My new 10 gallon cycling system.

[ihatter]

Ok 2 days ago I bought a tank. I set it up with water and a power head and a heater. Yesterday i bought 10 pounds of fiji (at 7.99 a pound) live rock, it was from a lfs tank and they told me its cured. I put it in the tank and added a uncooked cocktail shrimp to get the cycle started. Today i got home shrimp has thin layer of white stuff floating around it(its other wise intact) but my whole room where the tank is smells rank. Is the smell from live rock die off or from the shrimp? If its from the shrimp can I take it out safely after only one day? Also can I add live sand ontop of the substrate I already have, and when would be the best time to add the live sand? Thank for your comments.

[SDRotary]

you shouldnt have to use a shrimp to cycle, the live rock/live sand has all the bacteria you will need. What is your current substrate? if it is crushed corral I recomend taking it out and starting again with the live sand, say 10-15lbs of it.

[ihatter]

how am I sposed to take out the substrait without killing the liverock by taking it out of the tank

[speccialj922]

first off, what do you want with this tank? reef, fo, fowlr?
also i'd like to add in that if this is your first tank, a 10g is a much more delicate system than a 40-60g.
if the rock purchased, was indeed cured, then the shrimp is recomended to start your cycle. die off from live rock is only present if the rock is uncured. the smell could be from the rock or shrimp. your lr may not be FULLY cured, in which thats the cause of your smell. (shrimp give off ammonia to start the cycle, not bacteria)
if you want a reef, then cc is not your best choice for substrate. pouring sand on top is no good, the cc will make its way to the top. you can do a search on cc and see why its a bad reef substrate...
removing your live rock for a moment or two will not kill it. it may need a little while to reestabolish itself/ delay your cycle - but its better to take your time and start things correctly.
adding live sand will most likely cause a mini cycle that will kill inhabitants. so add it asap and start monitoring your levels. and remember, NO LIVESTOCK untill cycle has completed.

[doctapeppa]

I'd also remove the toy car. That's not needed either!!