Hello to all

Hello to all, my name is Jim and I am going to attempt the arduous, but hopefully very enjoyable pursuit of keeping a saltwater aquarium. I was able to pick up a 75 gallon tank, sump, stand, lights, hood, skimmer, filter, etc on E-bay, so I am very excited. My plan is to cycle the tank for >month the first week in April. Question; the seller included a 50 gallon bucket of "live" sand, it is very wet in a large bucket. Will this still be "live" even though it has been sitting out of the tank in a dark closed bucket for a month? I would really love to use it without having to clean it and dry it. Even if it is no longer "live", could I still put it in my tank and just reseed it? There shouldn't be any danger since I am cycling my tank, right?

I already have about 35 lbs of base rock from various Caribbean vacations and the former owner of my tank and I will be purchasing 40-50 lbs of live rock. Is this enough? It's so damn expensive, after all it is....rock. The live rock should seed the base rock, right? These will be the first of many questions, so thanks in advance.

Jim

 

Welcome to 3reef! That's good you're starting out with a 75..will be much easier than keeping something smaller. I wouldn't use the sand in its current state. I would rinse it well before using it. By the time your tank is cycled it will be live again. It's better to start fresh than to drag someone's previous junk in your tank. The live rock will seed the base rock. You could really just have one piece of live rock to start with and be perfectly fine. May take a little longer to get a good population of bacteria, but it will be much cheaper.

 

I would toss the sand and start over with fresh, and no need to spend $10 per pound for live rock either, get base and it will be live by the time the cycle finishes.
this is what I used when I set my 90 back up.
40 Pound box Key Largo Rock, <br>40 Pounds Bahamas Aragonite Sand<BR>pay shipping on rock only - KL40-40






For those of you joining us that are new to the hobby - the best piece of advice you'll get around here as a saltwater newbie is 3Reef's slogan
"Go slow, let it grow."
And for those experianced hobbyists joining us - it's still good advice
good luck and post pics soon

 

welcome to 3 reef Jim

Steve

 

Toss the old sand. Would you save old kitty litter? Naaa just kidding but that's about all sand does is catch the garbage. The live rock is what it's all about. Get some fine live sand. CaribSea Oolite is what I use. No more than an inch or so. Three 20 lb bags to start. Put the sand in very slowly with a coffee cup after the rocks are setup push the sand slowly with your fingers into the caves and crevices. I put eggcrate on the bottom to protect the glass from an avalanche and keep digging fish from loosening up the rocks. Here's some pics of the eggcrate on my old 120g and my current 210g. You can see my original 65g in the background of the first pic. The last pic shows the setting up of the rockscape.

 

i would ditch the sand completly

 

welcome to the reef.

 

welcome
ditch the sand, start fresh & clean.

 

Thanks

Hey guys,

Thanks for the welcomes and advice. I have no problem purchasing new sand, but this seems like such a waste to just pitch the sand. If I cleaned it and sun-dried it couldn't I just put some new live sand on top to make a deeper sand bed?

 

Welcome to 3reef,

Toss the old sand and use base rock to cycle just place a table shrimp in the tank to start the cycle going.