Mixing first tank.. need some order guide

[m0nkie]

I'm about to mix my first salt water tank! quite excited!! Someone please chim in and see if the order is ok.

I currently have:
-100 gal tank
-80lbs of live sand (got it for same price as regular sand)
-50lbs of live rock (still at the LFS, he told me to get it when my tank is ready)
-20lbs of dry rock (picked out a few unique shaped ones I liked)
-egg crates


I plan to mix salt water first. When it's fully mixed, I will add the few dry rocks. Then i will go to my LFS and get the 50lbs of live rock. When all the rocks are in, I will pour the live sand over all over the tank. is this process ok?

do i need to do anything with the rocks? Cure them? Or would they cure in the cycling process?

[Reefer54]

it could be done that way but you will have a 2 week sandstorm in your tank.

1. eggcrate (ONLY where the rock would make contact with the glass, if you line the tank floor with ecccrate you restrict water flow and build nitrate traps, so small eggcrate)
2. rocks
3. sand.
4. water. (pour it down over some of the rocks or an upside down bowl to help it not stir up the sand too much.
5. Cycle with a shrimp or pee, whatever form of ammonia you feel most comfortable with and allow your sand and dry rock to cure a bit, they will likely leach a bunch of phosphate and create a good algae bloom. Once the algae bloom has passed, go get your LR from the LFS, then you can probably add fish in the next couple days.

suspected amount of time for algae bloom to pass and you be ok to add LR without it being overrun with algae: 4-6 weeks.

[Reefer54]

in the meantime, i would buy a few books and research research research. This is a great site with a ton of useful knowledge, but we are not authors nor authorities, though some here are more revered and clearly more experienced than others. this is a great place for specific explanations or issues. But a good book may go a long a way in helping you decide what your plan will be for this new endeavor.

in this hobby, have a goal, reasearch, plan, be patient, do not deviate from your plan without more research.....and be patient.

[scott3569]

+1 what reefer54 also might want to look into a protein skimmer

[thegrun]

I still prefer to cover the entire bottom of the tank with egg crate. I've been using it for years and have not seen any issues with the cleanup crew not being able to get into the little squares. I like to cover the entire bottom because it allows me to make changes to the rockwork and still have egg crate grid at any new locations I chose to place rock. I took down a tank recently that had egg crate in it for over 5 years. The sand at the bottom was no dirtier than the sand just above the grate.

[m0nkie]

Thanks Reefer and thegrun! I will do some more research on eggcrates. I'm not the type that would change a rock formation often, so eggcrating the whole thing might be overkill.

scott, yup! Reef Oct. XS200 on the way. I'm just trying to spread out the purchases as far apart as possible within these few months.. boy is the cost getting high.. I was not expecting start up to cost this much..

[jerseygurl]

Beginning setup is critical for long run success, so:

Cook the live rock until its completely clean, this may take a while but worth it (look up procedure it's easy).

Before putting the live sand in, rinse it with SW until it's clean.

The dry rock is dead anyway so just rinse the heck out of it with RO.

Once everything is clean, you can just put it all in and off you go. I don't put egg crate on the bottom because it makes cleaning your sand way harder.Then cycle away!

[EllisJuan]

I never put egg crate in the bottom of any of my tanks. What is the advantage of doing so? How does it effect occupants like my pistol shrimp and Randall's Goby pair? They live under the rocks. They have built some incredible burrows. They even have a tunnel enforced by rubble that runs about 9" from under one rock to under another.

[thegrun]

I never put egg crate in the bottom of any of my tanks. What is the advantage of doing so? How does it effect occupants like my pistol shrimp and Randall's Goby pair? They live under the rocks. They have built some incredible burrows. They even have a tunnel enforced by rubble that runs about 9" from under one rock to under another.

The egg crate helps to anchor the rock in place. Rock catches in the egg crate squares and is much less likely to shift around over time from the pressure of the rock stacked up on it and shifting sand. It also helps distribute the weight of the rock, but I don't see point loading as an issue. Burrowing fish simply work around the egg crate which is about 1/2" thick.

[jerseygurl]

It's more of a personal prefereance, but to me egg crate is just more nooks and cranies for detritus to build up it.

[thegrun]

A good sand clean-up crew will get to any detritus. I took down a 5 year old tank recently with egg crate and the sand wasn't any dirtier in and around the egg crate than the sand above it. Certainly the egg crate is not necessary, but I haven't had a major rockslide in any tank with egg crate, I suffered through several without it. I’ll admit I like to modify my rockwork more often than most.

[m0nkie]

Beginning setup is critical for long run success, so:

Cook the live rock until its completely clean, this may take a while but worth it (look up procedure it's easy).

Before putting the live sand in, rinse it with SW until it's clean.

The dry rock is dead anyway so just rinse the heck out of it with RO.

Once everything is clean, you can just put it all in and off you go. I don't put egg crate on the bottom because it makes cleaning your sand way harder.Then cycle away!

hmm.. I was specifically told by many owners to NOT wash live sand.. can someone clarify?

[JMorris271]

Live sand is free of quarry dust and will not as a rule require washing. I think one quick rinse to see if I there is any nasty stuff might be good insurance..Kind of like measure twice and cut once.

[jerseygurl]

Live sand is free of quarry dust and will not as a rule require washing. I think one quick rinse to see if I there is any nasty stuff might be good insurance..Kind of like measure twice and cut once.


+1

Better safe than sorry.