Aragonite question (possibly silly)

[shroomdizzle]

Hey Guys,

So I finally got my tanks salinity levels right where they should be and the temperature has been on point for the past 3 days now so I am looking at adding my Aragonite into the mix.

The plan was to put a bunch of it in a pale and just run water over it and let it over flow for 5-10min or so.

My question is this, when adding it into the tank should I just "dump" it in or should i add a couple cups slowly. I know it will take a couple days for the murkyness of the water to dissipate and I don't mind waiting but I want to check and see if there is any harm to just dumping it in or should I gently place it in.

The sand is going in a 90 gallon tank and I will have all pumps/filtration off until roughly sunday/monday (depending on when it settles) and will be seeding with a couple handfuls of "live sand" from my LFS.

Thanks all!

[mcgyvr]

In general you should have put it in before the water.. But..
Pour it in slowly to avoid a massive dust storm..

I've used a PVC pipe/funnel before with decent success..
Or just dump it in and cloud the place up and run the filters to clear it up..
It really doesn't matter much as there will be plenty of time for it to settle before you add anything to the tank..

[A sea K]

What I typically do after I have rinsed the sand is use a measuring cup to transfer the sand into the tank. Scoop a cup and slowly immerse it into the tank and this greatly reduces the cloud storm provided the sand is rinsed well enough. Not a big deal and you will get the hang of it quickly. It also makes it easier to place the sand where you need it vs randomly just dumping a pail of sand into the tank. Also when doing this method I find no need to turn off the return pump, it is fine to do so if you wish while placing the sand but I would advise against leaving the pump off till Sunday or Monday, it is not a good idea whether the tank is cycling and certainly a bad thing if the tank is already cycled.

[shroomdizzle]

In general you should have put it in before the water.. But..
Pour it in slowly to avoid a massive dust storm..

I've used a PVC pipe/funnel before with decent success..
Or just dump it in and cloud the place up and run the filters to clear it up..
It really doesn't matter much as there will be plenty of time for it to settle before you add anything to the tank..

Ahh I was told by my LFS to get the water ready first.

What I typically do after I have rinsed the sand is use a measuring cup to transfer the sand into the tank. Scoop a cup and slowly immerse it into the tank and this greatly reduces the cloud storm provided the sand is rinsed well enough. Not a big deal and you will get the hang of it quickly. It also makes it easier to place the sand where you need it vs randomly just dumping a pail of sand into the tank. Also when doing this method I find no need to turn off the return pump, it is fine to do so if you wish while placing the sand but I would advise against leaving the pump off till Sunday or Monday, it is not a good idea whether the tank is cycling and certainly a bad thing if the tank is already cycled.

This is a completely new tank and I was told by my LFS to leave the return pump off while it settles to avoid getting any in the impellers and killing the pump.

The tank won't start cycling until I let the aragonite settle and go grab a couple handfuls of live sand from the LFS.

This is my first tank so I just want to make sure I get the proper advice as it seems what im being told in person vs online is quite conflicting.

Thanks!

[Sk8r]

first the base rock. Then a little water. Then the sand. Set a bowl on the sand and water the tank up to max, pouring into the bowl, which keeps the sand from kicking up. Do it gently. Finally add the rest of the rock, balancing and keying it into nooks until it won't tip or fall.
You need to wash every few cupfuls of sand separately to get the dust out. Otherwise it just piles up in the lower levels of the bucket and will cause you mucky trouble for years if you don't get rid of it at this point. I did one tank with unwashed sand, and really, really would have fared better had I taken the time and trouble.

[shroomdizzle]

Oh gosh, I haven't gotten any rocks yet. The LFS had told me to add all of that after the aragonite is in and we start the cycling.

Will I have to drain the tank now to accomplish all of this? I haven't even purchased any rock yet as I was told that part comes later.

A little disappointed in my LFS right now if this is the case but the blame is on me for not reading more.

[JZinCO]

It's advisable to add your base rocks at least on the tank bottom or on top of egg-crate lighting diffusers. This reduces the chance of a rock slide when your livestock are shuffling sand around. Later, you can place your "display" rocks on the base rocks. whenever you are ready.

