newbie help

[mattythek]

Hey i got a 60gallon tank with a emperor 400 filter 2 18'' eclipse natural daylights (not sure of the wattage) i have a light coat of Crush coral on the bottel not even a inch maybe some is some spots but could i top this with live sand or would that be trouble, also i am ready to start cycling the lsf said they are getting great live rock in on monday and im going to get some money toget and get as much as i can. How long should i cycle, and whats the highest my levels will reach, also will i need product to help buffer out ??
thanks
matt

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

cycle will depend on how well the rock is cured when you add it. but it will prob. take 1-2 months 2 fully cycle. the levels again will all depend on how cured the rock was when you get it. so hard to say just keep an on on your levels for a while.

no need to add anything while the tank is cycleing, just let nature to it's job.

as for the sand you can cover the CC but in time the CC will be on top of the sand. IMO I would just stick with all sand and get rid of the CC

 

[SleepyJ]

Either go sand or crushed coral. Since you have the crushed coral in already, just stick with that.

Get yourself a good testing kit that tests for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Test all 3 weekly. If your live rock is fresh and not out of the water too long, you may get 0 on all three tests. You want to make sure that all three tests are 0 for at least 2 weeks straight, then you can do a water change then add your clean up crew (CUC). The cycle may last as long as a month to 6 weeks. I let mine cycle with all three tests at 0 for 3 weeks just to be sure.

There shouldn't be any need to buffer the water during the cycle.

I won't lie, the waiting game during the cycle stinks. Do not rush things. The best thing you can do while waiting is to read and research. Know what is going to happen with the tank before it happens; that will save you a lot of anxiety when you know what the worm-looking things are or the what bug-looking things are, etc.

 

[Sk8r]

I would pull the crushed coral. The stuff is a future problem.
There are two Threads at the top of this subject list marked *. Read those two and it will answer questions you don't even know you need to know yet. Best help I can advise. We've been collecting info for those threads from hundreds of questions.

 

[mattythek]

thanks alotta guys you are alotta help =)
-matt