Cycle & other ?'s

[bbancsov]

Hey guys, new to this forum and had a few questions.

Just finished setting up my 45 gallon FOWLR, added live sand, mixed water and just now live rock. My intentions are to eventually turn it into a reef tank but thats a ways away. Is it necessary to keep the powerhead i have on all the time? Also, i was told its okay to let the system cycle and then get a protein skimmer. I am running a Rena smartfilter which says is good for fresh and saltwater for now, and how do i know when the cycle is completed? Is it just when the nitrates are nonexistant? Can adding a peice of shrimp help speed up the cycle time? Right now my sand has a light brown dusting over it which i think are diatoms, is it natural and whats the best way to remove it if need be.

Thanks for the help

[Amphiprion]

Hey guys, new to this forum and had a few questions.
Welcome!

Just finished setting up my 45 gallon FOWLR, added live sand, mixed water and just now live rock. My intentions are to eventually turn it into a reef tank but thats a ways away. Is it necessary to keep the powerhead i have on all the time?
I recommend circulation being on all the time, especially with just one powerhead.

Also, i was told its okay to let the system cycle and then get a protein skimmer.
That's fine. It is arguably beneficial to have one during the cycle to reduce particulate matter and give extra aeration, however, it is also true that it will remove invertebrate larvae that are essential to seed the tank. A bit of a double-edged sword.

I am running a Rena smartfilter which says is good for fresh and saltwater for now, and how do i know when the cycle is completed?
Routine testing. If you never observe a cycle, some people add a large piece of shrimp or the like, which is also fine. I've never had to do this, though, even with a cycle that never seems to happen.

Is it just when the nitrates are nonexistant?
It is usually when you no longer see ammonia or nitrite, not nitrate. You'll usually get the latter as an end result to be removed by other processes (hopefully).

Can adding a peice of shrimp help speed up the cycle time?
Yes, see the above.

Right now my sand has a light brown dusting over it which i think are diatoms, is it natural and whats the best way to remove it if need be.
It usually goes away on its own. No need to worry.

One last piece of advice is to keep plenty of saltwater on hand for water changes. I recommend frequent water changes during the cycle to preserve as much of the life on the rock as possible. If ammonia starts to rise considerably, a 30% more water change is perfectly acceptable.

Thanks for the help

My comments in red.

[bbancsov]

Thanks alot Amphiprion!

One last question is a bought a test kit which has 6 test but is missing ammonia and salinity. Any recommendations on a good/cheap tester for these two. Thanks.

[Amphiprion]

The API ammonia test kits are reasonably accurate and cheap. I recommend the following for measuring salinity: http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4345+9957&pcatid=9957

Along with this to calibrate it (to 35 ppt): http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=18717