what should I do first.....

[JoeA]

Ok I'm not sure if this is a dumb question or not but....when I mix the salt water is there anything special I should do? Should I mix the salt water in the tank itself? Do I put the sand in afterwards?

 

[Edmonton Eskimo]

you can mix the water and salt mix right in the tank. Running your filter will mix it up good. Every now and then stir up the bottom so it all mixes together. You can add the sand before or after. If you do it before put a plate on the bottom to deflect water from sand. I did mine after and it worked fine

 

[JoeA]

im thinking of anding the sand afterwards. I thought that by the time the water goes through the sump and skimmer the water would get mixed pretty good.

 

[Edmonton Eskimo]

ya I would think so. Make sure you rinse the sand a little first. I didn't when I first sey up my tank and it took a full week to clear up.

 

[malkore]

also, just so this gets stated now: later on when you do water changes, you'll need to mix the salt/water in a separate container and let it circulate 24 hours before you put it in your tank.
since you're just setting up a new tank, its fine to mix it in the tank since there's no life in there yet.

 

[Edmonton Eskimo]

Good call Malkore