You don't have to drain the water. It will reduce cloudiness but it doesn't matter. You needn't be in a hurry to get your sand scaped out because the tank has yet to cycle.

[Desert Sea]

You want to put the rock in first so its sitting on the bottom directly. Then place the sand around it. That way if one of your critters decides to do some underwater excavating, he doesn't undermine your rocks and cause them to fall.

If you would like to provide some protection to the bottom panel of glass in your tank , you could put a piece of Starboard, kinda like a plastic cutting board type of material, in the bottom before you put the rock in .

[Desert Sea]

Oh gosh, I haven't gotten any rocks yet. The LFS had told me to add all of that after the aragonite is in and we start the cycling.

Will I have to drain the tank now to accomplish all of this? I haven't even purchased any rock yet as I was told that part comes later.

A little disappointed in my LFS right now if this is the case but the blame is on me for not reading more.

Welcome to the forum! :wavehand:

Check out the sticky for some great info - http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074

[CarrieB]

Does your LFS keep their live sand in a tank that's plumbed separately from the fish? I would worry about putting live sand in my tank that's been exposed to lots of random fish carrying who knows what.

Do you have a local reefing club? Potentially a better source of both advice and sand.


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[ssick92]

Oh gosh, I haven't gotten any rocks yet. The LFS had told me to add all of that after the aragonite is in and we start the cycling.

Will I have to drain the tank now to accomplish all of this? I haven't even purchased any rock yet as I was told that part comes later.

A little disappointed in my LFS right now if this is the case but the blame is on me for not reading more.

We've all been through those growing pains, and in just a short time on these forums you will probably know more than your LFS about responsible reefkeeping.

With that said, while what they told you isn't the best way, it doesn't mean it can't be done that way. If your tank isn't that large I would probably drain it out (at least most of the water), put in your base rock, then gently massage your sand around the rocks, and refill. Or, if you don't have your rocks yet, you can put the sand in first and then just twist your rocks back and forth to get them to rest on the bottom glass, just be careful once you get close to the glass not to scratch or crack it...

If your tank is large then finding storage for you water would probably be a pain, so I'd just do everything with the water in, just be careful about water displacement because your sand and rock will take up space and can create an overflow situation.

Oh, and welcome to RC!

[shroomdizzle]

Wow! Thanks everyone for the information. I think I am going to the LFS after work to pickup some glue and rocks and start putting my design together and make sure I get that in first!

Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome and tips.

As to the overflow situation, I have the sump setup with a slightly lower water count to help handle this, if it gets too much I have a pump/siphon on hand to take any extras out.

So after work I will head out and pickup some rocks and work on the aragonite tomorrow! The tank is a 90gallon so it's a long ways down but I don't have any issues getting wet =).

To the live sand question, I believe they keep it with fish and just give a couple handfuls to help provide the stimulation. Locally we have no club unfortunately, I could only find 1 club and it has not had a post since 2008 so i'll be going at it solo and taking advice from my LFS with a grain of salt ;) (terrible pun I know)

[gone fishin]

Well that is a bummer that it has water in it already. Ultimately you will need to remove some water anyway due to displacement, as mentioned above. Before you get to far into this I would decide on what type of rock you want to use, live Vs. dead. Once you decide go get your rock and make a day of it, aquascaping and adding your aragonite. If possible remove as much water as possible but, if this is not an option then just be prepared for some water slopping out and a longer period of cloudiness.

Ever how it works out it is just a minor speedbump on the reefing highway. Good luck just my 2 cents.

[Pandagobyguy]

I personally have never had a tank go cloudy for more than a day after adding substrate (sand or aragonite). I have put it in before and after water and honestly noticed no difference.
RINSING however, is totally worth the time and very noticable.
(Also substrate does displace a lot of water so thats definitely a valid concern).
Occasionally my water gets "murky" if i am not running some kind of mechanical filtration (like filter socks/floss/etc)

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