do you have a build thread of your 55 gallon somewhere?
My tank build on an australian reefing forum. I started out with baserock until I could get good live rock. The first fish went in, apart from the damsel, after 11 weeks.
http://www.masa.asn.au/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=194782
let me explain what i have done so far. set up tank with regular whisper filter 60, 200w heater, 1200gph koralia 4 power head. filled tank with water treated with prime and instant ocean. put in 60 lbs live sand and about 55 lbs live rock.
The amount of flow you have will be okay, you might need another powerhead down the track but what you have is fine. You can leave the whisper on until you get a skimmer, you don't need to get a skimmer until shortly before you get fish. Your tank should be cycling now, basically its a waiting game from here. Testing ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, kh and salinity is the most important thing to do at this point.
question about salt mixing. i follow the instructions which say 1/2 cup salt for every 1 gallon of water. do you use more or less?
I use seawater from the ocean because is pretty much pristine here, one of the benefits of living in Australia. You need a hydrometer or a refractometer to measure the salinity of the water, just measuring the salt with a cup will give you different salinities. You can follow the instructions as a guide but always check the salinity before doing a water change. If its too low add more salt, too high add more freshwater. Once you have fish and are doing water changes mix up the saltwater the day before so it has time to completely disolve. You want to aim for an salinity (sg) of between 1.024 and 1.027, whatever level you choose just make sure the tank stays stable on that level. Hydrometers are cheap to buy.
so far so good? i shouldnt water change during the break in period right?
Yes so far so good. Only do water changes if the ammonia goes really high. Otherwise just monitor ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, kh and salinity and wait. You should only need to do your first water change at the end of the cycle.
not sure if its important but the 3 bags of live sand each came with a packet of bio-magnet clearer, supposed to help clear the water. i mixed in seperate bowl of tank water and added to tank after i put in sand.
Water clearers aren't necessary, I don't think it will do harm but the less chemicals you add to the tank the better. Saltwater has a great way of just clearing on its own, it just needs flow and time.
also one other thing i forgot to add. didnt think it mattered but maybe its a crucial piece of info. i had a bottle of cycle from walmart and i dosed the tank with it to kick start the cycle.
I don't think those cycle products do much, I could be wrong but again they aren't really necessary. The best thing to have in your tank to kick start the cycle is the live rock. Marine tanks just can't be rushed, it will be ready when its ready and every tank is different.
thanks for all the input tropical. btw what kind of camera do you use? i saw a bunch of your pics and they are all so good.
Happy to help. I use a canon ixus 55, good for macro but not too good at full tank shots. Also my sister has a Pentax K100D DSLR, real good camera that I use when she is home.
