Next Steps Please?

[JR8999]

I currently have my 56g tower set up with live sand and base rock. I'm slowly adding the rodi water as quickly as my portable filter will produce it.

I am taking my time usually working one weekend day on this. Questions on next steps...

I want to introduce live rock next. Do I need a heater with live rock? Do I need a filter/sump with live rock? Test kits with live rock? Any other next steps I am missing?

Thanks in advance!

[acabgd]

I don't quite get it. Where is your live rock now?

[JR8999]

I don't have my live rock yet. I plan on buying some soon but not sure if I should buy a heater and test kit at same time or can I wait on that?

[drew2007]

U need a heater period. Unless your tank will stay at a constant temperature all the time. Live Rock will need it. Live sand needs it. Without proper temps all your beneficial bacteria will die off.

[Dustyboots]

Buy your sump, protein skimmer, pump, heater, lighting, test kits, powerheads before you buy any live thing. You won't be able to keep anything alive for long without basic life support.

[twilmot]

What supplies do you already have? I get that you have a tank and RODI. But what else. While live rock will not need a whole lot (power head and a heater). It would probably be best to get all of the other supplies you will need before buying the rock. In a 56G you are not going to be breaking the bank on rock as if you had a 300G tank. I would purchase all the other supplies then worry about rock.

Also, were you planning on buying live rock and live sand, or the dry stuff?

[JR8999]

I bought live sand and dry rock today. I am going out tomorrow to buy a heater and live rock. I need to know what I need to keep the live rock alive for now.

[Molly1414]

To keep live rock and live sand alive you need your entire tank set up just like you would if you had fish in it. You need the heater, sump, filtration, circulation pumps and lights all going and then add the live sand and live rock. You will also want your test kits so you can monitor your tank's cycle so you know when you can add some fish.

[twilmot]

I am still a little confused.....

Are you just buying the rock and going to let it sit (trying to keep it alive) until you get everything else that is needed? Or do you already have everything else and you are getting ready to cycle your tank?

If you don't have anything else yet (Lights, heater, filtration (in my opinion a sump), Power heads, test kits, refractometer, ECT. I would not buy the live portion of your rock yet.
While everything listed above is not needed to keep your live rock alive, just heater and power head. I would not rush into getting the rock until you have at least some of the items listed for your tank.

[Cloudburst2000]

To keep live rock and live sand alive you need your entire tank set up just like you would if you had fish in it. You need the heater, sump, filtration, circulation pumps and lights all going and then add the live sand and live rock. You will also want your test kits so you can monitor your tank's cycle so you know when you can add some fish.

This is untrue. You can keep rock alive with just proper water flow and proper temperature. My brother-in-law who owns an aquarium maintenance business keeps live rocks in brute containers with just saltwater, powerheads, and a heater. He does periodically add some food so there is something for the bacteria to feed on. If you keep rock long term with no 'food' source, they will eventually just become base rock. The bacteria does need something to feed off of. However, when you buy live rocks, you normally won't need to worry about 'feeding' them anything as there will likely be lots of die-off on the rocks that will keep the benificial bacteria happy.

That said, I partially agree with twilmot. You should buy certain items before worrying about live rock. You have the tank, base rock, and sand. Figure out what you are going to do for filtration before buying anything else. Do you want a sump? This is probably the best option but it will likely require having the tank drilled assuming it can be drilled...tempered glass should not be drilled as it will likely shatter so figure out what glass the tank is made of first. And sometimes the bottom is made of a different type of glass then the side so check any pane of glass prior to drilling. If you cannot drill the tank, then look at external overflows so you can still add a sump. If you don't want a sump, there are other options. A canister filter is an option but will require much more maintenance...likely weekly cleanings. My other brother-in-law had a canister and it worked fine but he was constantly having to clean it to keep his nitrates and phosphates in check. The same is true of hang-on-the-back (HOB) filters. Another option is a HOB refugium like a CPR Aquafuge and a HOB skimmer. They work well but a sump with a refugium or ATS (algae turf scrubber) and an internal skimmer is the best option. You will also get increased water volume which will help control water parameters.

I would also go ahead and get your powerheads because you will need proper flow to keep the rocks and sand alive. Purchase test kits for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Other test kits can wait until you are ready for livestock. I would also go ahead and purchase a refractometer. Correct salinity is a must and swing arm hydrometers are notorios for giving faulty readings. Lights can also wait. It could take a while for your tank to thoroughly cycle. I had one tank take three months to cycle. If you want to go ahead and set the tank up and have it cycling while saving money for lights, go for it. You can even start the tank out with a cheap light fixture and upgrade to a higher end fixture down the road. Many of the cheap fixtures will keep soft corals just fine. If you only plan on keeping fish (no corals), then a light fixture isn't a big deal. You don't need a high end fixture to keep fish. Anyhoo, the main thing to plan now before buying anything else is your filtration...sump, sumpless, HOB, etc. Do it now before you buy anything else for the tank.

[twilmot]

^^^^+1 I kept almost 200 LBS alive in brute cans for a few months with just a power head and heater, until I was able to sell it all off. Still looked (and smelled) the same as the day I put it in there.

[CoralReeForrest]

To basically answer your question, yes you need to buy your heater(do not skimp on this get a nice one) and your cycling test kit(the api salt madter kit will work fine) your water needs to be salted and warmed up before live rock can go in. You need a power head running for flow as stagnant water is not benificial for lr. Your wasting your money on live sand, its mostly junk thats dead in sand that is to fine anyway you should just get aragonite. A little over 1.5 pounds per gallon will get you about a 2 inch sand bed. I just want to say we all understand the desire to jump in and soeed the process along but by rushing and not researching alot before each purchase youre wasting money and its a proven reason why people get out of the hobby. Just slow down and enjoy the process. Hope this helps. You can also go through my build thread as it is a great step by step for beginners.

[Cloudburst2000]

It depends on what kind of live sand he bought. I purchased actual live sand from Tampa Bay Saltwater where I also got my live rocks from. Their sand is true live sand teeming with critters and is collected off the coast of Florida in their mariculture zone. He could have also purchased the sand from a local reef keeper. That would be real live sand. However, the 'live' sand in a bag from the pet store is not true live sand and is a waste of money.

[CoralReeForrest]

Yes the live sand I was referring to was stuff in a bag that's sat on a shelf for ever, both of my brothers went opposite of what I said to get, being aragonite, and got white bagged live sand from petco. 3 months later they now both took it all out and put in aragonite. They really took my advice with a grain of sand.... huh get it? Like sand, like aragonite. Ha ha.....ha

[rfgonzo]

You're going to want to cure your Live rock first. You can do this by getting A brute trashcan fill up with ro/di water then add your salt, put in a heater and the powerhead you could put a lid on the trashcan to keep the light out as the rock curers so you don't get any algae. You can do this in the beginning while you're still purchasing all your other equipment.