what fist sand or water? then rocks?

richie1742

Member
ive heard that you got to put the water in the tank before the live sand. does it really matter? why not the sand fist then water?
-thanks :joy:
 

viper_930

Active Member
The freshwater will kill much of the bacteria in the LS. But if you are using premixed saltwater, the sand can go in first.
 

joncat24

Active Member
I am still new to this but ...the way I did it was put the water in about half full...then add salt and wait til disolved. Then add sand ( all of it). I used aragalive sand 80 lbs in a 72 gallon tank. then SLOWLY add remaining salt water as not to stir up the sand too much. my tank was realtively clear in about 4 hours and totally in one day. some I have read took up to a week for sand to settle. then you can put in your live rock..after you can see what you are doing....hope your luck was as good as mine
 

monalisa

Active Member
When I first started my tank...and before I found this site, I placed my sand first (I didn't have any live...but I do now!!), then I mixed my water and salt, aerated that for 24 hours. When I was ready to put the water in, I placed a large bowl upside down on top of the sand to pour the water on top of (very slowly). This minimized the sand cloud considerably, again, pour slowly. After that I adjusted my equipment. When the temp was right in the tank, then started shopping for LR!!
Not sure if this is 100% correct, but that's what I did...
Lisa :happyfish
 
J

jcrim

Guest
-The saltwater should be prepared prior to putting it in the tank.
-Add enough water to cover rocks
-Add rocks
-Add live sand to tank. The sand coming in after the rock makes the structures sturdier.
-Finish adding water
You're done :happyfish :happyfish
 

sjg22483

Member
water - rocks - sand
before adding any rocks or sand make sure your salinity levels are right, especially when using live rock and sand
if you put live sand in a tank that either has too much or too little salt, it will kill the sand
I wouldn't worry about cloudy water for a few days since it will take a couple weeks to cycle your tank, but there's lots of good ideas out there. Best advice is don't just pour it in the tank, try to place it as near the bottom as possible either using a bowl or something, i just did it by handfuls myself; it gets a little cloudy but isn't anything to worry about
 

richie1742

Member
, but what if im buying r/o water thats premixed from the lfs... can i just drop the sand in first then water then rocks?
 
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