Starting my first 55G FOWLR tank

[borlaracing9]

Originally Posted by austinsdad

Is crushed aragonite anything like crushed coral? As opposed to finer grained sand. If so, I hope it's not too late to trade it in.

Its a crushed carribean puka shell haha. It says on the bag its "the ideal substrate for marine, reef, or African Cichlids."
I havent opened it yet so i guess i'll take it back to my LFS and pick up some more live sand instead.
Also, how much live rock is reccomended to start with a 55g tank, and do you guys know of any good online shops to order this from, because the closest distributor of live rock is about 2+ hours from my house.
Thanks guys!

[borlaracing9]

Just a 2nd quick question.. Do you mix the saltwater in a seperate clean container such as an empty 55 gallon brand new trashcan thats been washed and rinsed or do you just mix it in the tank.. again apologize for the noob questions, i am just trying to be as cautious as possible and double checking everything from what i have read so far hah.

[mdaniel2882]

You can't mix in the aquarium when you have livestock in it so it is best to get into the habit of mixing in a different container now. I never advise mixing in the tank

[borlaracing9]

Originally Posted by mdaniel2882

You can't mix in the aquarium when you have livestock in it so it is best to get into the habit of mixing in a different container now. I never advise mixing in the tank

Thank you for the help!

[thincat]

Originally Posted by borlaracing9

Its a crushed carribean puka shell haha. It says on the bag its "the ideal substrate for marine, reef, or African Cichlids."
I havent opened it yet so i guess i'll take it back to my LFS and pick up some more live sand instead.
Also, how much live rock is reccomended to start with a 55g tank, and do you guys know of any good online shops to order this from, because the closest distributor of live rock is about 2+ hours from my house.
Thanks guys!

The recommended amount of LR is ~1- 1 1/2#"s per tank gallons. So in your case it would be 55-82 1/2#'s of rock.
I would not buy live sand and I would only by 20#'s of live rock with the rest being Base rock or DIY rock.

[borlaracing9]

Originally Posted by thincat

The recommended amount of LR is ~1- 1 1/2#"s per tank gallons. So in your case it would be 55-82 1/2#'s of rock.
I would not buy live sand and I would only by 20#'s of live rock with the rest being Base rock or DIY rock.

Thanks for your advice! Is there a particular reason why i shouldn't use live sand? i wanted to use it mainly for the look and i thought it could help with natural filtration but i could be totally wrong hah.

[thincat]

I agree with austinday, how coarse is that crushed aragonite?
If you are going to use LR there is no new for additonal filters and for sure not 2 more.

[mcgrady7761]

marcosrocks.com is a great site for ordering rock

[borlaracing9]

Originally Posted by mcgrady7761

marcosrocks.com is a great site for ordering rock

Thanks for the recommendation.. ill check them out!

[borlaracing9]

Another noob question guys.. Do you add the sand before your aquarium ready water, live and dry rock? I have read that the live rock can have sand borrowing things inside of it which could possibly damage your tank?