Bought a Craigslist tank and need advise using previous sand, rock, and equipment.

cw2416ag

cw2416ag

New Member
Hello to all! I am new to the hobby and would like some advice please. After years of wanting a Saltwater tank I finally bought a house with enough room for one. I found a good deal on Craigslist for an 180 gallon which came with just about everything. I got the stand, canopy, florescent and coral lights, a small 20 gallon sump, and a Octopus protein skimmer. He also included all the sand and about 90 pounds of "live" rock even though I consider it dead. He said that he considers the rock dead since he has not had lights on in the tank for a few months or power heads. The tank was full with saltwater, rocks and sand. We drained everything and moved the tank to my house where it sat with the sand and rock in it but no water for about a week. I wanted to make sure I had an RO/DI system and the water was pure before filling the tank up so thats why I did not immediately put water bak into the tank. So here are my questions and hopefully you can help.
1. Can I reuse the sand in the tank or should I put new sand in?
2. Do I have to take the live rock out of the tank and cure it before putting it back in the tank or can I fill the tank up with saltwater and cure it in the aquarium?
3. Do I need to clean/replace bioballs in the tank overflows and sump?
4. Do I need to clean protein skimmer?
5. I found a good deal on live rock from a guy on Craigslist that has lots of growth and color on it. Can I buy this and add it in the tank with the "dead" rock or do I need to keep them separate.
I will be honest, putting all the rock in the tank and filling it with water would be easiest for me, but I want to do whats best for the tank. I don't know how to approach dead rock thats been out of the water for a week and established live rock for startup. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. My major concerns is the tank sitting empty for a week and how to incorporate all the rock, live and dead, together. Thanks again and very excited to be diving into this hobby.
Chris
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cw2416ag http:///t/397894/bought-a-craigslist-tank-and-need-advise-using-previous-sand-rock-and-equipment#post_3548222
Hello to all! I am new to the hobby and would like some advice please. After years of wanting a Saltwater tank I finally bought a house with enough room for one. I found a good deal on Craigslist for an 180 gallon which came with just about everything. I got the stand, canopy, florescent and coral lights, a small 20 gallon sump, and a Octopus protein skimmer. He also included all the sand and about 90 pounds of "live" rock even though I consider it dead. He said that he considers the rock dead since he has not had lights on in the tank for a few months or power heads. The tank was full with saltwater, rocks and sand. We drained everything and moved the tank to my house where it sat with the sand and rock in it but no water for about a week. I wanted to make sure I had an RO/DI system and the water was pure before filling the tank up so thats why I did not immediately put water bak into the tank. So here are my questions and hopefully you can help.
1. Can I reuse the sand in the tank or should I put new sand in?
2. Do I have to take the live rock out of the tank and cure it before putting it back in the tank or can I fill the tank up with saltwater and cure it in the aquarium?
3. Do I need to clean/replace bioballs in the tank overflows and sump?
4. Do I need to clean protein skimmer?
5. I found a good deal on live rock from a guy on Craigslist that has lots of growth and color on it. Can I buy this and add it in the tank with the "dead" rock or do I need to keep them separate.
I will be honest, putting all the rock in the tank and filling it with water would be easiest for me, but I want to do whats best for the tank. I don't know how to approach dead rock thats been out of the water for a week and established live rock for startup. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. My major concerns is the tank sitting empty for a week and how to incorporate all the rock, live and dead, together. Thanks again and very excited to be diving into this hobby.
Chris

Put new sand in the tank... either less than 2 inches or more than 4 inches.

The easiest way to make enough water is to completely empty the display tank, fill it with enough water and add your salt - approximately 1/2 cup per gallon. Buy and use a refractometer to check the salinity. Add your sand and rocks after the tank is mixed. you will have to take out some water to put more stuff in the tank, etc.

I would honestly get rid of the bioballs entirely. They are remnants of a past time... there are much more efficient ways of dealing with ammonia and nitrite - such as having enough water flow in the display tank.

Clean the protein skimmer in vinegar and run the pump in vinegar overnight to completely clean it. a 20% vinegar bath overnight usually does the trick. You can clean the tank the same way - with a little vinegar - to get rid of calcium deposits.

You can add the new rock to the old rock. You will have to buy a test kit to test your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and pH levels in the beginning. Read up on The Nitrogen Cycle. Use the shrimp tail method for cycling.

I would also see if a 40g breeder tank or a 40g long tank would fit underneath the 180 gallon to act as a new sump. A 20g tank is just too small for that large of an aquarium.

I've been in the hobby off and on for about nine years now - and yes, there is a lot to learn in the beginning but it gets easier over time. Good luck.
 
cw2416ag

cw2416ag

New Member
Thanks for the advice! Question, why do I need to replace the sand? Is there a way to clean/salvage the old sand? Also with the live rock, do I need to cure it in a separate container or in the aquarium itself since there will be nothing in it at first? And do I cure it with the new established rock I am getting or the dead rock and the live rock in the same container?
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
To me, replacing the sand it a lot easier than cleaning it. lol

However, an easy way to clean it is to put the old sand in a large, white pillow case and run a water hose into it. It will clean most of the nasty stuff out of the water. You will have to wash it until it runs clear. I would also put it in a bucket of pure ro/di water and use a little dechlorinator, like prime, and let it sit for a week or so, then change out the water. The pure water should draw out some residual phosphates that are in the sand.

