Startup Question

[gimli]

Greetings-
More questions today.. I have my tank, my base sand and live sand, and my live rock is arriving next week. I will be using RO water, which I just found a source of..
I'm planning on mixing the water/salt, put it in the tank, then add the substrate, and then add the LR when it comes next week. Then let it run its cycle etc...
I've read several books before starting up, but this is my first sw tank and no book in the world is as good a confidence booster as an experienced person saying "Yes, that's correct" or "Close, but try it this way." So I am doing my homework, but nothing beats live discussion for learning.
Thanks.

 

[rossim]

Sounds like you are on the right track. Since the tank is completely empty, you can get away with mixing the saltwater right in the tank. That's what I did when I started my tank up. If you do mix the water in the tank, let everything run overnight. What I mean is make sure you have the powerhead(s) on to agitate the water (and you can set up the thermometer at this point to get the temp right). After a couple hours all the salt will be mixed. Once you have the salt at the right salinity you can add the substrate. TURN OFF YOUR POWERHEAD BEFORE YOU DO THIS! Or else you will have an even bigger sand storm that will take a long time to settle. No matter what, you will have atleast some type of sandstorm in the tank. Don't worry, give it a day and all the sand will eventually settle at the bottom of the tank. At this point you can add your LR and let the cycle begin!

 

[latino277]

on the right track.
fill the tank up 1/2 -3/4 of the way up with saltwater. Then and you Base sand this live sand. Then live rock. Then add saltwater as needed.
NOTE: don't fill the tank all the way up at 1st becuase the sand and rock will displace the water and will overflow the tank and just make a mess.
Good luck and keep us posted.:jumping:

 

[latino277]

Yeah... what rossim said... just more detailed...

 

[rossim]

Originally posted by latino277
on the right track.
fill the tank up 1/2 -3/4 of the way up with saltwater. Then and you Base sand this live sand. Then live rock. Then add saltwater as needed.
NOTE: don't fill the tank all the way up at 1st becuase the sand and rock will displace the water and will overflow the tank and just make a mess.
Good luck and keep us posted.:jumping:
Good point about not filling the tank up completely. Depending on the amount of LR and LS that you are putting in the tank, you will not need all the water.

 

[gimli]

Thanks for the replies. I am using both plain white ocean sand and live sand. Do I want to let the ocean sand settle and then put the LS on top of it, or will it actually be more beneficial to let them mix??

 

[rossim]

Not sure about this one. I think you would want the LS on top though since that is what will be in contact with the water. The bacteria on the sand need to be in direct contact with the water to help the filtration. I would dump in the play sand... let it sit for a couple hours... and then put the LS in. This way most of the LS will be on the top and the rest should mix as it settles.
Anyone else have an opinon on this? I'm still fairly new to SW also and don't want to give out bad advice.

 

[cowfishrule]

actually, good thing i came across this thread. im going to be setting my my tank in a couple of weeks. i got me a 50lb bag of the oldcastle tropical sand for my base, and im going to be getting a bag of ls. wasnt sure if i should put in the base and power everything up for 48 hours then add the ls, or if i should put down the base, then the ls, then power up
:notsure:

 

[latino277]

yes modt deff. the dry sand 1st let it sit for a while... maybe an hour so the the larger particle will settle then add the LS. anything that stays in the water column will grow bact. and settle becoming LS so you don't have to wait to long before adding the LS just enough to let the larger particals settle.