Setting Up Problem

[judochop]

I have finished my piping for my 180 and now have the carib-sea aragonite sand sitting by in bags. I also have about 200lbs of live rock that has been "cooking" in 2 large rubbermaid containers. I am ready to put it all together except one thing... I just had 2 back surgeries in January and need to find the laziest way to wash/rinse this sand, move the rock into the tank, and mix up all the salt water to fill it. I can not lift anything above 5 to 10 lbs so my main questions are as follows:

<ol>
<li>Should I wash the sand in very small buckets using tap water or just put it in the tank bottom dry before filling it with water? I dont have enough RO/DI water to rinse it all with.</li>
<li>My RO/DI system is a little slow. Do I try to get all the RO/DI I need from somewhere or just mix my saltwater from tap water? I will have a hard time moving that much water in my current condition.</li>
<li>What should I put in their first, the sand or the rocks?</li>
</ol>
I need to go ahead and finish this because my fish were moved to a 20g prior to my surgery and need to be placed in a bigger tank soon. I can tell they are beginning to feel cramped. Thanks for the help.

Matt

 

[george]

1. I would wash the sand in tap water then do a final couple rinses in RO.
2. Yes, don't use anything but RO water to make your salt water. There's nothing wrong with leaving the washed sand in the tank and gradually filling in the water, then rocks, then top off with water as needed to get it ready to roll. However, once you get the rocks in there, you should have enough water to circulate the system and skim or have internal circulation pumps and a hang-on skimmer. Once you put the rocks in, you'll be adding living material to the system.
3. Sand. Then the rocks, though if you're doing a DSB, I'd put some kind of support under the rocks so that they don't sink over time.

 

[broreefr]

I rinsed my sand in regular tap water then drain as much as I could.

You definately want to put the rock in ahead of the sand, that way your rock will have a solid ground foundation and there should be no risk of it falling once the livestock starts moving the substrate around.

As far as the back goes, I suffer from chronic back problems. there is no easy way to go, I think you really will need some ATL reefclub volunteers. Your probably just getting back on your feet and one twist the wrong way and your down for the count for a good while.

Come on Club lets help him out !!

 

[broreefr]

George wrote: 1. There's nothing wrong with leaving the washed sand in the tank and gradually filling in the water, then rocks, then top off with water as needed to get it ready to roll.
Sand. Then the rocks, though if you're doing a DSB, I'd put some kind of support under the rocks so that they don't sink over time.

the good book say's "It is a foolish man who builds his house on the sand"

Wrote a couple thousand years ago - Still holds today - it's your tank

 

[fishybusiness]

Your hobbies include antique cars? I have a ton of things including a d.i.y. sand and gravel rinser. I'll also show you how I can setup your tank without lifting a single jug of water.
I have a 1959 Edsel Villager and I need some help with the interior before our wedding. Could we work something out?

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[fishybusiness]

oh...I meant to say I'll show you how to do it and I would do it for you.

 

[frewl]

I've got tomorrow off and I probably can help in the morning. I'm in Dalton so I'm not too from from you if you are in Calhoun. I'm off today too but then it might be alittle more tricky for me to get down there. Not sure if there are plans for today.

Billy

P.S. Are you still needing the two 3/4 loc-line adapters? I got two of them when I bought a used tank and some misc. aquarium crap. I got a diatom filter and a huge bag of the powder. Might have to run it a few times but it should help get the crap out of the water.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Back to the original question: Broreefr is correct. Put down the rock, then the sand then the water. You want your rock to rest on the glass, it is less shifting and critters can not dig under it and cause a landslide. That much about aquascaping I do know. (Everything else I learned from Stevhan over there!)

As far as I know, you can rinse your water in anything that you want (RO, RODI, Tap Water, Bleach ) Just make sure if you use the decholrinated tap water that you give it a final rinse afterwards with RO. I was kidding about the bleach BTW!

Best advice, work something out with Stevhan (FishyBusiness), he is a pro when it comes to that stuff!

 

[cameron]

judochop wrote: Should I wash the sand in very small buckets using tap water or just put it in the tank bottom dry before filling it with water? I dont have enough RO/DI water to rinse it all with.

Tap water in a 5 gallon is fine. If this is the oolitic sand, wash it. You don't have to go crazy but get that super fine layer out of there. If you don't you will end up with a find dust all over everything. It will eventually clear up, but you will have a fine powdery substance all over your skimmer, sump, etc that is a pain to clean. Trust me... voice of experience on this one.

judochop wrote: My RO/DI system is a little slow. Do I try to get all the RO/DI I need from somewhere or just mix my saltwater from tap water? I will have a hard time moving that much water in my current condition.

Just turn it on for a 2-3 days. After it gets a ways up, throw a heater in there. After the temp gets a little higher, mix in the salt and a pump.

judochop wrote: What should I put in their first, the sand or the rocks?

You can put sand in first, but when you put your live rock in make sure you push it all the way to the bottom. As others have stated, live rock on top of sand is asking for trouble. If it is a fine sand and you aren't DSB, then you won't have any trouble getting the rock stable on the bottom. If you have an option, go with the rock first. Just make sure your salt is fully mixed before adding sand.

Rinsing in bleach, chlorine and RO/DI is fine since it eventually deactivates and is inert. Vinegar on the other hand would be a bad rinsing material.

 

[george]

Broreefr wrote: the good book say's "It is a foolish man who builds his house on the sand"

Wrote a couple thousand years ago - Still holds today - it's your tank

As I said, if you're not doing a DSB. He also indicated that he was short on RO water, so I provided a solution that minimizes the need for water by getting the rock in last.

If you're only going to put an inch or two of sand on the bottom, it's much easier to lay down an even layer of sand and then put the rocks down which should press down to shove the sand out of the way, unless you're not placing your bottom layer of rocks correctly. The process of wiggling the rocks around to find a solid sitting position will push any sand under them out of the way, unless you're doing DSB in which case supporting them with PVC is best.

I've done 4 tanks this way over the 12 years I've kept reefs and not a one has had a problem with stability.

I have, however, seen the mess that ensues from spreading sand around after the rock has gone in.

 

[judochop]

Thank you all for the great information. I truly appreciate everything.

I am overwhelmed by the offer of you guys to come help. That is awesome. Unfortunately, I tried getting a few things ready this morning for the tank and I became very ill. I am in worse shape than I thought. It seems just a minimal amount of work puts me out for the count. That might be why the doctor told me I can not return to work for 6 more weeks. I thought I could atleast rinse and wipe clean the tank before doing anything... I guess I was wrong. :sad: Looks like I am going to have to wait no matter how worried I am over my two fish in the 20g quarantine. This really stinks.

Thanks again ARC.

Matt

PS - Seems my luck is not changing. While cleaning my brand new 180g tank from Glasscages, I noticed a large round disc (bigger than a quarter) sliver of glass hanging from the silicon in the corner. Yes, it looks like my glass is "faulty" as described by Glasscages. FYI they said this seems to be a common problem with their tanks. Wish they tell you that when you are buying it... Well atleast it is high up and this is an in-wall tank so the defect wont be that visible on the side panel of glass.