Another 10 Gallon Saltwater

[charlesweaver3]

I have been reading forrums and articles on this site for far longer than I was a member. Once I got my 46 gallon FW tank off of craiglist I decided and join and have been happy ever since. I need to shed some light on my 46 gallon because for a beginner i think i did pretty well.

Anywho the whole point of this forrum is to track step by step the progress of my attempt at a saltwater tank. I have a 10 gallon tank,stand Fluval C2, Marineland LED (single bright) and a box of Instant Ocean for a 10 gallon. Yesterday I bought some livesand from PetCo and plan on setting up the tank after work.

I have a few questions though:

1. Since the tank is empty can i mix the salt in the tank?
2. Should I add the live sand right away?
3. How long do I need to wait before I can get live rock?
4. What type of media do I need to put in my C2?

Pics to follow once I leave work!

 

[Huffers]

Welcome to the hobby! There's nothing I like better than helping beginners discover that awesomeness of saltwater! Feel free to ask me any questions you might have! Ill answer the questions you already asked below:

1. Yes you can mix the saltwater in your tank at the beginning. Obviously once you get the tank set up you'll want to use a separate container to mix saltwater before adding. One question...are you using RO/DI water to mix with the salt? One of the most common mistakes beginners make is using tap water to mix with the salt and then using that saltwater. DON'T DO THIS! Seriously it will mess things up. If you can't afford an RO/DI filter then the next best thing is to go to walmart and by 10 gallons of distilled water and use that. Don't use tap water!

2. Ok personally I would take the "live sand" back to petco and just use regular white "non-live sand." The whole live sand deal is really just a scam. Yes it does have some bacteria in it but the problem is that sometimes those bags will sit on shelves for YEARS and much of the live bacteria is in fact dead. I've known people who use live sand only to have it eventually mess up there tanks by leaching so much nitrate and nitrite into the water that it spoils everything. As long as you add plenty of live rock you'll be fine and will be better off without the live sand.

3. You can add your live rock as soon as your saltwater has mixed thoroughly and you have a salinity reading of 1.024-1.026. Make sure your temp is in between 70-78 degrees and your PH is reading 7.8-8.3.

4. I'd use Chemi-pure elite as your filter media. You can get it at petco. It's one of the best medias at removing phosphates and other unwanted organics. It also give you crystal clear water. Just make sure you rinse it out in saltwater before you put it in your tank. It will have alot of carbon that needs to be rinsed out.

 

[Beengirl]

I used all live sand in both of my SW tanks and haven't had any water issues. Im not certain if it helped, but I really like all the tiny little shell pieces that come in it, makes it feel like beach sand to me, if you know what I mean.
As said previously, just get the salinity right and the temp up, then add the live rock and then the sand. Put rock in first, then sand. Good luck!!