What's your opinion on a new tank?

[Paranoiattack91]

So I'm picking up my tank this week and going to start filling it up. I am going to keep my 50 gallon up and running while I cycle the 120 and then transfer the live stock and rocks. Just a few questions.

I just purchased more live rock to fill up the other half of the new tank and have it sitting in a bin of saltwater right now but I kind of wanted to let it dry out to kill any pests or anything that might have came from the lfs and then let it re cure and cycle while I'm cycling the tank. Are there any drawbacks of doing this? I don't mind if it increases the cycle time because I will have both tanks running still.

As far as sand goes should I just scrap all of the sand in the 50 gallon and use all new sand in the 120, the sand in the 50 is only a year old.

And lastly, I debating between these 3 sands: caribsea arag-alive Fiji pink , caribsea special grade reef sand, or caribsea ocean direct live sand original. What are your opinions on sand?

 

[peter]

Just get new sand. it depends if you want high flow in your tank or not fine grain will just get blown everywhere, thats why i use crushed corals. But its all up to what you like visually.

 

[Scout]

You could use your sand to "seed" some new sand, also I have fiji pink and I love the grain size. Some nice decent size pieces. And your rocks will be fine, like you said, a little longer cycle period.

 

[Paranoiattack91]

You could use your sand to "seed" some new sand, also I have fiji pink and I love the grain size. Some nice decent size pieces. And your rocks will be fine, like you said, a little longer cycle period.

The Fiji pink doesn't get blown around like crazy? Going to be running a gyre

 

[BeanMachine]

New sand, just get dry. Use a cup of your old sand. I prefer special grade.

Dry the rocks and recure... its going to take a while to completely dry out though... you would be surprised what will live a few weeks deep in the crevices.

 

[Paranoiattack91]

New sand, just get dry. Use a cup of your old sand. I prefer special grade.

Dry the rocks and recure... its going to take a while to completely dry out though... you would be surprised what will live a few weeks deep in the crevices.

Can I cure them in the new tank while everything is cycling? Or is it even common to get bad live rock, should I just leave them live and start like that?

 

[ndrwater]

New sand, just get dry. Use a cup of your old sand. I prefer special grade.

Dry the rocks and recure... its going to take a while to completely dry out though... you would be surprised what will live a few weeks deep in the crevices.

Take it from me... Cody has the right idea with the rock. I have had more than my share of baddie nasties in my rock. Better safe than sorry. A few extra weeks drying will save you TONS of potential headaches in the future.

I can also say that medium to larger grain size is better than small. I used Oolite in my big tank and have been regretting ever since. Been seriously contemplating a Gyre, but know that the small grain size will create a worse snowstorm than I already have.

It's the little details now that make for a good reefing experience turn into a great reefing experience.

 

[Paranoiattack91]

Take it from me... Cody has the right idea with the rock. I have had more than my share of baddie nasties in my rock. Better safe than sorry. A few extra weeks drying will save you TONS of potential headaches in the future.

I can also say that medium to larger grain size is better than small. I used Oolite in my big tank and have been regretting ever since. Been seriously contemplating a Gyre, but know that the small grain size will create a worse snowstorm than I already have.

It's the little details now that make for a good reefing experience turn into a great reefing experience.

Should I leave them outside in the sun or just dry in the garage

 

[805reef]

Can he just give them an acid bath instead of letting them dry for weeks? I've never done either...

 

[Scout]

Should I leave them outside in the sun or just dry in the garage

You can put them out in the sun but just make sure they don't get rained on. you could also keep them in a bucket with a heater and power head, if you crank the heater up to around 90 it will kill off most of the hitch hikers. Also it'll make your cycle a little less longer. Or you can just leave them to air dry which will take quite a while.

 

[solitude127]

When I redid my tank, for sand, I went I bought 3 bags of dry and 1 bag of live sand to help "seed" the tank. For rock, I went with all dry rock. It's not worth it to me to have some sort of pest (whether it's an algae pest or gorilla crab or some other unwanted pest) take over your new tank. If you want to use your old rock, definitely give it an acid bath.

 

[805reef]

When I redid my tank, for sand, I went I bought 3 bags of dry and 1 bag of live sand to help "seed" the tank. For rock, I went with all dry rock. It's not worth it to me to have some sort of pest (whether it's an algae pest or gorilla crab or some other unwanted pest) take over your new tank. If you want to use your old rock, definitely give it an acid bath.

Did you go with natural dry rock or man made like marco rock?

 

[solitude127]

Did you go with natural dry rock or man made like marco rock?

I went with 6 cerameco structures. I wish I used more natural rock though

 

[ndrwater]

Should I leave them outside in the sun or just dry in the garage

First question you have to ask yourself is, do you have that patients to go this route? I know we all are really excited to get a new tank up and running. I was no exception. That said hindsight is 20/20. If I were to start over, I would DEFENITELY go with drying the rock in the sun. The drying process will not only eventually kill off all the nasties such as Eunicid worms or gorilla crabs, but the sun also has the added effect of truly killing off any unwanted algae.
I know many have had good success with an acid bath like [MENTION=1164]805reef[/MENTION] had mentioned, but I don't have any experience with that method. I have read about it, but seems so much more labor intensive than several weeks of rock sitting in the sun.
That said, the acid bath will not only kill off the aforementioned nasties, but actually remove said nasties so you are truly starting with a "clean" rock. The benefits there are that sometimes the top layer of rock can have a high concentration of phosphate that could present a problem in future. There are many threads out there describing the process.
I can be lazy at times, so I'm would probably just go the drying in the sun method. Whatever you choose, be thorough, and take your time. It'll pay off in your tank when you are ready to get it wet..