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Well, I finally got it to where I want it. I have a 60 gallon saltwater aquarium with a Satellite 48" PC fixture, an AC 70 power filter, a Stealth 200 Heater(I know I should have gotten two, but prices are through the roof here), 30 lbs. of Hawaiian base rock, and 45 lbs. of Fiji LR. 1-1.5 inches of crushed coral mixed with some aragonite.I also plan on some powerheads sometime soon and a Coralife Super skimmer, the smaller one.

I got some pictures too, I don't know how good they are.
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I need input!

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I like Led Zeppelin.

Ditch the crushed coral and just go with aragonite sugar fine sand! It will be much better for you...less maint (no maint actually) and it will aid in reducing nitrates if you have it around 2-3 inches deep.

With the mixture you have now, you will have to do gravel vacs (depending on the ratio of course) and the crushed coral will eventually seperate and work its way to the top later...leaving the sand on the lower level.

Crushed coral traps way too much waste if you dont do gravel vacs

You will also want atleast two powerheads that are rated for the size of the tank for more water flow...if you dont have it things will get nasty!

Agreeing all the way with DRO They are doing wonderful things with live sand nowadays mix a bag or two in with the dry stuff and it really helps the cycling. Also I would plan on upgrading the filter with a sump or cansiter at some point but for now because you have no fish in there yet just adding more power head will do. I would also think about adding about 20-30 lbs more live rock, maybe some tonga branch for decorating. One thing I would like to mention is make sure the base rocks touch the glass bottom of your tank, other wise any digging by creatures will cause an avalanche and crush things.
Also, I am a firm believer in not hooking up a protien skimmer until the tank is atleast 6 months old.

Your off to a good start though, just don't rush anything and it will turn out great. Any stocking ideas?

For stocking I don't really have anything written on stone tablets yet, but so far I want 2 Percula Clowns, 1 lawnmower blenny, 1 yellow clown goby, 1 kaudern's cardinal, and an arrow crab. That's all I've decided on so far. About the powerheads, what GPH do I need? Also, if I ever save up enough money or the tank doesn't crash by december, I might set up a 30 or so gallon sump with an overflow box (the glass is tempered). Thanks for all the help, wish me luck, I do need it!

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I like Led Zeppelin.

you should probably get the arow crad last if you buy any of your fish as juviniels. Arrow crabs have a nasy little habit of eating small fish...

And you should get a bigger filter unless you gonna get a sump soon but until you get you fish the current filter should be okay. I'd suggest an aqua clear 110 for your tank which will work real well for you tank i use one for my 55 gal. sw

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pnh

Today I went to a local store where the manager really knew what he was talking about. He convinced me to get a Coralife Super Skimmmer which I just set up (not without difficulties, mind you). Also, he told me to get some Stability by Seachem to help cycle the tank, and wow does it work. I added it at about 3:45 and I have high nitrite levels already and it's only 10:30. The tank seems to be doing ok so far, anything else I need to know?

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I like Led Zeppelin.

7 hours!!!, I am perplexed, something strange there. Not even Bio Spira works that fast and its an active culture hmm...

I don't know if anyone shares my paranoia but I still think that putting a protein skimmer on a tank that is still cycling is a bad idea. Perhaps I'm wrong but it is the way I have always done it and I'm to old to change my ways

yeah i never turn my skimmers on till a tank is cycled either. dont know why im stuck in my ways too

Well I'm just doing what the guy told me to do, and it's still got so much dead material in it that cycling can finish easily. I haven't seemed to have any hitchhikers, good or bad, so I'm kind of dissapointed. Oh well, I'd rather not have a bristleworm, or so I've been told. As far as the Stability goes, it's a great product. I'm going to use it from now on to cycle all my tanks.

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I like Led Zeppelin.

I cycled my tank the long way, with live rock.

IMO its better, it just doesnt seem right to be able to jump nature's way. Its happening and taking that long for a reason.

Then again, i know how anxious we all get when were in the process of setting up a new tank.

As far as the hitchhikers go, you may have them and you wont find them until later.

I just found out i had a sea hare crawling around only a few weeks ago, and my tank has been running since september!

dont worry somthing will pop up eventually. Not to mention, youll get some interesting things growing that you didnt expect.

Nick
"Impossumable- unable to play dead"

Oh well, I'd rather not have a bristleworm, or so I've been told.

Most bristleworms can be a good part of a balanced system. They don't really do any harm, unless in large numbers, which indicates poor husbandry on your part, so you could argue that they would even be a good indicator in that case. The only real bad thing about bristleworms is if you happen to get one stuck between your finger and a rock or something. Otherwise they are part of the cleanup crew.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Oh well, I'd rather not have a bristleworm, or so I've been told.

In the old school times, it was thought they were a bad thing to have. Many have not read up on them and still believe this to be true. However, as stated already, they are actually a good thing to have. Not only are they a great cleanup crew, but they help keep the sand turned and moved, as they dig and crawl through it. Some other critters in the tank will actually enjoy a good snack on them. Some so much they practically live on them, such as the arrowhead crabs. But, they are a good thing to have in a tank. As turning over the sand as such, they help prevent any "dead" areas from occuring within it. As when this happens, you can get a drastic ammonia spike once the "dead" areas of sand are moved, wether by a fish or other critter, or you re-arranging your tank for whatever reason. The thing is, you will always have anaerobic bacteria growing in your sand. When they die, the sand is usually turned over by other critters crawling though the sand and they get oxygen then and are converted into the cycle and such on a regular basis. However, if they die and the sand does not get moved, they will start a toxic area within the sand, and end up causing a drastic death of the anaerobic bacteria. This area will then be completely dead and full of dead decaying matter that has not yet become part of the cycle and processed out of the tank. So, once moved then, it is all at once placed within the cycle system, and causes a drastic ammonia spike. Which in a SW set up can be a drastic and devistating effect on all the critters within the tank. Can cause a major death rate in the tank as well.

So, in the end, all critters crawling through the sand, wether it is a DSB or not, are good to have. Including most bristle worms.

As for the bristle worms, there are several hundred species of them. Their size ranges from the small mm sizes to several feet long (fire worms). If you see any getting larger than an inch or maybe 2 inches, those I would remove, as several species that reach those sizes and larger have been known to eat on fish while they sleep.

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There is always a bigger fish...

Thank everyone for all the help, the tank is doing really well, we had to patch a @#$^*(&$%^$@^@†-b§ leak on the back bottom liner, I was soooooo mad when I found out. Everything is going fine now, the leak fried a power strip but I got more and all the equipment is fine. Cycling seems to be coming to a close, my nitrites are on the chart again. Also, I talked to a guy at a local saltwater-only store and he told me something I never thought about: he said not to do a w/c before I get fish, as this will just disturb the nitrate-reducing bacteria.

I've changed my plan to 1 clark's clown(I want something different), 1 yellow clown goby, 1 Kaudern's cardinal, and that's all so far, I'm throwing out the arrow crab idea unless I suddenly have tons of bristleworms, which the arrow crab would love.

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I like Led Zeppelin.