Brand new to the hobby and need advice - 75 gal

Looking good, can't wait to see it filled.

 

What are the pros, if any, and cons to mixing my salt and water in the tank the first time? I know that after that it would have to be mixed in another container, but is it possible to have good results mixing it in the tank for the original setup?

 

Why would it be bad? I did it... No problems found, on both my tanks.. make sure to add water first, then salt. Dont add salt then trickle water on it.

 

+1

I mixed mine in the tank with no issue. Had the pumps running to help it mix. Just make sure that you take it slow add a bit of salt wait about 10-15min for it to mix then check with refractometer.

 

Should I add my rock and sand before I start adding salt?

 

i would add rock first as it displaces more water. that way you wont have water spilling over when you add it to a full tank.

Sand, i would wait cuz if your mixing the salt in the tank, you dont want sand flying around. but you can, either way your gonna have a bit of a storm from adding it to a system or while salt is mixing.

 

J. I mixed my salt in my DT as well. I added my sand and rock first then filled with water and added salt. Like other have said you will have a dust storm in there at first like I did but it will clear up by the next day. I wouldn't worry about it looking very very cloudy when you first mix your salt.

 

I have a 5lb bag of live sand. Can that go in with the rest or wait 'til mixing is over? Also, none of my rocks are live. They are dead and I will be using them to cycle the tank.

 

mix salt and water first then put rock and sand in, dont forget to leave room.

 

I put all my live sand in as well as a few pieces of rock then added some water to cover. Then added the rest of my rock and filled with water til the dt and sump were full. Once I had the return pump and powerheads going I added salt.