Starting up my 125G

[sparty059]

Ok, the day is here! With all the amazing feedback and help from everyone I have finally finished the plumbing under the 125G DT. Yesterday I put the sump and refuge through a quick leak test, the refuge passed with flying colors, the sump... not so much. I re-sealed the glass and will be testing it again Friday. However, I am now under the assumption that this seal will do the trick. I've also added hangers to take some of the strain off of the pipes when the water flows. This weekend I will be getting about 50lbs of live rock, and washing down my dead rock to avoid from any dead critters breaching the tank. I will have just over 100lbs of dead rock as the base, and the 50lbs above it. I also have 100 lbs of live sand... does anyone think I may not have enough sand? I was hesitant to buy more because (go figure) my LFS said I shouldn't need any more than just 50lbs for a thin base on my tank... I didn't listen to them and bought double

, and still feel I might be a bit short on sand. With the live/dead rock and live sand in there I'm guessing I shouldn't have to manually kick off a cycle. I just wanted to give everyone some heads up that I'm pretty sure I'm finished asking how do I set this up and how do I set that up... and now it will be directed more towards the actual habitat of the fish! I will admit though... I can proudly say I have gained quite a bit of patience as many years ago I would have said eh, this just isn't worth it!

 

[meowzer]

YAYYYYY...don't forget to post pics as you do stuff..
 
As far as sand, it all depends on how deep a sand bed you want. You also do not have to add all live sand either. If you decide you want more, just add regular dead sand....the live sand will seed it

 

[slice]

I can almost feel the excitement through your post! I want pictures as soon as you get it filled, ok?
 
As for the sand requirement, there are several sand bed calculators, here is one
 
http://www.garf.org/calculators/SandBedCalculator.asp

 

[sweatervest13]

Sparty,
 
I have been following your progress on your 125g. Great job!! You are doing fantastic!! Can't wait to see the pics. I am setting up my first SW tank as well, just a 29g. But I want to go to a big 125 and look at your progress as a great teaching experience.

 

[sparty059]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Slice http:///forum/thread/379766/starting-up-my-125g#post_3302001
I can almost feel the excitement through your post! I want pictures as soon as you get it filled, ok?
 
As for the sand requirement, there are several sand bed calculators, here is one
 
http://www.garf.org/calculators/SandBedCalculator.asp
 
Slice - Based on the sand bed calculator you provided me it did in fact say I only needed 44lbs for 1"... However, if I plan to down the road get an eel, or a fish that buries itself, then I'd assume I'd want about 2" of sand... would that be a good assumption?
 
Meowzer - Adding all live sand is not a bad thing though; correct? I already bought 100lbs of the sand and have it sitting in my living room right now... I assume it would just help expedite the cycle process, along with helping the live rock bring the dead rock to life since bacteria and organisms would be coming from all directions, true? Ah, and to think, it was only last month I would have said, uh, what's dead rock and live rock?

 
Sweatervest - I'm glad I was able to get all of the answer to my questions that many other newbie's were thinking as well. It's been an awesome learning process for me as well, and I look forward to everything that will be coming my way... I must say though, I was a bit foolish and dove in head first when I bought this tank... as much as I have learned, I think it would have taken quite a bit of stress off of me had I would have started out with a 30-50 gallon tank first. All in all though, amazing experience thus far.

 

[meowzer]

LOL...No, adding all live sand is not bad...just a little more expensive.
 
When I set up my 225G, I bought 200lbs of live sand, come to find out that I could of gotten away with 50lbs live the rest dead...haha...could have saved a couple of bucks
 
BUT then again....if I knew about this site from the start...I could have saved A HECK OF A LOT MORE

 

[mooseythemoron]

Sparty, even I have been following your posts everyday. So, finally the day is here... Good job.... we will wait for the pics... post them soon!!!

 

[gemmy]

I can't wait for the pics! What do plan on keeping in the tank?

 

[sparty059]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemmy http:///forum/thread/379766/starting-up-my-125g#post_3302036
I can't wait for the pics! What do plan on keeping in the tank?
Until I buy better lighting I will be getting only some clown fish, a blue hippo, and some mushroom coral. Once I get the better lighting, I will purchase anemone for the clown fish to hide in, and I will also purchase a snowflake eel. I'm sure I will get a few other fish here and there, of course not to the point of over crowding, but something to have a nice flow to the tank.

 

[sparty059]

SO! I've finally added the live sand! Just a couple of hours ago I had also added about 12 gallons of water to make sure the sand stays wet through out the night and most of the day tomorrow. I will be slowly yet surely be adding more water to the tank as the days go on... I am also going to add some dead rock as the base rock tomorrow or Sunday and then go out to purchase some live rock off of Craigslist or my LFS. I must say though, I'm thrilled all the pieces are starting in to place now. It's been some time coming!

