Tates tank
New member
New to the hobby. Have a 50 gal rimless, 20 gal sump. Almost done with plumbing and wiring. wondering about next steps? What kind of rock, sand, water, etc. Also what stages do I add these? Any help would be appreciated.
New tank setup
- Thread starter Tates tank
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DrBoxedWine
New member
There are a lot of different options for rocks and sand. I use brs reef saver rocks and tropic eden reef flakes, both of which I'm very happy with. I would add your water first and then rocks and get the layout you want. Then add sand. You want the rocks on the actual glass so a burrowing fish can't get underneath them and either get crushed or topple your structure.
Make sure you rinse any sand you get well. Put it in a bowl or bucket and keep running water through it till the water is clear. It's MUCH easier to get the dirt off beforehand than once it's in the tank. This is a step that's worth doing well, it'll save you time in the end.
Make sure you rinse any sand you get well. Put it in a bowl or bucket and keep running water through it till the water is clear. It's MUCH easier to get the dirt off beforehand than once it's in the tank. This is a step that's worth doing well, it'll save you time in the end.
MysteryReef
Member
Welcome and congratulations on your progress. I recently rejoin the Rc community after a 5 year hiatus, I was unable to resurrect my old account which had a bunch of saved useful info. Any-how, most of what I could share is now in a sticky thread by the big red arrow at the top of the "New to the hobby" forum.
That sticky thread should have everything you need to know to get started. If you use the search function for common questions you will usually find great info. Then you can ask more specific questions as they come up.
That sticky thread should have everything you need to know to get started. If you use the search function for common questions you will usually find great info. Then you can ask more specific questions as they come up.
Another option is to get the egg crate stuff to put down on the glass prior to the rock so you have something between your rack and glass. I agree that the rock should go in first before the sand; however, I put the sand in before the water in attempt to avoid a horrible sand storm. There was still a small storm but I didn't have to readjust the sand and cause another one once I was able to finally see the bottom again. If you decide to put the water in first I would look at different ways people say they add sand post water (some use a PVC pipe etc).
In terms of rock, you have the option of dry vs "live". If you are starting from scratch and not in a hurry to have colorful rocks I would suggest dry rock. We used BRS dry Pukani and were very happy with it. The Pukani is not as dense so you are able to fill a larger area with the same weight as Fiji or Reefsaver. Reefsaver will not have the die off that rock from the ocean will have though. The 80 pounds of Pukani I got took about 3 weeks to cure and once in the tank I only had a very minimal cycle (I added Bio Spira). If you look at BRSTV videos on Youtube there are various ones that focus on rock. Since it is a new system you could even allow the rock to "cure" during the cycle of the rest of the system rather than putting them in Brutes.
We spent HOURS of research at this point to figure out what option was best for us. The fact of the matter is, it all depends on you and how you want to evolve your tank experience. We didn't want any hitchhikers so we went dry (plus, who wants to pay for water weight?!).
In terms of water- we bought an RODI system and make our own. We have two Brutes one for fresh water for the top offs and one with the salt water. We use Instant Ocean salt and always have. Some will swear you need "better" salt but then others swear their system only thrives when they use Instant Ocean. Again, you will get different answers from everyone and until I see Instant Ocean is causing me issues personally I will save a heck of a lot of money using it.
I would say your next step should be
-deciding if you want dry or live rock then which type of rock (Pukani, Fiji, Reefsaver, etc).
-Sand is also a personal preference but I would say stay away from fine grain because it will blow around easily. You can find sand even on Amazon so once you pick the one you like the look of, shop around! (Amazon recently had a killer sale on the Instant Ocean salts even so being a Prime member was awesome that day!)
-Decide if you want to make your own water or rely on another source (if you want to make your own, start ASAP because you will need a lot initially!)
In terms of rock, you have the option of dry vs "live". If you are starting from scratch and not in a hurry to have colorful rocks I would suggest dry rock. We used BRS dry Pukani and were very happy with it. The Pukani is not as dense so you are able to fill a larger area with the same weight as Fiji or Reefsaver. Reefsaver will not have the die off that rock from the ocean will have though. The 80 pounds of Pukani I got took about 3 weeks to cure and once in the tank I only had a very minimal cycle (I added Bio Spira). If you look at BRSTV videos on Youtube there are various ones that focus on rock. Since it is a new system you could even allow the rock to "cure" during the cycle of the rest of the system rather than putting them in Brutes.
We spent HOURS of research at this point to figure out what option was best for us. The fact of the matter is, it all depends on you and how you want to evolve your tank experience. We didn't want any hitchhikers so we went dry (plus, who wants to pay for water weight?!).
In terms of water- we bought an RODI system and make our own. We have two Brutes one for fresh water for the top offs and one with the salt water. We use Instant Ocean salt and always have. Some will swear you need "better" salt but then others swear their system only thrives when they use Instant Ocean. Again, you will get different answers from everyone and until I see Instant Ocean is causing me issues personally I will save a heck of a lot of money using it.
I would say your next step should be
-deciding if you want dry or live rock then which type of rock (Pukani, Fiji, Reefsaver, etc).
-Sand is also a personal preference but I would say stay away from fine grain because it will blow around easily. You can find sand even on Amazon so once you pick the one you like the look of, shop around! (Amazon recently had a killer sale on the Instant Ocean salts even so being a Prime member was awesome that day!)
-Decide if you want to make your own water or rely on another source (if you want to make your own, start ASAP because you will need a lot initially!)
