Whats next?

ok so i have almost all the equipment i need to get started on my reef build. My tank, sump, and fuge are empty and clean. ive been making ro/di water for the past 5 days to have enough for the start up. i bought 5 gallon bucket of salt, should be enough I only have 95-100 gallons in my system.

So whats next? do i fill tank with water and mix salt, or do i go buy my LR and LS and then add salt water. or do I mix the salt out of the tank then add it in? Im ready to go im just not sure the best way to go about it. I have 100 gallons of ro/di water sittin around and im gettin anxious.

 

I would get lr and ls and get all started on th esame days. Others will tell ya more soon though...just take your time.......

 

Rocks first, then water, then sand.

 

I like to wait to add the sand until the rock is cured and cycled, that way you can easily siphon out the detritus and dead stuff that comes off of it. I would test all of the equipment with fresh water, fill up your tank, get your skimmer, sump and heaters going to make sure there are no leaks. Then drain it, and fill with Ro/Di water, mix in the salt and your cycle will start shortly.

 

i have ran the setup with fresh water for over a month now to insure no leaks and everything flows correctly. So now fill with ro/di then add salt then add live rock and wait until it cycles, then add sand?

 

That's what I would do, but you will get mixed opinions, some people will say to add the sand when you add the rock because you will get more bacteria growth because there is more area. However, the sand will become live in a short time when the rock is cycled. I would heat the water up to temperature before adding the salt because at different temperatures, the salinity will vary.