need help bef0re i fill up water,sand,liverocks.

[pacificislander]

so tomorrow i am getting the tank started. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...1889789&page=5 . check the link out as i am ready for water sand and rocks . specs i have a 140 gallon display with 55 gallon sump. 1500 gph dual over flow. mag 9.5 return pump. two wave makers total output 3200 gph. asm g3 skimmer. to start of i am getting in 100lbs of liverock fully cured.150lbs of live sand and ro/di water. i have few heaters. i read it A few times on how to get it started but a first hand and exprience can be a positive start so please help on how to get it started. as well as how to attach rocks to do aquascape.

[Palting]

There are several ways to get started, and several opinions on the right way. To me, it's as simple as "Just do it". It's like putting pants on. It doesn't really matter which leg you put in first, or whether you should put your shirt on first. One way or the other, you'll get the pants on. But you do have to start it.

Here's how I did mine.
1. Paint the back of the tank
2. Leak test and run everything with tap water for a day. I think you did this already. Make sure you mark the maximum water volume level in your sump.
3. Fill with RO/DI water, and salt to taste . Run for 24 hours, add salt or water depending on SG.
4. Place live sand, followed by live rock. Don't worry about rockscape, you can't see it anyhow with the sand storm. Sand first, or rock first, remember my putting pants on analogy? I used a polishing filter on a powerhead to speed up the sandstorm clearing. It cleared overnight.
5. Place frozen shrimp.
6. Play with rockscape.
7. Practice doing water parameter testing.
8. start logbook.
9. Take pics and post here .
10. twiddle thumbs until cycle finished.

Lots of ways to attach rocks together.
1. Just pile them in a way they seem to lock
2. Use aquarium putty and epoxy glue.
3. Drill holes and use PVC
4. Drill holes and use ziplock ties

[Hermes`]

IME, I would do the aquascape before putting sand in. It's quick and easy and no sand storms.

[KeMo]

yes it is prob better to put the rocks then place the sand. But like most I bet it takes a long time to get the look that you want. Ive read that even after placing the rocks then the sand most people move the rocks around to get that look anyway.

[crvz]

there are a number of ways to attach rocks together. the simplest that I've used, aside from relying solely on gravity, is to drill holes through the rocks and run fiberglass or acrylic rods through them (some folks even use PVC, but that may have a tendency to bend or be too thick of a diameter). There are epoxies and other cements that can be used, but they're more permanent and require the rocks to be out of the water considerably longer (if that's an issue, and it would be for fully cured rock). You can pick up fiberglass rods at the hardware store (use mailbox reflectors and a hack saw to get them to length). Acrylic rods are a bit harder to score, but they're cheap on ebay (I like 3/8" diameter minimum).

[Ram Jr]

some of the fish will sift under the sand bed so if they sift too much the rocks come crashing down and killing whatever was under it. This is why you put your rocks down first then the sand. Plus you will find that you dont have to make so much RODI water and you also get to buy less sand.

[pacificislander]

Thanks for the advice and tips. I got my rocks ,sand ,salt as well as ro/Di water. I was mixing salt from what the instruction said.1/2 cup per gallon. And got a reading of 1.017 and salinty pp of 23. Isn't that too low? Shud I add more salt.?

[reefermad619]

I keep my salinity between 1.025-1.026

[campos]

1.024 - 1.025

[aleonn]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but since you're beginning your cycling, I don't think your salinity is too low. Since there's no livestock, you can take your time by adding salt water as top off.

[Palting]

Originally Posted by aleonn

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but since you're beginning your cycling, I don't think your salinity is too low. Since there's no livestock, you can take your time by adding salt water as top off.

Yes you can, but why do that, though? You need to get the SG to where you want it anyway, so why not put enough salt from the beginning?

Anyway, SG with a refractometer/hydrometer is the best way to know how much salt to add, and not by measuring the actual salt volume added. Just make sure the solution is stirred well and everything is dissolved. I keep mine at 1.026.

[pacificislander]

So basically all I got to do is add salt till it reads somewhere around 1.026 on the gravity side of the hyrdometer?

[aleonn]

That's true, I just wanted to convey that getting the SG to the desired set point isn't too urgent or dangerous at this stage.

[Palting]

Originally Posted by pacificislander

So basically all I got to do is add salt till it reads somewhere around 1.026 on the gravity side of the hyrdometer?

Yes, SG on the tank to be 1.026 if that's your goal. If you already have the tank full, just take some tank water in buckets and add salt until the SG in the bucket water is around 1.030 and add that to a high flow area of the sump. Go slow, check salinity several hours after each addition. Not much to do for the next seveeral weeks anyway.

BTW, don't get used to this mix salt and dump into tank technique. For the future, for water changes, you'll need to aerate and agitate the newly mixed salt for several hours, some say a day, before adding it to the tank.

[reefermad619]

Since there is nothing in the tank, I would just throw salt in the tank and adjust accordingly. I would start with a cupful, add slowly in front of the return or powerhead, then give it a couple of hours and check it.

[reefermad619]

I never got the pic of the updated plumbing. I think you changed it around after deciding to use 1 return pump instead of 2.

[Palting]

Originally Posted by reefermad619

Since there is nothing in the tank, I would just throw salt in the tank and adjust accordingly. I would start with a cupful, add slowly in front of the return or powerhead, then give it a couple of hours and check it.

That works too.

[reefermad619]

Thanks palting! I know it's not the by the book method or something pac-isle should make a habit. But it will get the job done.