240 gallon set up?

[Tylerc33]

hello, im in the process of purchasing a 240 gallon tank and would like to set up a saltwater tank was just wondering what kind of tips you guys have? and how much live sand and live rock i should get.... do i need live sand? or can i use regular sand? or mixed?

 

[lmforbis]

I don’t bother with live sand. Just make sure it is argonite sand not silica sand. How much is a personal tast issue some have none some have really deep sand beds. You put the rock in, at least the first layer, before the sand. The sand then stabilizes the roch. If you do rock first you risk a fish or invert burrowing into the sand and destabilizing the rock causin a shift bossily resulting in the tank cracking.
I use mostly dry rock. I buy pukani rock from BRS it looks great, weighs less and has a much lower price per pound than live rock and free shipping. Typically they say 1 pound per gallon but with dry rock maybe half that depending on the rock. Easier to buy more than return extra. I also get a couple nice pieces of live rock to seed the tank with bacteria.

 

[Tylerc33]

Okay so basically it’s all preference but would recommend some live rock to get bacteria in there

Thank you for your help

 

[geridoc]

Actually, you don't have to seed the tank with live rock, but having some speeds the cycle considerably. Inforbis' suggestion of Pukani rock is a good one. You want the rock to be highly porous so that in addition to the usual aerobic bacteria that will form on the outer surface, anaerobic bacteria will grow in the pores and halp with nitrate control.