setting up a saltwater tank

[axonify]

Even with the addition of pre-cured live sand and live rock, there will still be some die-off of the creatures. I would still recommend cycling the tank for a few weeks, around three, and make sure to skim during this period. What type of fish are you looking to introduce, and what's the size of your tank?

I disagree, and I've found some info that suggests otherwise. It's from a post by reefstar, and it talks about how organic material can get buried in the sand and cause anaerobic decay. This can lead to gases like hydrogen sulphide being produced, which can kill fish.

To prevent this, you can do a few things. One way is to use a thin layer of sand - if it's only 1 cm deep, anaerobic conditions can't develop. Another way is to add burrowing fish that'll constantly turn over the sand. This will prevent anaerobic pockets from forming and allow things to decay aerobically.

There are also some other options. You can use Malayan livebearing snails, which will turn over the sand and eat any waste that gets in there. Live plants can also work, as their roots can live in low-oxygen environments and bring oxygen into the substrate.

I think most of these methods will still apply to saltwater, except maybe the live plants part. And I'm not sure about using an undergravel heater. But for saltwater, you can use thin layers of sand, sand-sifting fish like gobies and blennies, and Nassarius snails, which will bury in the sand.

[floralix]

A 1" sand bed is pretty close to the 2 cm mark, but I think you're in the clear, especially since you're dealing with saltwater. I mean, you've got bristleworms and other critters living in the sand, keeping it clean, plus most people's clean-up crews include sand-sifting creatures. A 1" sand bed shouldn't be a problem, but to be on the safe side, would it be possible to add the fish a day or so later, just to be careful?

[fleeton]

I think the biggest issue with transferring everything from an established tank is that the previous owner might've neglected cleaning the tank, and the sand bed ends up being full of detritus. When you disturb it, you're gonna get a huge nitrate bloom. I've seen it happen before, and it's a real pain to deal with. When you're preparing the rocks to go into your new tank, make sure you've got a saltwater bucket handy to rinse off any loose debris from the live rock. And for the sand bed, give it a good vacuum and filter before putting it in your new tank.

[finleyz]

Hi,

I'm making the switch from freshwater to saltwater and I have a ton of questions. I'll start with this one. I'm planning to buy Live Sand, LR, and fish all at once from an established tank. I currently have an empty tank. My question is, do I still need to cycle my tank before adding everything? Will the nitrifying bacteria on the LR and Live Sand be enough to skip the cycling process? I'd appreciate any help.

Hi axonify,

I'm not planning to cycle with ammonia, I just wanted to know if I could skip the cycling step by adding LS, LR, and fish all at once.

Thanks to everyone for your input. From what I've gathered, it seems like if I'm careful with temperature, salinity, and live sand, I should be okay. I've received a lot of helpful advice here, more than anywhere else, so thank you all for that.

[zenfox8]

Even with the addition of pre-cured live sand and live rock, there will still be some die-off of the creatures. I would still recommend cycling the tank for a few weeks, around three, and make sure to skim during this period. What type of fish are you looking to introduce, and what's the size of your tank?

If you get cured LR and then leave the tank for 3 weeks, I think the bacteria on the rock that do the filtering will die without a source of ammonia, which kinda defeats the purpose.

I'm with Ski on the sand, it can be a real pain once it's disturbed. I'd be tempted to ditch the sand and replace it with new aragonite sand - the LR will soon seed it to convert it to live sand, which would save you some cash. Just keep the LR.

As long as the LR comes from a system with fish in it, I'd leave the tank overnight to make sure everything's okay, then look to get some fish in there.

Regarding "gas bubbles," there are a couple of things to keep in mind. The type of sand you're using affects how deep bubbles can appear. I've got very fine sand in my tanks, and I get bubbles popping up in depths of less than 1cm.

The gas itself isn't that bad. It's probably nitrogen gas from anaerobic bacteria processing nitrates, which is a good thing. Or it might be hydrogen sulphate, which is deadly, but it'll denature into something less harmful as soon as it hits oxygen.

As long as your fish aren't showing signs of hypoxia, you should be fine with bubbles in the sand. But having "medium depth" sand beds seems to lead to problems in the long run with nutrients being absorbed and then released back into the system.