Chris-Nicol
Aquarium Advice Freak
Quick question I have bought a return pump which is maybe a bit overkill. Basically double the return the tank manufacturer recommends. Will this be a problem?
No you can get a gate valve to match your return to the overflow. Honestly it's better for the pump too
It won't hurt anything. You want the rock and sand in there first due to displacement anyway.
I'd add the salt now. Then I'd test and see how much more water it would take to dilute that solution to where I want it to be.
You can. I'm sure there are fancy math techniques or something to figure it all out...I look at my salt mix as to how many cups it takes to give me the salinity I want. After all these years I can simply eye ball it.
As for the powerheads, I like them to be low and aimed up. If you have one on each side, point one up and at the back glass and one at the front glass. Should give a more 'chaotic' flow pattern. You can fiddle with it.
The only parameters that matter during a cycle are ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Ph will fluctuate throughout the day, don't even bother testing it. Same goes for alk and other such ones that corals will use up.
When was the last time ammonia was added?