New to saltwater, what is/will this stuff be?

Also a question about curing live rock... I read up a little bit on it the other day. How does it work exactly? and should i be doing that, or because its a new tank is it ok that I just put it strait in my aquarium?
 
When I got my live rock I think he may have been curing it? It was in a back room in a huge black tub with fast moving water over it... I just read up a bit more on the curing process, and it seems like it takes forever, a few weeks of keeping it in a seperate container and stuff?
 
I would move the heater away from the filter intake. The thermostats in the heaters are very sensitive to movement, so you don't want them to be anywhere that they may be moved around a lot, or pulled at, like an intake or output. Just in the middle should be fine.

Rock placement...Not much to say about that until you get some more rock!

Curing live rock is just like cycling... If you put it straight into your tank, the live rock will cure in your tank. Thus, starting a cycle. That's why I said earlier from now on, if you add any live rock straight to the tank you are probably going to start another cycle.

Oh, and cool looking fish!
 
Grounding probe? Do you mean the suction cup with the little wire coming out of it? if so thats the digital thermometer with warnings and stuff, min, max.. Thanks for all the interest/help/comments, this has to be the friendliest forum in the world, at least compared to car forums, people get really aggressive in those and always cut-down/insult people constantly... thanks guys!
 
I'm assuming a grounding probe would be something good for an aquarium by having a conductive probe in the tank in case anything shorts out, ie heater, so if there is an electrical current introduced into the tank it would ground directly through that probe to... what? the third prong in an outlet? or what?
 
Exactly... You can find one at your fish store. They are cheap, like less than $10. Not only if your equipment shorts out, but all equipment can potentially put out a current just during normal operation. Inverts are especially senstive to it. Go get one! NOW! Just kidding. It can wait ;).

A lot of people (myself included) spray painted the backs of their tanks either blue or black. Kinda hard to do if your tank is already filled and against the wall. I used to use a blue plastic shower curtain. Just taped it to the back, and who cares if it gets wet. You can also buy papery backgrounds at pet stores, they have plain black, blue and also designs.
 
Welcome, this is an awesome site and the people here are great. I joined like 5 sites when I was researching and building. This is the one I prefer, I still read posts on the one that is exclusive to my state but only to watch for frag swaps and trade shows. I never post anywhere else because as you mentioned people seem arrogant and unfriendly. You will enjoy it here I have learned tons from everyone here.

I've not been at it long enough to offer much advice except that what I was told repeatedly and what I read in books your Rock should be placed on the bare bottom then the substrated. not really an issue yet as you are not stacking it yet but in the future you want to keep it in mind. critters moving the sand around while cleaning may shift the balance of the rock and you could have an avalanche, killing livestock or damaging your tank.

Also, on the Live rock. I have a 55 gal and I bought 40lbs of Base rock (which is live rock but much less expensive and not as decorative) I used that to build up off the floor of the aquarium and about 20lbs of "premium" live rock for topping it off, I also got a good deal on about 20lbs of Coral Skeletans. At the beginning it was a hodgepodge of colors but the coraline is spreading great in just a couple months so everything will be purple in no time and I saved myself a lot of money that way. If you can, try to hook up to a club/forum local to you, you may be able to split an online order with someone else, or cash in on someone getting out of the hobby.
 
Just out of curiosity, is the live rock the main cause of the tank to cycle? From what i'm gathering it appears to be... So if i want to add a bunch more live rock, wouldnt it be a good idea to go get a crap load more today and add it to my tank while its only like 3 days into its cycle. Instead of It finishing now and starting all over again every time I add more, unless I cure it for 1-3 weeks outside my main aquarium? Or will too much live rock in my starting tank kill my damsels that I rushed into getting? If not, I could go pick up like 20 more lbs today and get that in my tank, if not let me know, and what you guys would reccomend. The guy at the shop said he can sell the live rock from between 5-8$ a pound, depending on the activity and growth on each one, I could just tell him I only want the cheaper stuff and make a nice base out of that and put my more expensive rock on top or in better view...
 
You are exactly right. It will be better to add the majority of your rock now, if you can afford it. But you are also right when you say that it will probably kill your fish.

Here's what I would do: You only have a couple pieces of small rock right now. Take it out of the tank -- it will be okay outside of water for a little while. Catch your fish and bring them back to the store. They are easy to catch in an empty tank with no rock. It's better to get rid of them now anyways, since they will probably try to kill any fish you add in the future. This is why damsels suck :D.

Once you get rid of the fish, then add as much live rock as you can, aiming for 1 to 2 lbs per gallon. Then just sit back, relax, BE PATIENT, and let your tank cycle from the live rock.

Using cheap rock as a base and seeding it with a few pieces of higher quality live rock is a good idea.
 
I would say yes is better to add it all at once. don't know about fish survival. Maybe LFS will take him back on trade toward purchase of the rock. or maybe spend $10 at Walmart and get a 5 gallon tank for him to live in for a few weeks while you cycle, you will need a quarantine tank in the future anyway.
 
Alright thanks for the great into, I think ill try to get down to the store before work and see about setting up another tank for the 2 fish I have, I dont wanna trade them in, as im not sure if the owner would really even consider that or not... I wish we had more than 1 pet store here, they all went out of business just before I started my tank, so there is no real competition for pricing, other than the internet with outrageous shipping most of the time for a single person. We dont have any clubs around here, I live in a crap town, I dont know a single other person with a tank other than myself...
 
I got 3 more pieces of live rock from my pet shop today, he cut me a deal, i think 5.99/pound, which isnt too bad, kinda like online + shipping. And he said its all pre cured, he said its been in this large plastic tub for a few months, so wouldnt that cut down on the cycling process? I also got some test strips, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, ph, hardness, and alkalinity... should i wait a little while, like tonight when I get done with work to test it, or should it do it now right after adding all the new rock?
Or when is an appropriate time to test in my case do you think?
 
Aquarium023.jpg

Aquarium022.jpg

and my 2 damsels that are going to try and live through the cycling... I love em, but the guy at the shop said that the rocks have been at his store for months in his tanks, so he thought they would be fine..
Aquarium024.jpg

finally some symmetry to my tank kinda... not lop sided any more... i gotta run to work, let me know with any comments please, im looking forward to hearing some input when i get home of anything i could do differentely..
 
If the rocks are already cured, you might not see much of a cycle from them. In that case, it will be the fishs' waste and decaying food that will cause your cycle. You can test whenever you want. The test strips are not very accurate. Once you get done with that batch, I'd switch to a liquid kit with droppers and test tubes.
 
The tank looks great.
Biffs got you pretty well covered on every thing.So all I'm going to say is your have got the meanest most hateful fish that ever swam out of the bowels of hell.And you'll see why I say that once you start adding more livestock.Plus even with no more rock than you already have,there dang near impossible to catch with a net.
If you decide you want to catch them out later on,let me know.I got a secret to catching them fairly quick and easy.
 
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