sand and fish

[rez101]

ok aqaurim is up and ready to be fill I have a 55gal how much sand would you recommend also I bought a box of instand ocean but on the box it does not tell how much salt for water I mean the box say 25 gal does that mean I need 2 boxes and add them both with the water or should I put the sand in first then the water then the instant ocean then turn on the filters?????

 

[bang guy]

Before you go any further I strongly suggest buying a recent book of maintaing a saltwater aquarium.

 

[guppy slayer]

Originally posted by rez101
ok aqaurim is up and ready to be fill I have a 55gal how much sand would you recommend also I bought a box of instand ocean but on the box it does not tell how much salt for water I mean the box say 25 gal does that mean I need 2 boxes and add them both with the water or should I put the sand in first then the water then the instant ocean then turn on the filters?????
just wanted to be clear on some things
about the salt ... isn't it something like 1/2 a cup per gal. and being that it is a new tank w/o fish would it not be ok to mix the first batch of salt in the tank.
and about the sand...what goes in first... does that matter? either way the tank would be cloudy, well maybe somewhat less cloudy if the sand went it first.
i know it is a new tank and you could mix the salt in the tank... but it is good practice to do it in a seperate container because after you have fish, etc... you can mix the salt in the tank.
thats a little confusing because after you have fish, etc... you should not mix the salt in the tank.

 

[chuckularone]

Disclaimer: I'm getting ready to set up my first tank next week. (75g) So I have no practicle experience with this.
I have nowhere to mix 65 + gallons of salt water, except in the tank...
Tell me if I'm wrong, but:
I think that mixing the salt and water in the tank would best be done BEFORE putting in the sand. For one reason. If you are stirring salt into the water (and there is sand at the bottom of the tank), it would be probable that you would inadvertently bury clumps of undissolved salt in the sand. I can't think of a single situation where that would be a good thing.
Granted, it will take a long time for the sand to settle down on the tank bottom if it's poured into a water filled tank, but It seems a reasonable trade off.

 

[sinner's girl]

when we set up our 55gl we mix it gallon by gallon, not in the tank. I had a container that held a little over a gallon. poured water in, added salted, mixed. poured into tank.
remember to test the salinity to see where you are. check salinity before adding the last few gallons, if you need more salt, just add more salt to those last few gallons, if need less salt, add less.
good luck.