Wish me luck (1st order!)

[nuts590]

Well, after lurking and trying to decide, I finally took the proverbial plunge... Getting a 25 gallon "the package". The tank is about 3/4 full, heated w/ two powerheads moving water, and as added insurance I have about 35 gallons mixed sw in the basement with airstones and heater.. I'm getting my order sometime tomorrow! I'm starting to get excited about this whole process, as it will definitely be a learning experience..

As a "welcome home" setup I've got tarps/plastic drop-clothes ready, two pairs of new thick rubber gloves (My wife is getting involved with this stuff too, how cool is that?!?) and a set of stiff nylon brushes should I need to scrub any funky stuff off before it goes into the tank. Any of you experienced TBS customers have any recommendations for things I should be doing or not doing? The instructions from TBS are VERY point and shoot. I'm just a huge fan of "this worked for me" advice.

Also, I just wanted to take a second and thank the guys at TBS! Thank you for all the help, and I still have no idea if I'm related to the guy in the keys. Might be a smaller world than I thought! Who knows?!

 

[snooter1]

My adive is take your time, follow the directions and enjoy. My cycle was super smooth. I am getting my second half tommorow and am pumped as well. With the first shipment, I had to scrap nothing off, and had very little die off.

With the sand I mixed and dumped off the silt, washed the bag down and put the whole thing in the tank. I slowly let it flow out of the bag. This limited my sand storm alot. When placing rocks you likely will not be able to see much. It will clear quickly with good flow and you can re-arrange later. Gaol for me was to get it in quickly to minimize die off.