Live Rock then sand?

[jttt3]

Should I cycle my tank with the live rock in it, then add sand, or if I get normal non-live sand, can I add that when I drop in the live rock?

I'm not going to get livesand, just going to do normal sand, as I have already bought it lol.

The marine fish stores in my area are all closed on Sunday and Monday, so I have until Tuesday to decide. In the mean time, my filters are cycling.

Also, how much live rock should I add to a 24 gallon cube? Should I just eyeball it? I'm going to try and get something a little taller and lean it against the back of the aquarium opposed to a shortr fatter one and having it lie only on the bottom of the tank. Since my tank is more verticle, it should make it look better.

God, $5/lb is expensive =\

James

[Rue]

I did water, added the salt, then the sand...

...others add the sand and then pour saltwater on top...but that first time it's much easier to mix the salt in the tank...

Regardless - do that before adding your LR.

How much live rock you add depends on the denseness of the rock to some extent.

Generally, it's recommended that you add 1 - 1.5 lbs per gallon. But if it's more pourous rock, you can add 1 lb. If it's denser rock you add more...

It also depends a bit on the aesthetics of the rock and what your aquascaping ideas are.

Your filters won't cycle until you get your LR in the tank...it's what starts the cycle going but anything that dies on it and creates ammonia. The LR also acts as a natural filter through it's porosity and the bacteria that live on all the surface area of the rock.

[jttt3]

Yeah, already got the saltwater in, mixed it pre-add so I could balance the salinity before I got all the water into the tank. Hit 1.023 right-on, I figured I would put the sand in later, I'll put it in tonight then and let the cloudyness dissapear.

Lol, I dropped in a filter from my marineland freshwater filter. Actually, I have the entire filter hooked up on the front of the saltwater tank atm. I'm punishing it for not working good enough. Actually, putting it on saltwater quieted it down, a lot, figure it will just grind to a halt soon. Wasn't sure if the saltwater would kill off the bacteria or not, but wasn't concerned really. The tank it came from is healthy, no diseases, and figured what is suppose to live in the saltwater will, whatever shouldn't, will die off.

I'll snag the live rock this Tuesday then, remove the marineland filter and let the tank do its thing for a few months. $5/lb is still expensive, my credit card is going to burst into flames on Tuesday.

[Rue]

If it makes you feel better...I paid 8.50/ lb...

[jttt3]

Ouch! USD?

[Drumachine09]

God, $5/lb is expensive =\



ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Expensive my foot. Its now down to 9.75/lb here.


...I envy you...

[Rue]

No, that was CDN...

...btw...if you're doing a reef tank...your SG should be 1.026.

[jttt3]

Even without the corals? I don't plan to add any at all, and I was told to make sure and hit 1.025 before I add any fish.

I thought $5/lb was expensive, though in the complete picture of a saltwater tank, I guess not. I can get crappy live rock for $3/lb, the kind that is aquacultured offshore, but think not.

I'm going to have a really hard time picking the live rock out for sure, I wish I had someone down here to help me out. =\

[Rue]

Fish can tolerate a lower SG...I think it's the inverts that are among the most intolerant of lower SGs...but let me double-check that...

Mine's sitting at 1.0255...and I left it there...

Buy a good refractometre...you won't be sorry...I only used my swing-arm for 3 weeks...and then it started giving me inaccurate readings...even though I rinsed thoroughly in FW immediately after each use and watched for airbubbles impeding the movement of the arm...

[Rue]

BTW...I can't offer too much advice on selecting LR...but the fresher it is the better! See if you can have you LFS call you immediately when a shipment comes in.

Choose pieces that are attractive and that you can stack securely in the tank, keeping in mind that you need lots of spaces between rocks for max. water flow to prevent stagnation anywhere...

[jttt3]

Bought my live rock, its in the tank. As soon as my new batteris arrive for my Rebel, I'll take pics.

Bought 20lbs on-the-nose of rock, Fiji Indo rock, 7.75/lb USD.

The cheaper stuff wasn't that great, and had snails everywhere.

Now I just gotta wait a couple months lol