Tips or tricks for new tank.

[ZapataInc]

So im hopefully going to beable to start filling my new 90 gal setup with water by this week. As this is my first time with a larger tank im just trying to get some tips or tricks for mixing the salt with the water. Do i just fill the tank and sump up with RODI water then dump in the correct amount of salt in an empty tank and then add the sand and rockwork? All I have is a 20 gal brute that I am currently using to mix salt when I do my water changes. When I set up my 40 gal AIO I did 5 gal batches bc i didnt have the brute. I setup the rockscape and sand before hand and added the mixed saltwater. I have live rock that i have been keeping alive in a cycled 10 gal tank with a HOB filter and I plan on moving my current live rock from my 40 to the 90. What did you do for your tank?

 

[bhodges82]

I bought a 50 gal rubbermaid at home depot for $20 to mix with. I keep it as a back up emergency holding tank just in case of disater.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[Adam]

You can fill the 90 half full and mix in the salt with power heads and bring the water up to temp with a heater suspended in there. Then do your rock work and top off the tank with the water from the 40 and maybe the 10 too. Just don't suck up any detritus off the bottom of either tank. Draining down the 40 this way will make catching any fish you're going to transfer easier too, it'll also be less of a shock on the coral in the 40. You should also have the 20 Brute mixed up and ready if needed and make sure the salinity matches across the board.

Having something larger around is always good to have around in case you need mix a larger batch.

 

[bzb]

I put the ugliest/non-functional rock down first, then buried it all with the 60lbs of (washed) sand.

It took a while, but I used my sump pump and the 20gal to start off with, then mixed up 5 gallon buckets at a time. It took all day, but I'm glad to know that I have 67 gallons in the system.

I was actually smart for once and put the 20 gal on a dolly before I filled it.

 

[bzb]

Correction: I marked 4gallons in the 5 gallon bucket so less chance of spillage. So it took even longer

 

[ZapataInc]

Correction: I marked 4gallons in the 5 gallon bucket so less chance of spillage. So it took even longer

Yeah right now I lug 4 gallons each time to the 20 gal brute I need to really setup a mixing station with a pump to go to my tank.

 

[ActiveAngel]

If setting up a new tank, my approach is:
(New tank has nothing living in it, no rock or sand yet)

1) Fill with RO water
2) Multiple times as I’m filling, check to confirm the tank is level, and confirm there are no leaks at the bulkheads. As necessary, I’ll fix these two issues. (*Confirm tank is level in all directions, not only left to right)
3) Then I like to turn on return pump and wait overnight just to confirm that there are no leaks. In the morning, I’ll go in with a dry paper towel to detect any minor amounts of water in any place where water shouldn’t be. And fix any issues.
4) Add salt, to desired salinity. There are no issues if nothing is alive in there.
5) Add rocks and play around with the aquascape. Do this for at least 1 day. You’ll get fun new ideas during this time. Confirm aquascape is stable and won’t fall over. You may also wish to add the heater at this step, and dial in it’s calibration.
6) add sand. I used a large cup/bowl to scoop and gently lay the sand on the bottom, So as to minimize murky water, but there will still be murkiness for a couple days.
7) Turn on protein skimmer to help with murk and keep aeration for your bacteria. Speaking of, this is the good time to add bacteria
8) During this murky waiting game, set up ATO, lights, and any other equipment.
... enjoy

You probably have all this already, but thought I’d share. Super excited for you man! Those barn doors look great!

 

[ZapataInc]

If setting up a new tank, my approach is:
(New tank has nothing living in it, no rock or sand yet)

1) Fill with RO water
2) Multiple times as I’m filling, check to confirm the tank is level, and confirm there are no leaks at the bulkheads. As necessary, I’ll fix these two issues. (*Confirm tank is level in all directions, not only left to right)
3) Then I like to turn on return pump and wait overnight just to confirm that there are no leaks. In the morning, I’ll go in with a dry paper towel to detect any minor amounts of water in any place where water shouldn’t be. And fix any issues.
4) Add salt, to desired salinity. There are no issues if nothing is alive in there.
5) Add rocks and play around with the aquascape. Do this for at least 1 day. You’ll get fun new ideas during this time. Confirm aquascape is stable and won’t fall over. You may also wish to add the heater at this step, and dial in it’s calibration.
6) add sand. I used a large cup/bowl to scoop and gently lay the sand on the bottom, So as to minimize murky water, but there will still be murkiness for a couple days.
7) Turn on protein skimmer to help with murk and keep aeration for your bacteria. Speaking of, this is the good time to add bacteria
8) During this murky waiting game, set up ATO, lights, and any other equipment.
... enjoy

You probably have all this already, but thought I’d share. Super excited for you man! Those barn doors look great!

So my thoughts on this is that the displaced water would be wasted with the tank being filled empty. But maybe that is something that needs to be done.

