New Tank and Mixing Salt

[K7BMG]

I would not allow the live sand to sit in fresh water.
Have no proof this will do anything harmful but my common sense meter just headed south to nope dont do it.

 

[dbowman5]

Can you get ammonia to dose online for the cycling period or do you get that from the LFS? I've never cycled it this way before with ammonia and bacteria

it is available online, you can get it locally or you can feed shrimp from the grocery to your empty tank to feed the bacteria. there are all kind of ways to skin this cat. apologies to the feline fans

 

[ilott]

i added about 1.5 inches of sand maybe 4 bags. i think between the refugium and DT there might be 80 to 100 lbs. of mixed rock, some dry, some "Real Reef" rock, some LR from my LFS that customers traded in.

Brilliant! My LFS doesn't sell LR due to the "problems that come with it" so I guess I'll just have to cycle the rock from scratch.

Do you put rock in the refugium then as apposed to marine pure block? Or abit of both? I just thought the more porous the better? I'm assuming it's preference.

 

[ilott]

I would not allow the live sand to sit in fresh water.
Have no proof this will do anything harmful but my common sense meter just headed south to nope dont do it.

I was thinking exactly the same, I vaguely remember the bag saying "Do Not Wash" like it would kill the bacteria or something, I guess i'll be adding the water first then!

 

[dbowman5]

Thank you! I use Red Sea Reef Pink in my current tank and it's perfect for my liking, however, I already have two fish in my EVO can I add those to the tank after it cycles a little or should I add those after?

I also have pink argonite sand. Look at my build thread if you have time. i had mollys and a damsel in my pilot tank and moved them to the DT whan it had cycled. i saw once that your next tank is your favorite and the old tank gets neglected. my 75 is in my living space and the bowfront is in the basement i have my fish in the 75.

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

Thank you! I use Red Sea Reef Pink in my current tank and it's perfect for my liking, however, I already have two fish in my EVO can I add those to the tank after it cycles a little or should I add those after?

Fish can go in as soon as ammonia is gone.

 

[dbowman5]

Brilliant! My LFS doesn't sell LR due to the "problems that come with it" so I guess I'll just have to cycle the rock from scratch.

Do you put rock in the refugium then as apposed to marine pure block? Or abit of both? I just thought the more porous the better? I'm assuming it's preference.

i have seen good reports on the pure block. I have not bought any but not because i don't like the idea, just that i have not a large bio load. the rock and sand seem to be doing the job so far.

 

[ilott]

i have seen good reports on the pure block. I have not bought any but not because i don't like the idea, just that i have not a large bio load. the rock and sand seem to be doing the job so far.

Can't argue if it's working. I'll probably stick to pure block as I've seen some many people use that, as for a 75 gallon, roughly how many inhabitants can you have? (exc. inverts and cuc)

 

[Idoc]

Place your rocks in first, then sand, then add your already premixed saltwater.

You can get a Brute 32g trash can or two and mix it there first. I use 2 brute trash cans for my rodi system.... one freshwater and the other used for mixing for water changes.

 

[ilott]

I never thought of this, I may as well get some on order along with a pump to get the water into the tank, might as well get making the water before the tank even arrives.

 

[dbowman5]

Can't argue if it's working. I'll probably stick to pure block as I've seen some many people use that, as for a 75 gallon, roughly how many inhabitants can you have? (exc. inverts and cuc)

there are a lot of ideas about this. i have a couple of mollys, a springeri damsel, a clown, a blenny, and i think i have room for more. depending on your bacteria population, filtration, hiding spots, fish compatibility, size of fish, water conditions, temperature, whether ther will be corals and what type of coral, are all considerations. all of my fish are under 3 " i pick community fish,, low aggression, hardy, small adult size, reef safe. I think that the inverts need to be considered as part of the bio load. i have plans for over the next year to maybe add 4 or 6 more fish.

 

[ilott]

there are a lot of ideas about this. i have a couple of mollys, a springeri damsel, a clown, a blenny, and i think i have room for more. depending on your bacteria population, filtration, hiding spots, fish compatibility, size of fish, water conditions, temperature, whether ther will be corals and what type of coral, are all considerations. all of my fish are under 3 " i pick community fish,, low aggression, hardy, small adult size, reef safe. I think that the inverts need to be considered as part of the bio load. i have plans for over the next year to maybe add 4 or 6 more fish.

Very nice! I would love a tank that doesn't look empty maybe 10 - 15 fish, I really like intricate rock work with hiding spots, tunnels, gaps around the back, arches and ledges. I don't know how people can settle for a pile of rocks in the middle of the tank. So i'll definitely be sure to make the most out of the rocks as I can.

 

[K7BMG]

Again I have little proof but have read seveal threads that the marine pure blocks leach aluminum.
I had two bricks in my tank from the start, I had hight Tin and maybe Aluminum cant remember now.
Anyway tank leaked so I tore it down and replaced it with new.
Did not put the bricks back in the new system.
I also do not have high metals anymore.
Coincidence? Could be, or there could be truth to the blocks leaching.