You can put your pure ro/di water into the tank and mix your salt into it and then place your old rock, then your new rock, and then last, fill the tank with sand. The rocks on the bottom that are covered up with the sand is your "foundation rocks". It means that over time, your rock work will not slip, due to sand moving around. Old rock is perfect for a good foundation. It also beefs up the bottom layer if you wish to have a deep sand bed. Though, I suggest reading about it before you go that route.

You can cure your rock in the tank. Just make sure you are using pure saltwater.




I highly suggest looking into investing in an RO/DI unit for your home. Not only will it be for the fish tank, but also for cooking and drinking water.
 
cw2416ag

cw2416ag

New Member
Thanks! You have been very helpful. The second thing I bought after the tank was an RO/DI system. I really appreciate the help!
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
You might want to get someone else to chime in on the thread too.
I recommend going ahead and buying replacement filters for your RO/DI by switching to a refillable carbon block filter (using catalytic carbon) and refillable DI resin. It's much cheaper over time and it's also better at filtering out chloramines than the regular coconut gem carbon block filter.
What I did for water changes when I had a lot of my tanks is I built a platform to roll a 32g brute trash can on for newly mixed saltwater.
A good formula to remember in this hobby is LxWxH in inches divided by 231 = the amount of gallons. This comes in handy for figuring out how much water to remove from the tank during water changes.
If you do a search, I have written a bunch of articles for the forum,... "Guides for new hobbyists"
 
jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
I'll chime in idk if it will help tho. I generally use new sand w new tanks. Add maybe a handful of old live sand just to jump start the bacteria in it. Water changes, I mix mine in the empty salt buckets, it gives you 5gallons a whack that way. I use that for usually 2 of my tanks. I dont do alot at a time, I do smaller changes more frequently. Its easier for me than to move 20-25 gals all at one time. But like snake said, if u want to mix up a bunch generally u want to do a max of 10-15 percent. So for say a 75 it would be about 10gals
 
cw2416ag

cw2416ag

New Member
Thanks for the info everyone! I have taken all the sand out and will be cleaning it today. I think I will go with new sand just to be on the safe side. I did have another question, and I have tried to research on my own but get mixed responses. Can I use any other type of sand besides the LPS? For example I have read that some people use Playsand, Pool filler sand, etc. For every person that swears by it I find another person that swears against it. What are you guys thoughts on the matter? I understand that Saltwater tanks are expensive and you shouldn't cut corners but I also don't want to spend $25 dollars for 30 pounds when I can spend $5 dollars for 50 pounds. Maybe use the non pet store sand and mix in a bag of live sand to seed it?
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
I know you can use different sand. I think pool filter sand is one of them.
I wouldn't mix it together though. If anything, put the base sand in and just put the live sand on top.
Just a thought.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Pool filter sand that you buy these days has a lot of silicates in it, which is unsuitable for saltwater tanks. It will fuel diatom blooms that will never go away.
At one time, there was a play sand that was pure calcium carbonate, but it has since been removed from the market. The play sand was bagged by a company called Southdown, I believe. Then it was kolorplay, again, I think. But today's play sands and pool sands are unsuitable for the saltwater tank.
I suggest making the investment for pure calcium carbonate. If you want to save a little money, 30lbs of dry aragonite is just as good. I would get a more course sand so that it won't blow around as much.
 
tonysi

tonysi

Member
I would get a more course sand so that it won't blow around as much.
What are you talking about? Fine oolite is the way to go... Sand storms in the tank is all the rave these days :laughing: but ya gotta agree coarser sand is the way to go not crushed coral that stuff is a pita.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Lol Tony, believe it or not oolite was once recommended as a medium for deep sand beds. I had a lot of it left over for a long time. Now I like more course sands since I got into SPS corals.
 
cw2416ag

cw2416ag

New Member
I guess I will stick to LPS store just to be on the safe side. So I took the sump out and cleaned it and removed the bio ball's. How should I set the sump up. I no its small but for now I am going to use it. I have a large protein skimmer for the middle chamber and a return pump for the last chamber. Should I put live rock where the bioballs where under the metal crate? What about sand or plants? I also have a green media filter that goes between the baffles. Should I clean and reuse it? Any suggestions.
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jay0705

jay0705

Well-Known Member
Alot of folks use lr in there sump, also they use macro alage. But you would need a light.No sand tho
 
silverado61

silverado61

Well-Known Member
I don't know about using that metal grate. If it deteriorates at all it'll put metals in the water.

Some people do put an inch of sand in their sumps. It adds to the filtration system.
 
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