 

[ActiveAngel]

So my thoughts on this is that the displaced water would be wasted with the tank being filled empty. But maybe that is something that needs to be done.

That’s true. You can accommodate for that. Or you can remove the water and use it later. Or both.

Also, you don’t need to fill your system 100% when testing for leaks and level. Just enough that the return pump stays underwater.

 

[Adam]

If setting up a new tank, my approach is:
(New tank has nothing living in it, no rock or sand yet)

1) Fill with RO water
2) Multiple times as I’m filling, check to confirm the tank is level, and confirm there are no leaks at the bulkheads. As necessary, I’ll fix these two issues. (*Confirm tank is level in all directions, not only left to right)
3) Then I like to turn on return pump and wait overnight just to confirm that there are no leaks. In the morning, I’ll go in with a dry paper towel to detect any minor amounts of water in any place where water shouldn’t be. And fix any issues.
4) Add salt, to desired salinity. There are no issues if nothing is alive in there.
5) Add rocks and play around with the aquascape. Do this for at least 1 day. You’ll get fun new ideas during this time. Confirm aquascape is stable and won’t fall over. You may also wish to add the heater at this step, and dial in it’s calibration.
6) add sand. I used a large cup/bowl to scoop and gently lay the sand on the bottom, So as to minimize murky water, but there will still be murkiness for a couple days.
7) Turn on protein skimmer to help with murk and keep aeration for your bacteria. Speaking of, this is the good time to add bacteria
8) During this murky waiting game, set up ATO, lights, and any other equipment.
... enjoy

You probably have all this already, but thought I’d share. Super excited for you man! Those barn doors look great!

I really like this approach for a new system. I'm interested to hear what would you do differently if this were an upgrade and you we're transferring all of the rock and livestock from a smaller system to a larger? I think different points of view are a great way to learn and share what we've learned ourselves.

For your #6 I learned a trick when adding sand six months or so after my main setup was done. I used a funnel and 1" PVC to direct some sand exactly where I wanted it. Been waiting to try it out on a larger scale on a new setup as with rinsed sand it kept the cloudiness to a minimum.

 

[ActiveAngel]

Actually, I did this approach with my last upgrade too, but I didn’t use any existing rock.

After basically doing these same steps (and accounting for water displacement that I forgot to mention. Thank you Zap). I began a slow acclimation process. This included planning and staging my inverts, fish, and 100+ coral colonies (mostly Sps) based on their resiliency. In the end, I lost 2 mushrooms and 1 acro; and I’m very sad for each of them.

The goal was to maintain 2 tanks simultaneously for less than 1 month. Testing the new one very frequently. With planning (seeding and curing dry rock) many many months in advance.

If I were to want to use existing rock. I would essentially treat the old liverocks as I would other livestock. I would split it up into stages and introduce it with the corals. I would stage the sand transfer as well, but most of the sand would transferred only at the very end; The new sand in the new tank and old sand in the old tank would have to help with the filtration a lot. keep in mind this is an upgrade, and naturally requires additional rock and sand; I would add the new rock as the base before getting into any of these stages. If I wanted my old rock to be the base (for example, if I got new Branch and plate rocks), then all the cool new rocks would go in the sump or on the side of the tank. It would look ugly until the aquascape was finished, and would require lots of planning, but should be done by the end of the first month.

Pardon the disorganization of the last paragraph.

 

[Adam]

Do you think there's merit to doing it quicker and using as much water from the existing system as possible? I've seen both approaches mentioned on other forums. To me I'd think that the water and rock from the old system would help keep things more stable and be less shock to the coral. That's also assuming there's no pests or undesirables in the old system. If that were the case I'd start from scratch and not think twice about it.

 

[ZapataInc]

Do you think there's merit to doing it quicker and using as much water from the existing system as possible? I've seen both approaches mentioned on other forums. To me I'd think that the water and rock from the old system would help keep things more stable and be less shock to the coral. That's also assuming there's no pests or undesirables in the old system. If that were the case I'd start from scratch and not think twice about it.

No pest that I can tell with my current system.

 

[ActiveAngel]

Great question! I think it’s important to recognize the complexity of the systems we’re working with.

When doing expos like Aquatic Experience, we had to set up multiple reef tanks in a matter of hours the day before the event started. We did this similarly to how you described.

All else being equal, I don’t think there’s any benefit with a speedy transfer. However, there correlated benefits to speed; this is great for those that have little knowledge, time, or ability to control.
1) Your parameters are less likely to fluctuate as significantly over the smaller period of time.
2) Your bacterial introduction will be faster.

However, these can all be measured and controlled. As such, I opt for a slow and controlled approach to minimize risk of shock, crashes, but most of all... it’s a lot less stress. Setting up systems fast sucks, and you have minimal ability to adapt your plan or your aquascape, but it can be done well with minimal risk for loss if you’re willing.