Tank dump... I have a clue!

[flowerhorn]

Hello folks,
I am a seasoned freshwater hobbiest, but know about as much as Ive read (which is a ton) over the past few days.
Heres my story:
I have a person who tore down his saltwater tank a week ago. He has 35 pds of live rock,wrasse, crabs, in a 20 gallon tank with a powerhead and heater in it. He also has 30 pds of dry rock. I am getting a cpr backpack skimmer, a h.o.b. over flow, 20 gallons of his water, a M.H.xT5 light, canister filter, a ball of cheato, powerheads, heaters, with all his rock and critters.
I am also getting a bunch of crushed coral but have 30 pds of live sand I picked up.
I also have 40 gallons of r/o water and a 55 gallon tank.
I have to go get this tomorrow or I will not get it. I dont get any tanks.
My questions and thoughts if your still with me.
I will fill my tank with the 30 pds of live sand and add more later.
I will mix saltwater tomorrow(I hear it should sit but I wont have the time) and I will get it up to temp.
So I will mix water, put that and the sand that I have now with his 20 gallons of water in my 55 tank.
Put the live rock and critters in.
Can you usually run the h.o.b. overflow to canister filter then back to the tank? Do I have to have a refugium for the cheato?
Can I add live sand later?
How many pds of live sand for about a 2-3 in. bed in a 55 tank?
How(about) many pds of live rock in a 55?
I read i shouldnt mix in any of his crushed coral if I want sand? Not even a little?
Will 30 pds be enouph to start even?(one bag seems pretty dry, I think it got a hole in it at some point.(still okay?
How bad is it to mix saltwater get it to temp and use it right away?
I plan to just leave this be for a few weeks to cycle and smooth out after this.
I know my thoughts are random. Thank you for any response.....

 

[salt_for_brains]

Hi and Welcome!!
A lot of people mix and wait 24 hrs on the water-- I have mixed and used the same day for 6 years ( worked for me may not work for everyone).
Google sand bed depth calculator and enter your dimensions and how many inches and it will give you an answer.
Yes, you can add sand later.
The general rule on live rock is 1-2 lbs per gallon.
You can keep cheato in the display but you will have to contain it in something.
If you keep the live rock alive from the other tank to yours you probably won't even have a cycle since you already have bacteria on the rock.
Sorry I know very little about hob and canister filters.

 

[Ted]

Hello folks,
I am a seasoned freshwater hobbiest, but know about as much as Ive read (which is a ton) over the past few days.
Heres my story:
I have a person who tore down his saltwater tank a week ago. He has 35 pds of live rock,wrasse, crabs, in a 20 gallon tank with a powerhead and heater in it. He also has 30 pds of dry rock. I am getting a cpr backpack skimmer, a h.o.b. over flow, 20 gallons of his water, a M.H.xT5 light, canister filter, a ball of cheato, powerheads, heaters, with all his rock and critters.
I am also getting a bunch of crushed coral but have 30 pds of live sand I picked up.
I also have 40 gallons of r/o water and a 55 gallon tank.
I have to go get this tomorrow or I will not get it. I dont get any tanks.
My questions and thoughts if your still with me.
I will fill my tank with the 30 pds of live sand and add more later.
I will mix saltwater tomorrow(I hear it should sit but I wont have the time) and I will get it up to temp.
So I will mix water, put that and the sand that I have now with his 20 gallons of water in my 55 tank.
Put the live rock and critters in.
Can you usually run the h.o.b. overflow to canister filter then back to the tank? Do I have to have a refugium for the cheato?
Can I add live sand later?
How many pds of live sand for about a 2-3 in. bed in a 55 tank?
How(about) many pds of live rock in a 55?
I read i shouldnt mix in any of his crushed coral if I want sand? Not even a little?
Will 30 pds be enouph to start even?(one bag seems pretty dry, I think it got a hole in it at some point.(still okay?
How bad is it to mix saltwater get it to temp and use it right away?
I plan to just leave this be for a few weeks to cycle and smooth out after this.
I know my thoughts are random. Thank you for any response.....

Ok...well I wouldnt used the crushed coral. Use what sand you have and add to it later if you need to. Normally you would put the rock in the tank, then the sand then the water. Fresh mixed saltwater will be ok if you let it run with a power head in a hour or so. Most of us do it longer but in emergency times it can be done. The main thing is since you are getting livestock you will have to get it to temp. You will have to acclimate the live stock to the "new" tank as well. I wouldnt mix the sand and the crushed coral together because the fine sand will work its way to the bottom and the big stuff will be at the top. Crushed coral traps detritus (:pooh:) and sand sifting fish and inverts cant get in it and through it to clean it up. The "normal" suggestion on sand is one pound per gallon of display tank so a 55 would need 55lbs, rock would be 1 to 2 pounds per gallon so 55 to 110 lbs of rock. most of us like the rock to be on the glass and the sand around it. Makes for more stable rock (less chance of rock slides) and will make it where you will need less sand. 1 inch of sand is really good enough, two is good as well but I wouldnt really go deeper then that.

A over flow box is used to get the tank water to a sump not a canister filter. A canister just uses a straight siphon. Most people dont use canisters in saltwater because you will have to clean it weekly and doing that is a pain in the ass. I ran one for a few years and got tired of it really quick. If you dont keep the canister clean it will become a nitrate factory. Which is really bad for corals and inverts.

The cheato is best in a sump but can be in the display. You will need to contain it if it is in the display somehow. Or you will end up with strings of it everywhere rocks, clogging up powerheads, etc.

If you do decide to use the crushed coral he is giving you make sure to rinse it extremely well. Coming from a established tank it is going to be full of :pooh:. Really not something I would want to do. If you dont rinse it it will cause a major ammonia spike in your water and will more then likely kill whatever ever live stock you are getting from him.

 

[flowerhorn]

Thank you so much. I think I'm on the right track here. So I have a Aquatech 30-60 waterfall type filter, can I use that? I will have to check into something cheap..
And
Do I have to use this overflow? I would rather not have a refugium or any 2nd tank?
I love the internet and fish people. This place is great :)
Thank you/

 

[salt_for_brains]

You don't have to have a sump or a refugium. I will tell you in saltwater having a sump is a plus especially if you can rid of the canister filters.

 

[Ted]

A sump is the the best way to go...Now me...well I am a odd duck lol...I use a sump/refugium and a powerfliter...Why well I like powerfilters. Easy to add carbon and gives a nice surface ripple. Easy to keep clean as well. Change the filter pad weekly and it will be ok but get rid of any bio mesh or wheel or any of that crap...dont need it.

 

[Ted]

By the why I have a link on my build thread to a video of my tank if you want to see how I do it...Just added it a couple of days ago.

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site...glad to have you aboard.