Rinsing gravel

[Jeff5225]

My BRS Pukani dry rock is almost cured. I have 100 lbs. of Carib-Sea gravel, 2 bags of live and 3 dry. Should I rinse the dry gravel in rodi water rather than tap water ? This is my 1st rodeo if you haven't figured that out by now. At this stage of the game I'm covering all bases. Hoping to add my cleanup crew a week after I get the aquascaping completed. And the following week I intend to add 2 clownfish and 1 yellow tang. My rock (60 lbs) has been curing since June 1st. Ammonia is still @ .025ppm. if not .030, you know how those color charts are.

[mr_X]

You won't have enough RODI to rinse that sand thoroughly. It will take a lot of water to get most of the dust out of it.
You don't need any sort of cleanup crew at all, and you definitely will not be able to keep them alive without adding supplemental food. This tank will have no food in it at all. All dry rock and sand besides the 2 bags of live which won't bring enough food to feed a single crab or snail.

[Jeff5225]

I have 2 45 gal. tanks full of freshwater right now, I can make 75 gal. a day. I know I will have to feed all the inverts, as well as the fish. I'm new to the hobby, not stupid.

[PB_Smith]

at this point it matters not at all if you rinse the sand with tap water, you don't have any livestock to be concerned with. just dose the tank with some Prime or whatever water conditioner you have when you get it set-up and full. any residual chlorine will gas off with aeration/turbulence within a day, and Prime will handle any metals or similar.

I agree about waiting on a "clean-up crew" although hermits would most likely be ok if you make sure they get enough food, but snails and such you should wait a couple/few months before adding.
Wait until you get the brown uglies (diatoms) which plague just about every new set-up and then add a turbo snail or two if you like.

[Jeff5225]

Thanks a lot, I have 2 20 lb. bags of live gravel as well, the kid at Petco told me rinsing that was not necessary. I'll get the fish first then, and the clean up crew later. I plan on buying 3 the 1st week and the other 3 the next. I want to hold it down to 6 fish. Thanks again.

[Dav3]

Space out livestock additions. Add a pair of clowns then wait 3-4 weeks before adding another. Make sure you wait 3-4 weeks between each fish unless you are adding a pair.

[Jeff5225]

Well, I'm planning on 2 Clowns, 2 B&W Clowns, 1 Tang and 1 Cardinal Fish.

[PB_Smith]

I'll say it first before the "Tang Police" say it, a 55 is simply not enough swimming room for a tang and it will succumb to myriad ailments due to stress.

You may want to consider a dwarf angel, it will provide the constant swimming around foraging activity the same as tangs do.

EDIT: do you have a 55 or am I thinking of someone else?

[54seaweed]

that tang will be a tight fit considering they need 100+g

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Yellow Tang - Hawaii

I'm new to the hobby, not stupid.

this attitude is unnecessary

he was giving you sound advice in no way was he calling you stupid !!!!

[bribo12]

And 4 clowns will turn into 2 clowns eventually unless the tank is huge

Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

[Jeff5225]

I have a 75 long, I didn't realize they needed 100 gallons. I was just going by the inch per gallon ratio. I need to do some more reading / youtubing.

[bribo12]

You could do a kole or Tomini tang instead !


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

[mr_X]

Originally Posted by Jeff5225

I have 2 45 gal. tanks full of freshwater right now, I can make 75 gal. a day. I know I will have to feed all the inverts, as well as the fish. I'm new to the hobby, not stupid.

You said you were going to put a cleanup crew in after cycling dry rock. Why would be my question. There's nothing to clean, not that they "clean" anything anyway. New to the hobby could equal stupid if you didn't do your research, and I see that you didn't. You could be a brain surgeon, but one that can't keep snails alive. This is what I'm trying to help you avoid.

[jeffaquarius]

Since the title of this thread is Rinsing Gravel I will answer it straight to the point. It is common to use tap water to rinse them but the cycling should have been done together with the dry rocks. Now you have to start all over to cycle those gravel.

[Jeff5225]

I'm going to rinse the 60 lbs. of dry gavel and add it along with the 40 lbs. of live gravel. This is after I have completed the aquascape. I am curing the dry rock in a separate container. My new 75gal display tank is still dry. I intend to fill the tank 70% full of rodi saltwater, add the rock, top off water, and then add the gravel (for better support) using a 3" dia. length of PVC pipe to minimize cloudiness and strain on filters. I'll watch the water parameters, and when all is right I should be able to start adding fish.

[BigRedsReefs10]

How do you plan on cycling the tank?

[Jeff5225]

Once I have everything in place and the water topped off, I wait, check my water parameters until they're all in the top peg. With the cured rock and live gravel's beneficial bacteria doing their stuff, I'm counting on a reduced waiting period.

[BigRedsReefs10]

Unless the rock your curing has an ammonia source your not cycling it, and "live" sand in a bag isn't really live it's just wet. Your going to want to add an ammonia source to get the spike going. Dry rock and sand isn't going to do it.

[Jeff5225]

OK, I give up. What do you suggest ?

[BigRedsReefs10]

I always use a thawed table shrimp in a media bag and leave it in for about a week. You can also dose it up with pure ammonia from a home goods store.