filling a tank/sand in before of after?

[joyce322]

Hi All:
It has been a while since I have set up a new tank. When filling with saltwater should I put the rinsed sand in before or after the water is in?

 

[Josh_84]

I prefer to put it in before, then put a dinner plate in the tank on the substrate and pour your water on the plate to avoid stirring up the sand. Worked great for me.

 

[The_Vee]

First rock, then sand, finally cover the sand with a plastic bag and pour water slowly on top of it to prevent stirring up the sand.

 

[Adamw327]

I'd say Rock, then water. Then sand. Yes, the water gets cloudy, but there shouldn't be anything in it for another month anyway.

Maybe its useless but my thought was this way all the sand settles in the rock work well, but i guess that could be just as easy with the sand in dry and allowing you to move it all around and smush it into cracks... Either way, cloudy water is not an issue, but i suppose the order of things doesn't really matter now that i think about it

 

[rldcpa]

I think that is what I did and it worked good.

Rock, water then sand. The rock goes in first so there is no sand under the rock...this way there is no shifting of the rock and no build up of debris under the rock.

Then water.


Then sand goes in last and this way you can get away with very little sand. I used only 90 pounds for my 245 gallon.

 

[cap032]

Rock, Sand, Water = less mess and less sand ending up in your sump.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

x5

x5

rock, water then sand

 

[AWDcameoLSX]

I did water then sand sucking up most of the fines with a canister filter. Kinda glad I did, cuts down on cloudiness when I vac the sand.

 

[LOTUS50GOD]

Just go barebottom...LOL
... If not... then Rock + water for a few inches... then sand (let settle)... then fill up the rest of the way...

 

[blossej]

I like to do Rock, Sand then water using the above motioned dinner plate. This way I can move the sand around and out of places I don't want it, like behind the rockwork. This makes it easier to clear out the detritus behind and under my rock.