 

[Biglew11]

Hello,

I'm looking at getting a new tank, preferably around the 75 gallon mark, I would like some tips on the salt mixing process,

So I was thinking, filling the main display with water just underneath the overflow and mixing enough salt for the whole system, then filling the rest with water to level out the salinity and avoid salt particles passing through and getting stuck in the return pump, then I will add the sand and rock work etc.
8
Is this a good idea? or should I just mix buckets of salt at a time? or even buy enough water from my LFS, I have my own RODI system which achieves 0 ppm, I use it once every two weeks for 25 litres of water.

Olivia

You can mix your water in the tank if there is no livestock in it for the initial fill only. However you want to add only the amount of salt to bring that water to your desired range. If you had 75 gallons in the tank and added salt for total system volume of say 85 gallons your salinity will be too high, and elements will precipitate out of solution.

I'd pre mix the saltwater in a brute then add that to the tank.

 

[rusty hannon]

Hello,

I'm looking at getting a new tank, preferably around the 75 gallon mark, I would like some tips on the salt mixing process,

So I was thinking, filling the main display with water just underneath the overflow and mixing enough salt for the whole system, then filling the rest with water to level out the salinity and avoid salt particles passing through and getting stuck in the return pump, then I will add the sand and rock work etc.

Is this a good idea? or should I just mix buckets of salt at a time? or even buy enough water from my LFS, I have my own RODI system which achieves 0 ppm, I use it once every two weeks for 25 litres of water.

Olivia

Mix your salt in buckets,if you do it in tank and you go over a little you won't have room to add more water,you should use your rock sys. at home rather than the fish stores, its the same water.also I would recommend putting you're sand in, then your rock, make sure all is stable and if needed use epoxy, then add water. If you do it the other way you'll either b oailing water out or domping it on the floor due to water displacement. I've almost had that happen as I wasn't paying attention. Hope this is helpful.

 

[Biglew11]

I like to put my rocks in first, at least the rocks for the base layer or 2. If you plan on having gobies or other diggers it's easier to make sure your structure is stable then I add the sand around the rocks pushing the sand under the rocks that still have raised areas.

 

[ilott]

You can mix your water in the tank if there is no livestock in it for the initial fill only. However you want to add only the amount of salt to bring that water to your desired range. If you had 75 gallons in the tank and added salt for total system volume of say 85 gallons your salinity will be too high, and elements will precipitate out of solution.

I'd pre mix the saltwater in a brute then add that to the tank.

I've just looked online at these brutes, would they easily resell after? I'd definitely keep one of them but I would need at least 3 to fill the tank in one day.

 

[E_reefer]

Thank you! I'll take this into account, I feel like adding the salt once the rocks and sand is in would be easier for myself, but will live sand be affected sitting in freshwater for a couple of days whilst my tank fills?

No because the sand isn’t truly “alive “ if its from a bag- it will become alive once you add an ammonia source but it will be fine sitting in fw for a few days. If it is from another established sw aquarium then that is different, but if it is if it is any of the caribsea type bagged live sand, i.e argalive, et. al, then no. Another poster stated it, and I agree, you should rinse the sand with rodi water, which is a pain, but recommended as there is a lot of fine particulate. The bags usually include a water clarifier either way so you can use that if it is very cloudy but unnecessary if you just wait for it to settle while salt is mixing anyway. I would say 80 lbs or so should do the trick not a deep sb but deep enough for most inverts and gobies/jawfish. Rocks are totally a matter of preference based on how you want it to look and what type of rockscape you are looking for.

 

[ilott]

No because the sand isn’t truly “alive “ if its from a bag- it will become alive once you add an ammonia source but it will be fine sitting in fw for a few days. If it is from another established sw aquarium then that is different, but if it is if it is any of the caribsea type bagged live sand, i.e argalive, et. al, then no. Another poster stated it, and I agree, you should rinse the sand with rodi water, which is a pain, but recommended as there is a lot of fine particulate. The bags usually include a water clarifier either way so you can use that if it is very cloudy but unnecessary if you just wait for it to settle while salt is mixing anyway. I would say 80 lbs or so should do the trick not a deep sb but deep enough for most inverts and gobies/jawfish. Rocks are totally a matter of preference based on how you want it to look and what type of rockscape you are looking for.

It would be the red sea reef pink aragonite, is this okay to be washed? I didn't wash it last time, just put it straight into the tank

 

[Biglew11]

I've just looked online at these brutes, would they easily resell after? I'd definitely keep one of them but I would need at least 3 to fill the tank in one day.

There's nothing wrong with taking a couple days to fill the tank on first fill. I have 3 42 gallon brutes. One for rodi water one for saltwater. The third is set aside for saltwater if I have to do a large Emergency water change. I'd keep two brutes minimum, if you're making your own rodi water.