Adding water to tank, then salt?

[TheProfessor]

This may be a stupid question, but I read a blog post that stated I could set up tank, add rock and sand, then RODI water and ensure that the pumps etc are working correctly BEFORE I add the salt to mix in.

No livestock involved. Just a dry rock and live sand.

This would save several hours of my time, so would appreciate any thoughts on the matter!

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Any bacteria in the live sand would be killed with the RO, you can run the tank with RO to check for leaks, drain it and then mix saltwater and add it.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

for a new cycle? absolutely! But no live sand. You can cycle everything that way as long as you don’t have bacteria that are beneficial

 

[george9]

I've filled all my tanks this way rather than mix individual buckets of saltwater. Fill the tank up with RODI and then start the pumps and add salt and let that mix for 24 hours. Once you've verified you're at the correct salinity, add sand and then rock once the water clears from the sand. If you rinse the sand prior, it makes the clearing process much quicker.

 

[Uncle99]

I did this.
Zero problems.

 

[TheProfessor]

Glad I asked! The rock is Caribsea, which has spored bacteria put onto it, and I was getting live sand. Don't want to kill all that right away!!!

I was planning on a long weekend mixing saltwater anyway, so that plan isn't changing now!