55 gallon start up

[jaydm93teg]

I have had a salt water tank a long time ago but just forget how to start it up ........can someone help.....

i have the tank, filiter, heater i need to buy sand and salt......just need the basics on getting it started and getting it cycled

thanks

 

[kraze3]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=239848

 

[Blown 346]

I would start by adding RO water as it is pure and you will have alot less algae blooms from it than tap water.

Get base sand, rinse it out, and add to the tank as you desire to your sand bed depth you want. Take a garbage bag and place it over the sand.
Add your salt mix to the RO water in a bucket and mix until dissolved.
Add the water to the tank on the garbage, this will help you not cloud up the whole tank.

After the tank is full slide the bag out slowly and add your heater. Get the temp to 78 to 80 degrees.
Once the filter, power heads etc are running, you can add liverock to start the cycle or add alittle bit of fish food.

 

[jaydm93teg]

ok now last time i did this i used a bag of sand from home depot...i forget the specific name or brand......i would like to try and use live sand this time....if i use live sand is there a way the sand will die if the tank is not cycled properly??? if so what is a good brand of live sand.....also what type of live rock do you suggest....i hear fiji is good but i remember a while ago there was some type that people said was FULL OF LIFE they they swore by????

thanks for the help again everyone

 

[Blown 346]

Home depot carries Old castle sand.
Anyway, Livesand is a waste of money as the sand isnt live nor is anything about it. You dont get pods, worms, stars etc.
All you get is sand, salwater and bactyeria in a bag for $40.
It is a complete rip off.
If you want livesand from the start, ask a local reefing club, LFS or a buddy for a cup or two of there sand bed. The life from that will quickly spread to yours.

 

[jaydm93teg]

so any regualr old bag of sand is ok? how do u go about rinsing sand off??

also any suggestions as to what kind of live rock? and how many lbs will i need?

thanks again

 

[kraze3]

HD and walmart both carry kolorscape, in my area anyways. Its packaged by old castle and other reefers have had success using it. Blue and clear bag, sand is white.

For rinising, fill a 5 gallon bucket with about 1/3 of sand. Fill the rest with water, mix it around then dump out the cloudy water. Do this 10-12 times and the water should stay pretty clear.

Most recommend an average of 1.5 lbs of LR per gallon. Anywhere from 1-2 lbs per gallon will be fine. Depending on the rock and they way you like it aquascaped

Alot of reefers like fiji rock. Theres lots of online sites where you can purchase and find pics of LR. You should also check your LFS for prices. When ordering off the net you get some die off during the delivery.

 

[jaydm93teg]

alrighty and my last question...last time i did a start up i bought a bottle of some jump start stuff that helped the tank cycle faster an dit cycled in about a week or so its was about 30 bux for the bottle it was purple liquid i believe..............it worked last time im wondering if anyone knows what this stuff is called??

thanks

 

[rkelman]

Its not purple but you can get something called "Cycle" any pet store should have it.