New tank, new questions

mr11 · Sep 28, 2015

So I picked up a 50gallon acrylic tank over the weekend with a sump, pump, plumbing, and power head!

My next step is to start cycling the tank which means I need an RO/DI, live rock, sand, salt, and test kit correct? Do I need a heater as well?

As for rock and sand, I was looking at getting 50lbs of marco rock. Do you have any recommendations on how to seed it? I've heard people use a piece of live rock from their LFS but I don't want to risk getting any pests or parasites right off the bat. The guy I bought it from also included the sand he had in the tank, is this safe to use or should I but new?

Mbarnett93 · Sep 28, 2015

You should get live sand for salt water tanks. It has all the good bacteria and stuff in it. U can get it at jacks and I'm almost positive petsmart. And yes most definitely a heater. The heat needs to be about 78 to 80°

melypr1985 · Sep 28, 2015

I would suggest getting new live sand as well. You just never know what kind of nasties are in that sand and it's better to avoid the headache down the road. The heater is a must. You can use a piece of live rock from a friend's tank, assuming that person doesn't have pests you want to avoid of course. You can also use bacteria in a bottle such as: microbacter 7, dr tims one and only, stability

Personally i like using live rock because of all the different types of life on it. You might get a pest, but IMO the good stuff outweighs the bad.

twilliard · Sep 28, 2015

melypr1985 said:
I would suggest getting new live sand as well. You just never know what kind of nasties are in that sand and it's better to avoid the headache down the road. The heater is a must. You can use a piece of live rock from a friend's tank, assuming that person doesn't have pests you want to avoid of course. You can also use bacteria in a bottle such as: microbacter 7, dr tims one and only, stability

Personally i like using live rock because of all the different types of life on it. You might get a pest, but IMO the good stuff outweighs the bad.

I like your recommendation
Thank you for having great advice for others!