 
Oh... and an update regarding my sump and refuge... As I said before, the refuge passed with flying colors... the refuge not so much. The other day I resealed with silicone and believe it or not... today it continued to leak! So I did what any normal person would do in this situation... I took half a tube of silicone and made sure that sucker was not going to leak ever again. It'll take more than armageddon to break the silicone off that bad boy!
 
A picture of the sand in the tank... not much to look at but I was pretty much running around the house in joy.
 
And the absolute last thing I must say is... does ANYONE know of an easy way to get water into my tank? I can't really create a syphon because the water will be lower than the tank and it won't be able to go all the way up the pipe into the tank. The only option I have right now is to take the bin I have tilt it on an angle and dump the water in that way. Thankfully a natural disaster was averted! I had started to pour the water into the tank and had notice the bin was JUST shy of the opening... a cup or so spilled on to the carpet

(which I was already planning to steam clean in a few days!) and then thankfully the rest into the tank. However, to avoid this catastrophe what would everyone suggest?

 

[plastercracker]

i would take a garbage bag and lay it on the sand bed then pour the water in, keeps the sand bed from blowing all over. and i would lay cardboard on carpet with throw rugs on it. i have set big tanks up in million dollar homes where i could not make a mess. this worked out pretty good. and when i used to do big water changes and my water source was to far away i would run a mag drive pump and some clear hose from home depot to pump water from the source to a 30 gallon Rubbermaid and then pump to tank from there. no mess at all. pouring water is messier than pumping water. just make sure hose connections are tight so they don't come apart

 

[meowzer]

I agree with the bag on the sand....or you can use a plate (or something similar) I used a rubbermaid tote lid...and pour the water onto it
 
for the floor...I had some cheapo plastic picnic table covers....I laid them all over...LOL...hey..it kept the carpet dry
 
ALSO....do you have your rock? You really want the rock on the bottom of the tank...not on the sand. This way if anything digs tunnels, your rock is safe

 

[sparty059]

I'm in a bit of a panic mode... I have started to fill up my tank with water. I also have the bed of sand laid down. I had some dead rock and added that to the tank. The aquascape is... well... not so good. I don't know what to do... it looks awful. I've also added almost all the dead rock I have and will be adding some live rock eventually. The part that worries me the most is the water. It's VERY VERY cloudy. I've had the rock, sand, and water in for about 5 hours and it looks just awful... VERY little visibility. Is this bad? I washed the dead rock with just normal water from the faucet and dried it out... again, I don't know if this is supposed to be normal the water quality... but I'm a little worried that I may have to empty out this tank and redo everything.
 
This is what it looks like with the "Aquascape"
 

 

[meowzer]

Well you don't have much to work with it seems.....when are you going to get the rest of the rock???
 
And yes, it is normal for some cloudiness right now....you are stirring up some sand....it should settle

 

[sparty059]

Some time later this week. I figured I can fill the tank up and then add the live rock once it's ready to go... or is that a bad idea?

 

[meowzer]

Well it's a lot easier to add the rock when you are not taking a bath...LOL
 
I wouldn't fill the tank more than half then................

 

[sparty059]

Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/379766/starting-up-my-125g#post_3303067
Well it's a lot easier to add the rock when you are not taking a bath...LOL
 
I wouldn't fill the tank more than half then................
Ok, that's what I was thinking. I figured for the sake of keeping everything clean, I will just fill it up 1/2-3/4 of the way and then start to add the rock. It's just such a task filling up the tank! 125 gallons worth with a 75 GPD unit... ugh, this is so daunting!

 

[meowzer]

Do you have a container yet for keeping your ro water? and to make up your water change water???
 
for a 125G, you will probably want to do 18G's a time.....or 20 LOL.....you will need a container large enough to hold that much SW, and a powerhead to keep it stirred up
 
a 15-20% w/c every other week is a good practice to get into

 

[2quills]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparty059 http:///forum/thread/379766/starting-up-my-125g#post_3303077
Ok, that's what I was thinking. I figured for the sake of keeping everything clean, I will just fill it up 1/2-3/4 of the way and then start to add the rock. It's just such a task filling up the tank! 125 gallons worth with a 75 GPD unit... ugh, this is so daunting!
The water won't take very long to clear up. I agree though, I'd just fill it about half way untill you get your aquascaping squared away. You're off to a good start.
 

 

[posiden]

Sorry, I have to ask.
 
The water you've added, is it salty? Or just Ro/Di?