Couple Questions.

[scstone12]

I got my 20 gallon saltwater tank started up, water is running pump is pumping heater is on...
I put my salt in with some live sand..

Approx. how long should i wait to put anything in.. IM thinking 3 weeks?

What do live rocks eat anyways?

 

[Colin_T]

You should get the salinity (salt level) correct before adding the live sand otherwise the water might not be the right salinity and the sand could die. It will develop life over time but it defeats the purpose of buying live sand if it dies when put in the tank.

Live rock can be added once the salinity is correct. The bacteria on the rock feed on ammonia and nitrite. The ammonia comes from fish food and waste in the water.

It is a good idea to cycle the tank with live rock in and once the bacteria on the rock is removing the ammonia & nitrite pretty quickly then you can add some fish. It can take about 4weeks for this to happen. Good quality live rock can settle in a few days, other stuff can take a month or more.
Lots of water movement and surface turbulence will help keep the bacteria happy and working efficiently.

 

[scstone12]

Perfect, thats exactly what i wanted to hear. Thank you

i think it is right to tell ya the truth, its been already cycling for days now, i jsut havn't had the money to buy live rock yet, and i bought Aragonite sand, which i guess the people at the store said its not live sand but it eventually turns into live sand into time

 

[scstone12]

how do you test the salinty ?

 

[Musho3210]

refractometers with automatic temperature compensation, or floating bulb hydrometer with a thermometer and a calculator.

Stay away from swing arm hydrometers

 

[scstone12]

So i added my live rock and everything, i bought a good size peice of fiji and it was redish brown, so i thought that was its normal color, than i bough some other peices and they were white.. Now my sand and my new white rocks are turning brown? any help on wahts going on?

 

[Sea Turtle]

Probably just algae growth from all the nutrients in the water and the fact that it is a new tank. I seem to remember that I also had some brown algae growth when I first started my tank that grew on the sand and the rocks. This went away, then came green algae and lots of it. That will also just get up and go away one day. As long as it doesn't consume your tank, probably best to just let it run its course.

How long do you have your lights on each day? Also, could it be close to a window where it is getting sun light in addition to the artificial light?

Maybe some pics would help.

 

[scstone12]

i have my lights on usually all day from 7 to 9 or 10 than i turn them off for the night. Ill try and get some pics here pretty soon, but good , im glad that my rocks are dieing or anything