I hit the store today and picked up another 20 lbs of live rock. My pH was low this morning at 7.8 so I decided to hold off on the fish for another few weeks at least until this new rock is fully cured and I can get the pH a bit higher. I'm definitely glad I got the extra rock. I forgot to mention that my 40 gal tank is a tall tank (which I regret buying now of course- but I can't afford to replace the tank at this time) so the live rock is now built up nice and high and gives a lot more hiding places.
One other question for you all, having come from a freshwater tank all those years, I always ran my Magnum canister filter and used charcoal regularly.
I've got the filter running just to help clean up the water while the rock has been curing- do you all recommend that I continue to use it? Also, how often do you use charcoal. I know it can remove the good stuff from my water so I don't want to mess things up and overuse it.
Thanks again for the fish advice!