just added sand & water! Help

[vsecret]

I have just added the sand and saltwater to my tank - is it okay to hook the filter and heater up right away, or should I wait for the sand to settle first?

 

[tank a holic]

heater = yes
what kind of filter?

 

[vsecret]

Can i submerge even the cord from the heater? it said to put it about 2'' above the sand.
The filter is an Aqueon Power Filter55. Came with the tank. It has 2 cartridges.

 

[mr. limpid]

water, filters and heater should of been runing first, if you added live sand. if it is plan sand then you are ok to wait, if live try to get everthing up and running you want to keep your bateria alive.

 

[tank a holic]

leave the filter off until the sand settles or it will just plug up
as for the heater I have a visa-therm and an elite, both are completely submersible. if yours doesn't say it is a submersible heater then you'll have a "water line" on it ans can't let water get higher than that
also you should have 2 heaters in case one messes up

 

[vsecret]

great, i just added the sand about an hour ago, and its live! so ill hook it up now

 

[tank a holic]

how is not running a filter going to kill the sand??
in most tanks the sand is the filter

ps... do you have power heads running?
how big is your tank?

 

[vsecret]

see my heater says to have it 2 inches above the sand. It does have a minimum water line, so im thinking i can submerge it. I have a 55 gallon, and no i dont have power heads.

 

[tank a holic]

you'll need to get enough power heads to move between 600 and 1000 gallons per hour
most good heaters are submersible but just check the box to make sure, it'll tell you

 

[vsecret]

okay , i checked, and it is. Do i need the power heads for the cycling, or can i get them after its already cycled?

 

[vsecret]

my filter alone moves 325gph

 

[tank a holic]

ok, I'd say get a koralia 1 and a koralia 2, or get two 2's
that would give you plenty of flow

 

[vsecret]

thank you! So am i able to wait until its done cycling? or do i HAVE to get it now?

 

[tank a holic]

you can wait but the sooner the better, you need it for gas exchange, and you're water will film up without a turbulent surface..... the filter probably won't rough up all of it

 

[nminunni]

I have a 20g with a very active HOB filter (don't know how much flow it generates but it moves pretty well). Do you think I would be ok with a koralia 2? Do you know anywhere that sells them cheap?

 

[tank a holic]

a 2 would be good for you i think
most LFS's have them but you will pay about twice what you can get them on line for..... google them or go to the big auction site

 

[nminunni]

got a 2 from ---- for 35 with shipping. AND!!! I had a coupon for $22 left at paypal. Total price $13

 

[tank a holic]

cool, i saw a 2 at my lfs earlier today for like 44 bucks