Setup tank?

[tmccaffery]

What's the best way to start a tank?


Should I add live rock first, then sand, then water?


Will a live rock survive out of water for like 10 minutes? Or is it better to add some water to rock rather than sand?

 

[griss]

What I usually do is set up the tank, fill with RODI and get the pumps/filtration/heating going. Add sand and get the salinity right.

If you’re going to use dry base rock/dry “live rock”, add that. Then add sand and finally REAL live rock.

Real live rock is removed from the ocean, packed, shipped and then you get it. So, 10 minutes out of water is no big deal:

 

[tmccaffery]

Well this is rock from established tank. So I should add sand first or rock?

 

[griss]

Okay, rock from an established tank. Had it been kept in saltwater? If not, how long has it been out of saltwater?

If live and kept in SW, get the tank going with SW. Add the rock (allows it to make a stable base on the bottom of the tank) then add sand to fill in.

 

[Guygettnby]

I use egg crate, or light diffuser on the bottom of my tanks. I have never put rocks directly on the glass. Just my personal preference though.

I do not cover the entire bottom of the tank either. You have critters and fish that need the sand bed. Like some wrasse sleeping in the substrate or pistol shrimp goby combo.

This being said, I put light diffuser, then sand, then make my rock structure and then add saltwater that I had already pre-made 24hrs in advance. I don't like using rocks from another person's tank when I set up a new tank. I just never trust it, as you never know what nasty things they had in their tank. I have done that in the past and ended up with some unwanted stuff popping up.

Everybody has a different way and most ways work out perfectly fine. My way is just preference and being overly anal retentive. For instance this time around I decided to take weeks and start with completely cleaned rock. Soaked it in bleach to kill anything.

 

[wvned]

I put very large rocks in. The ones that could break the bottom if dropped. I spread an inch or so of sand in. I twist the rocks down into it so they dont rock. I then add NSW to fill the tank. Any water the rocks were sitting in gets pitched.