Filling a 150g

[erm0715]

First time having a tank over 72g. What's the most feasible way to fill this thing barring mixing salt in multiple large trashcans? 30 5g buckets of salt from LFS (1hr away) isn't feasible.

Add sand and rock, run RODI line to the tank and then add salt with heater, return and wavemakers going until the appropriate salinity? This would preclude not using live rock or live sand right?

thanks! haven't seen much online regarding specifics of filling larger tanks.

 

[xabo]

Place the sand and rock in tank, fill with rodi water, add salt and let the return pump and power heads circulate the salt. Add more salt if needed.

 

[erm0715]

Place the sand and rock in tank, fill with rodi water, add salt and let the return pump and power heads circulate the salt. Add more salt if needed.

Thanks. So I'm assuming I'll need to use dry sand and dry rock. Should I just seed the tank later with pods for the biodiversity I'd be missing out on from not using live sand / live rock?

 

[mike550]

@erm0715 there are so many different options. But couple of thoughts. Definitely rinse your sand to get out the dust etc so you don’t silt up your tank. Lots of threads about this. Also, if you gave fully cycled rock then careful with how you handle them so you don’t kill off the bacteria. It sounds like you have a RODI system and can make your own saltwater. Definitely better than relying on LFS.

As for filling, I would place in the rock then the sand using egg crate or something to avoid any “points” or “edges” on the rock from making pressure points on your glass. Personally, if you have a BrUte container I would mix whatever amount you can in there and then put it into the tank. Even if it takes multiple rounds. I’ve seen people fill the tank with RODI and then make it into saltwater with a powerhead. It always seems to cause some sort of issue. My guess is that the powerhead isn’t strong enough for mixing all the salt.

Good luck!

 

[erm0715]

@erm0715 there are so many different options. But couple of thoughts. Definitely rinse your sand to get out the dust etc so you don’t silt up your tank. Lots of threads about this. Also, if you gave fully cycled rock then careful with how you handle them so you don’t kill off the bacteria. It sounds like you have a RODI system and can make your own saltwater. Definitely better than relying on LFS.

As for filling, I would place in the rock then the sand using egg crate or something to avoid any “points” or “edges” on the rock from making pressure points on your glass. Personally, if you have a BrUte container I would mix whatever amount you can in there and then put it into the tank. Even if it takes multiple rounds. I’ve seen people fill the tank with RODI and then make it into saltwater with a powerhead. It always seems to cause some sort of issue. My guess is that the powerhead isn’t strong enough for mixing all the salt.

Good luck!

Good point. I can look into the brute can and pump route. None of this is going to be a fast process. I'm hopefully getting the tank for a local reefer tomorrow but will still need to brace subfloor etc. so definitely going to be a slow moving process.

 

[xabo]

Thanks. So I'm assuming I'll need to use dry sand and dry rock. Should I just seed the tank later with pods for the biodiversity I'd be missing out on from not using live sand / live rock?

That's what I did