how long do i have to wait to add fish to my newly set up saltwater tank?

Question

i just set up a 125 gallon salt water fish tank. i have a 60 gallon freshwater and im new in saltwater. how long do i wait untill i can put fish in?

Answer 1

Lots of good answers already. The answer depends on what you did to set up. You only know the answer from testing for ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate.

When your ammonium is zero and your nitrite is trending to zero, you are ready for livestock.

This could take a while, or very little time, depending on your set up.

Factors that speed up the process:

+ Lots of good quality live rock from the pet store.
+ Good filtration, water flow.
+ Thick substrate, seeded with live sand.

If you added 200 pounds of live rock on day one, added substrate and seeded with live sand -- you could be good to go with hardy species within a week or so.

If you have no live rock, not much substrate and no live sand, you probably need to put something in the tank so the beneficial bacteria can begin to grow. This would require sacrificing some damsels at the altar of nitrogen cycling.

Live rock is your best course of action. You might want to vacuum the live rock detritus, die-off, from the substrate before addind fish and inverts.

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I want to modify my answer a bit. You have to add rock in stages. Each stage allows for die off of unwanted species, and gives you the chance to treat problems that crop up.

Also, if you want sponges to grow out of your rock, wait to get some growth before you add fish. Much livestock will eat the sponge buds and you will miss out. I learned this the hard way. I had a gorgeous bright orange sponge budding out of my rock the other day, and it got eaten overnight, and the area is now covered with coralline algae (nice, but not the same).

Answer 2

You need to start with livecoral and let it circulate for 30-45 days. The livecoral has some necessary microbes and bacteria which will help your fish.

Then, you start small with fish called "damsels". They're relatively hardy, come in lots of different colors and shapes, and they will also help "season" your tank to accept larger and/or more expensive fish. If you lose your damsels, then your tank still needs more work before it's ready to sustain other fish.

Get a really good book about salt water tanks and read it. You need to decide what kind of tank you want before you start putting stuff in there willy-nilly - many kinds of saltwater fish and flora are non-compatible with each other.

Good luck!

Answer 3

AT LEAST 2 WEEKS! Please ignore the above answers, your tank must cycle and a natural beneficial bacteria must grow before you put any fish in or they will simply die while the nitrogen cycle forms. You can sometimes get away with adding 1 very hardy species to help the cycle get started like a damsel or lionfish. Keep an eye on ammonia levels, first they will rise, then start to fall as nitrate levels rise, then finally you will see a rise in nitrite levels. You want to see the ammonia spike, then wait for ammonia and nitrate to return to 0 before adding any more livestock. This is the indicator that your tank has cycled and your natural biological filter is up and running.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

you should purchase organic ammonia out of your close by grocer. Pour some in to have ammonia attain 3ppm. keep including a similar volume you install the first time primary. at the same time as your tank reads nitrItes decrease the dosage to about 2ppm once back do a similar as previously. once your tank reads nitrAtes you've cycled your tank. this technique is named a fishless cycle. examine up on the nitrogen cycle to understand what's occurring on your tank. A cycle will take everywhere from 6-8 weeks. have self belief me your fish will be a lot in good structure and stay longer at the same time as the tank is cycled, compared to throwing them in now (they are going to die exceedingly quickly because of ammonia and nitrites.) Please be affected human being enable your tank cycle, once cycled upload about 2-3 fish a week or so!

Answer 5

Do you have "live rock" in the tank,and if so is it showing signs of coming around? If so,then adding a few small fish should be all right. If not,the cycle time for a salt tank is about the same as fresh.-----PeeTee

Answer 6

you have to wait a while for all the salt, but then once you buy the fish you have to set them in the water in their bag, to they can adjust to the new temperature of the tank. after that you can add fish.

Answer 7

3 months and then it might be ready. Have saltwater tanks.

Answer 8

3 day to a week is good the longer you wait the better