How Long do I wait ?

[NYer]

I got a 180 gallon tank,
250 - 300 lbs LR
lighting will be T5 in about a week,

I would like a starfish or two 4 or 5 shrimp snails hermitcrabs and emerald crabs
and two clown fish (common mated)

to start with.

How long on water before I can put those in ?

The live rock was set up for about 3 years than it was out of water for about 48 hours and now it is cooking for about 5 days ?

[dobejazz]

Have you tested the ammonia-nitrites & nitrates?

[Kullas]

I would at least wait a month. and then check the water to make sure it is safe and not still cycling. every time ya put something in your tank there will be a cycle may it be big or small.
when starting a tank its better to slow down and take your time.

[PelagicMagic]

Time is key in this hobby, The 48 hr period out of water worries me. You will have some dead matter on the rocks. I would cycle with a damsel or a chromis. Do a few WC and test the water weekly to bi weekly. If you get starfish make sure its reef safe if you plan on corals, no chocolate chip stars! What are you using for flow? A month is a good time to wait before adding livestock. Post pics!

[leveldrummer]

check your levels, wait a week or so just to make sure you dont have die off. if everything checks well, i would add your snails and crabs, wait a week, add a fish and maybe your shrimp, and go from there, take time between everything you add, let you tank adjust, just go slow, if you put in 3 tiny hermit crabs, take a couple weeks to watch them and enjoy them. thats what i did, makes you appreciate everyone in your tank.

[jenajet]

Keep in mind stars are more sensitive to changes in water environment. I would be dead certain the cycle is thu and system is stable before adding a star.

[three90s&125sump]

Yo uneed to run a full cycle on that LR. 2 months minimum

[Loverotties]

Till it cycles and been ok for a couple more weeks!

[motorslave]

The longer the better. Id wait till the reading are all 0 for at least a couple of weeks. Then, start to add things slowly, maybe a few cleaners at a time. When you get to fish add one at a time every couple of weeks. The beneficial bacteria need that time to increase in numbers as the bio-load increases with new additions. patience is the hardest and most important part. it is also a key to success!

Robert

[Barcochris]

As long as the rock was out of water, at least a month or two. The longer you wait the better you are.

[NYer]

Ok the rock I split into 2 32 gallon pails about 100 lbs per pail, and i got about 700 gallons per hour in each pail.

1 pail the water is real clear and doesnt smell at all the rocks have nice red marks start of some kind of growth

the other pail smells to high heavans i changed the water twice in 4 days the last time i changed it doesnt stink as much been (2 days)

What does this mean ?

[NYer]

Also are there any husbandry chemicals I should add when starting a new tank, and how often should I change water while cycling ?

[leveldrummer]

if the rock stinks, it has a lot of die off, you can put it in your tank and cure it in there, it will cycle the tank fine as long as you have no fish or anything else in it, put the rock in, stack it how you want to leave it, try to keep as much as possible off the sand, then start testing your water, the ammonia and nitrIte wil spike and go back to zero, once everything hits zero, do a 25 percent water change, wait a couple weeks and keep testing, then start adding. hole process can take a couple months. so be patient.

[NYer]

Ok what about different additives ?

[three90s&125sump]

Originally Posted by NYer

Ok what about different additives ?

None.