old new tank

[EILAT]

I'M ABOUT TO RESTART MY OLD SYSTEM AND i HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.
1. WILL THE CYCLE OF THE FISH TANKS STILL TANK 1 MONTH?
2. CAN i STICK LIVE ROCK IN RIGHT AWAY AND IF YES CAN i STICK LIVE ROCK THAT HAS PURPLE ALGAE GROWTH ALLREADY ON IT?
3. HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO WAIT BEFOR PUTTING I CORALS?
4. dO I NEED A GENRATOR AND OR QUARNTY TANK?

 

[reedman]

Cycle times vary based on what your source water is, what you have in the tank, water movement, condition of live rock, among others. There is no hard and fast rule for time to cycle. Your best friend during the cycle is your set of test kits (amonia, nitrite, nitrate). When these parameters are within acceptable ranges then your cycle is complete.

What kind of corals do you want to keep. When you can add them depends on how sensitive they are to the water quality.

You don't need a generator or quaranteen tank. The Q-tank is nice to prevent nasties from getting into your display tank and allows fish to be observed and acclimated without the stress of tankmates chasing them. You can also treat fish with chemical treatments that you cannot use in the main tank if you have a Q-tank setup.

The generator is a personal preference. Can you keep the system warm/circulating during a power outage? If you answer no, you join many of us that roll the dice every november when the winds start up here in Washington.

Good luck, read a lot, and take it slow. Think of the cycle time as time to research what you want to keep and how to care for them.

 

[NaH2O]

Welcome to Reef Frontiers!!

Here is a thread about the nitrogen cycle. I hope it helps! Nitrogen Cycle Explained

Do you know what you would like to keep?

 

[NaH2O]

OK - now that my 3 year old is no longer yelling, I can finish my post

On the question about live rock - you can put the live rock in your tank during the cycle process. You can use all uncured, all cured, or a mixture of both. The uncured rock will cure in the tank during cycle, if you chose that route. As your tank matures, the rocks and tank will begin to grow coralline algae (the purple, pinks). Here is another thread about live rock: Back to Basics ~Live Rock~. Also, here is a link to my tank thread - it pretty much shows the process of putting my tank together: A Saga: Nikki's 120 Gallon. Hope these help!

 

[BCT182]

Nikki is right, the rock will cure but it will do so during the cycle. I helped my buddy set up his tank and we were sold LR that was considered "CURED" but it stunk like rotten eggs. His ammonia was unreadable because it was so far off the charts. If your setting up your tank, and your patient, paying more for "cured" LR isn't really necessary.
Brett