock?
What skimmer would you recommend?
Can I put the dead rock straight into the aquarium with the live sand or should I do something to it? I don't want it to kill my live sand.
What are your comments about the reefbreaders LED lights? I'm thinking about getting it next month.
I definetly am going to use the jebao wave maker but is it strong enough to stand alone in the tank or should I use one of the other koralias?
Do I wait to put my first coral to start adding magnesium or how soon should I start that process?

 

[wcarterh]

The cycling itself could take several weeks to multiple months. I wouldn't recommend adding anything until your parameters show the cycling is complete (as you probably know from your last tank).

When cycling, (I will use what seems to be the starting consensus for equipment) you will need to have your skimmer on, heaters, and circulation (koralia's).

Filter equipment: The opinions will vary on this. At least a skimmer. GFO and carbon may not be a bad idea. You could run bio balls or a bio wheel, though those tend to be nitrate factories. You could go with ATS (algae turf scrubbing), though I've not had any experience with this. Though from what I've seen, it will take more space and light (http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f6/algae-turf-scrubber-verses-protein-skimmer-107968.html).

My skimmer is 9 years old, so I can't help out there.

Laughs, the "live sand" simply has some bacteria added to it. You do not need to worry about "killing" it. I would recommend performing a Muriactic Acid bath on the dead rock: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2459504 .

You will want to maintain your Alk, Calc, and Mag levels as soon as possible. It is not critical, but it helps with getting into the habit. Also the levels will then be stable when the cycling completes.

Hope this helps.

 

[jinks]

-what machines need to be on while I'm cycling the tank?

Heater and powerhead is all you really need during a cycle.

-What filter should I use if I'm still using enough biological filter with the live rock?

I would start with just a skimmer. Reactors are something you can look at later but thats a bit down the road.

-What skimmer would you recommend?

You have not said you have a sump so i will assume that you need a hang on back. I would look at reef octopus. They are not the only company that make a good HOB skimmer but i have used them and they are about as good as you get for HOB.

-Can I put the dead rock straight into the aquarium with the live sand or should I do something to it? I don't want it to kill my live sand.

You can put it right in. Put the rock in first then add sand so it doesn't shift. You might want to clean the rock first but it wont kill the sand. It might leach phosphates later so look up acid baths if you feel your rock is dirty.

- What are your comments about the reefbreaders LED lights? I'm thinking about getting it next month.

I have not used them, but a lot of people like them. Follow their recommendations on the right light for your tank and you should be good.

-I definetly am going to use the jebao wave maker but is it strong enough to stand alone in the tank or should I use one of the other koralias?

The amount of water the jebao will move is going to make the koralia 1 or 2 seem like its not doing much. I would do the wp25 and see what its like. If the tank has dead spots then get a 2nd. One should be enough to get through the cycle if nothing.

-Do I wait to put my first coral to start adding magnesium or how soon should I start that process?

You will not need to add magnesium until you have something removing it faster then your water changes are replacing it. Once you have a few stony corals in your tank start testing for Alkalinity, Calcium and Magnesium. Then go from there.

The 150w heater would be on the low side so go with the 300w