Hoping to start first marine tank (75 g) for GSPs. Advice?

[Pufferpunk]

You'll be sorry when that box clogs & overflows all over your home, that you didn't do this right, from the start. Just say'n...

[postal_blowfish]

Thank you all for your help, it's been appreciated.

[Nuclear_Glitter]

What's wrong with sand under the rock?

Heard of it cracking tanks.

[Nuclear_Glitter]

Read up all you can on overflow boxes and how to make sure they don't overflow. Also research how to make ensure it doesn't overflow if your ever have a power outage. I know there are a few things that help but I don't know the exact steps.

You're probably going to have to empty the tank, and pull the sand out out. You have to rinse the sand until it's completely clear or else it will always cause clouding problems. Get a bucket, dump in a bit of sand at a time, stick your hose in the bottom and let it run until it's clear. (Do this outside, of course)

[postal_blowfish]

You'll be sorry when that box clogs & overflows all over your home, that you didn't do this right, from the start. Just say'n...

So because I can't afford to do it the top of the line way, it means I'm not doing it right? There's more than one way to do this, I'm trying to find out what's the best I can get but also the most affordable way for me personally. I really do appreciate how much you've been able to help me pp, but I don't appreciate the condescending tone... We should all be able to enjoy this hobby, if we're not having fun then why are we doing it?

@nuclear_glitter yes I've been looking into overflow boxes and how I can avoid them overflowing, I'll keep looking into it though. Well the bags of sand said they didn't need to be rinsed, which is why I just put it in, but I guess it would've been wise to rinse it just in case. I'll give it another day or so and if it still hasnt cleared up at all then I'll take it out and give it a good rinse

[Nuclear_Glitter]

Yeah...I bought those bags of sand too. I figured because it said "No need to rinse" that I could half-buttocks my rinsing. I recently took the tank down that I used the sand in and even after being set up for a year, anytime I stirred the sand to clean it, it clouded my tank like no other.

Some people just have their preferences on Marine tank stuff, and have had bad experiences with overflows. I myself have read horror stories of both types overflowing, so just be sure to do all you can to avoid a flood on your floor lol.

[postal_blowfish]

So it's been about a week and I finally have my tank filled with live sand and live rock. I got about 80 pounds for now, I'll see if I need to get some more but for now I should be good. I tested my water and it seems to be completely cycled! No ammonia, no nitrites, some nitrates how long should I let the system run before I transfer over my GSPs? And how could I acclimate them to the change in salinity?

[sgtmyers88]

Once again I didn't say enough. Lr from a Lfs may suffer die off, tank params need to be watched till stable and needs to be fed in the meantime.

OH! I think this explains my unusual water parameters shortly after I got my live rock!

So it's been about a week and I finally have my tank filled with live sand and live rock. I got about 80 pounds for now, I'll see if I need to get some more but for now I should be good. I tested my water and it seems to be completely cycled! No ammonia, no nitrites, some nitrates how long should I let the system run before I transfer over my GSPs? And how could I acclimate them to the change in salinity?

Its called a drip method. Take some of their current water and place it in a bucket and place them preferably at the same time. (Do not expose them to open air!) Then take an air tube and siphon drip the SW into their bucket of water. The process may take a few hours, done properly.

[FADE2BLACK_1973]

Protein skimmers and WC's, when you 1st get the LR will help with the die off problems. Done it for 20 years. Got out of the SW tank's 5 years ago.

[puffykid]

agreed. But if you are using a liquid test kit and you are getting ammonia 0 nitrite 0 and low nitrates then you can probably put them in. I would just monitor the water extra carefully over the next few days and maybe do 1-2 extra wc's this week. Also pictures when you can!

For the drip acclimation tie a loose knot into the air hose so that it drips at about 1 drop a second. It should take about 2 hours

ps what's low nitrates?

[bertie 83]

It depends how long all the l/r been in there. If recently added you may suffer die off

[puffykid]

With the size of the tank, the dilution of the water will keep them fine. Just keep an eye on the parameters and do a few extra wc's.

Where did you get the LR from? If it was an established tank then it's all set.

[bertie 83]

Once again depends it may have been out of water for a while. Make sure it is totally stable before adding any fish. It's not worth rushing

[postal_blowfish]

Thank you all for your help! So I just put in the live rock earlier today so I'll be testing the params daily for any unusual behavior. I got the leo from my lfs, he had a container full of it, he gave me a deal and gave it to me for 3.50 a pound. Hopefully that doesn't mean anything in terms of the quality of it! :/ I'll post pics as soon as I can, unfortunately I can't really post pics from my iPad and I don't have pc at the moment :/

[bertie 83]

I can almost guarantee a little die off, watch until your params are 100% stable, ensure there is good flow over the l/r. You may need to feed it aswell if there is little die off