sump/fuge hook up

[fitti69]

I just completed setting up my sump / fuge that i made out of a 20g long separated into 3 chambers . No cheato yet , LFS has been out for a while . I have the input on the left followed by baffles to keep the bubbles at bay. Fuge is in the center , about 12x12 with 6 inches of aragonite that that i seeded with a small bag of live sand . Then there is the return chamber .
I have a sand bed in my main tank with fully cured LR and completely cycled . Right now I have the sump disconnected from the main tank . The return pump is feeding the first chamber so water is constantly moving across the sand bed. Do i need to wait for this thing to cycle before i hook it up to my main ? Or should I be able to hook it up right away ? Also would 2 Nass snails be good enough to keep that DSB stirred or would the experts recommend more or something else . How long should I wait before adding them ?
I am going to be taking my 10g down and switching over to a 20L bare bottom . I'm thinking that hooking this up to an established tank now will help get that DSB going . I just couldnt stand the overhang on the hood for the 10g to use the T5 bulbs .

P.S. anyone in the Detroit area have some cheato they would like to sell ???

Appreciate the help .

 

[DJOstrichHead]

im no pro or anything but i would think that stirring the dsb with anything would be a bad idea. dsb produces acid that causes paralysis of everything in the tank if it gets released from the bottom levels of the bed

 

[fitti69]

I thought Nass snails just buried themselves to sleep and come out when there is food . So you are not supposed to keep the upper portion of the sand bed stirred ?

 

[fitti69]

So , is it safe to hook this thing up or should i wait ?

 

[qfrisco]

I don't know what the proper answer is, but when I setup my sump/refugium, I didn't wait before hooking it into my system. I used a mixture of Miracle Mud (wouldn't do this again, as I don't think it does anything) and Aragonite sand to form a sandbed 5" deep. I didn't see any issues. Granted by this time, my main tank was already completely cycled.

I think the only thing you need to worry about is die-off from organisms in your sand causing a spike, but I don't think there will be much (if any) die off. However, in the event that there is die-off, as long as your tank is properly cycled, it should be able to handle any spikes.

I really think you'll be ok to hook it up now.

 

[fitti69]

Thanks qfrisco .

 

[Playa-1]

Your good to go. Just make sure your temp, ph, and salinity are close before you open the valve. I don't think a snail or two would be a bad idea but I would probrobly wait and add them later after the sand bed is more established.