Adding liverock, sand, and salt

burdman_22

New member
So my tank isn't even totally full of water yet, I was just needing some advice, hopefully I may save myself a little trouble. I still need to add around 5 gallons or so of RO water to my tank, so I have yet to add salt, sand, or the liverock. I was just wondering what everyone's opinion was on going ahead and adding the sand before I add the salt. It's not going to affect the sand, as it is not livesand. No real reason to post this, I'm pretty sure it will be ok. Just figured I might as well post on here before I did anything I wasn't absolutely sure of, thanks.
 
But I wont be adding anything for a month or so. It's a brand new tank, I wont even be adding any liverock or anything for a week or so. So would you think it would still be a problem?
 
:( My thread is not getting much attention at all...maybe it was a dumb question. I think next time I'll put the words "eco" and "aqualizer" in the subject line of the thread, lol. Maybe then more people will read and maybe even post. Haha.
 
Your question was not dumb at all.

You might as well go ahead and add the salt now and get it mixed up to the correct salinity. Once you get it there you can add the sand and rock. Both will displace some water. So you probably don't want to fill it up all the way then put sand and rock in and have your tank overflow. If your tank still isn't full by then you can add more saltwater/freshwater.
 
Well, I'd still dissolve the salt first, but it probably doesn't much matter.

Add eco and aqualizer would get attention, but probably not much constructive would happen. :)
 
Thanks you guys. I guess I should have mentioned I also have a 20 gallon sump. Thats really the reason for my question. Even if I do add the salt I can't really get the salinity exactly right, because the water in the sump will lower it unless I add water there as well. Mainly I'm just wanting to clear up some space in my room. I live in a dorm room, and space is kinda scarce, so having the buckets of sand out of my room would be nice. Also, when I do get around to adding salt, how much should I start out with? I mean I have never "salted" an aquarium before, so I really have no clue how much salt to begin with. I know I'll have to add more and more a little at a time to get it exactly right, but I need to know a good amount to open up with. A cup? 5? 10? Lol, I have no clue, thanks in advance.
 
Burdman, 1/2 cup per gallon is what Instant Ocean recommends. What kind are you going to use? It should tell you the density to go with. I would get a hydrometer or refractometer and check your water as you add the salt to the system. I would put my rock in 1st and get it set the way you want then pour the sand in around the rock. This keeps critters from digging the sand out from under the rock and causing rock slides.
 
Too late on the sand, lol, just spent half an hour putting it in. I have a hydrometer already, plan to get a refractometer soon though. I'm using red sea salt, I've heard its not the best but it was given to me. Thanks for the advice though.
 
Since the sand is already in, when you put in the rock, twist it back and forth, forcing it to settle in the sand and not sitting all the way on top.
 
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