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dreed
05/10/2008, 07:31 PM
I ordered my LR from Premium Aquatics and they'll ship on Monday and I'll get it tuesday or Wednesday. I already have my live sand bags. Should I put them in the tank now since my water is ready or should I wait and add it all together? I'm worried about the sand cloud and not being able to see the aquascaping while I put it in as well as the possibility of the rock inhabitants having problems with the sand cloud in the water.

I figured I could add the sand now or tomorrow evening and then the rock when they come in and not have a problem with the cycling.

This is a new uncycled tank for those that will ask. The temp's 79.5 and the salinity is 1.026. It's circulating and ready to go other than some micro bubbles. I ordered a sock and will try it out after all but it's not going to hinder my cycle progress.

Thanks
Dave

BLKTANG
05/10/2008, 08:00 PM
Yeah rince the sand good,& put it in now.

sage_commander
05/10/2008, 08:24 PM
I was told not to rinse the sand. Why would you do that?

macronut
05/10/2008, 08:33 PM
If it's dry sand you could rinse it, then drain the water out of the tank. Next place the sand in the tank.....place a small bowl or fish bag on the sand then let the water hit the bowl or bag when adding it. This will help to keep the water clearer. Turn the skimmer on and by Tuesday your tank should be clear.

jtma508
05/10/2008, 08:46 PM
Yea... don't rinse live sand. You'll wash-out alot of what you got live sand for in the first place.

Bud Reeferman
05/10/2008, 09:15 PM
Your LR and sand (don't rinse) will displace a lot of water. Consider siphoning out all but a few inches of the water into a clean bucket before you start your rockscaping. THEN, with just a few inches of water, add your live sand. then, take your time positioning your rocks. Use epoxy sticks to stabalize the rocks (you don't want to deal with avalances down the road.) After the rock is positioned, replace the siphoned water to fill the tank. Any sand in the water will settle after a few hours. No biological benefit to adding the sand before the live rock.

macronut
05/10/2008, 09:30 PM
I second budreeferman. I've had success doing this.

dreed
05/10/2008, 09:42 PM
Sounds like a plan. I have the bags of CaribSea live sand. I'll wait for the rock, cut off the pump, syphon most of the water out and start filling with sand, then rock and adding water up as I get higher. I still need to get some Epoxy. The LFS has that so I'll get some Monday.

I'll have pics of it all up soon I hope.

Thanks a bunch for the advice.

Dave

petoonia
05/10/2008, 09:50 PM
I would place some of your rock in first so it is resting on the bottom of the tank, and not on top of the sand. Then fill in the sand, this can prevent rock slides if you ever add any critters that burrow into the sand. Your tank is going to be cloudy for awhile so I would just put the rest of the rock in, and then aquascape once the water clears up a bit.

dreed
05/10/2008, 09:59 PM
I have some 2" PVC stands I made with cutouts for the sand and critters to move through that I'm going to set the rocks on. None of the rocks are going to be touching the sand unless something underneath pushes the sand to the rocks. That's the plan anyways.

I'll epoxy the rocks together. I looked all through this site on aquascaping and think I have a good idea as to how I'm going to stack them. It all depends on the shapes.

We'll see.

TheApprentice
05/10/2008, 10:29 PM
DONT rinse the sand if it comes wet!!!!!!! It has BENEFICIAL bacteria!

I put it all in the tank now and start the filter(s).

no fish yet though.

EllieSuz
05/11/2008, 11:31 AM
Always rock first and sand next. Someday you'll have a critter that digs in the sand and that can topple the whole shebang. Have a bucket of salt water available to swish your new rock in before you put it in the tank. You'll be amazed at the crud that falls off it. Aquascape your rock as soon as it arrives and then add your sand. You will get a sandstorm, no doubt about it, but that subsides in a day or two and since you don't have livestock, who cares, right? At first you'll want to point your power heads anywhere but down. Your new filter sock will catch a lot of sediment. Have fun; this is a good thing.

mettjl03
05/11/2008, 11:41 AM
Rinse the sand really well, put it in the tank, add the water, and let the filters run... It should be ready to add the live rock when you get it

Al Bendiksen
05/11/2008, 12:23 PM
So, i am doing 50% normal sand and seeding it with 50% live sand. I should wait to get the rock, put it in the tank and then add the sand folowed with the live sand?


dreed -

you wouldn't happen to have those links to aquascaping would you?

Tswifty
05/11/2008, 12:29 PM
I used CaribSea Ocean Direct Live Sand and did not rinse.

You rinse DRY SAND in order to wash out calcium carbonate (I believe) which will deposit all over the sand and foam up on the water's surface. Also, It helps speed up how fast the sand will settle.

Tswifty
05/11/2008, 12:35 PM
Here's some aquascaping links:

Whole Tank Shots:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1301242

Pillars:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...threadid=746318

Aquascape Pics:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...hreadid=1342474

Very Long Aquascaping Pics Thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/s...ght=aquascaping

dreed
05/12/2008, 09:00 AM
Those are some of the very threads I was talking about.