[Cims]

My brother has a 240g, he wants to make it a reef tank later on, but for now just a FOWLR tank. Today he went and bought some salt and already added it. Now we are waiting for the tank to start cycling, and him to buy live rock.

1. Is pool filter sand okay for a cheap method of acquiring live sand? He has pool filter sand in his tank right now, the grains are a tad bit bigger than most argonite sand ive seen, it is pretty good looking sand.

2. What should he do with his 40 sump tank? I told him to empty it out for now.

3. How long should we let the tank cycle before we add cycle fish?

4. How much live rock is needed to get a FOWLR tank started?

I told him that his sump isn't finished, which is holding him back and that his sand might need to be changed with real live sand. And also that he probaly needs to add at least a decent base layer of live rock soon. He is on a budget and is rushing to get his tank going. Can you help?

[The R/C Man]

Hmmm.... Well, for the sand I would use aragnite. I believe it is a calcium based sand and I have no idea what the other sand is composed of. Don't worry about purchasing the so called "live" sand. The sand will become "live" once you add the live rock. The critters from the rock will seed the sand.

I would incorporate the sump into the system in order to grow pods and macro algae for nitrate reduction.

I would cycle the tank for a good month before adding fish.

Live rock for a reef tank is about 1-2 pounds per gallon. For a FOWLR I would half is adaquate.

I hope that helped.

Unfortunatly this hobby is not cheap. It can be done on a budget however. You must be carefull that you do not set it up inadaquately. Properly cared for fish can live 15 years...

Good Luck...

[Cims]

Greg, Thanks for advice, So you think we should remove the pool filter sand and use a aragnite sand? That type of sand is pretty expensive at stores. (over a $1 a pound)

How do I go about making the sump into the system. Right now my sump tank is 40g and sitting below my 240g empty.

[The R/C Man]

Cims,

You can partition your 40 gallon using aquarium sealant and acrylic. To get the water down there you will need an overflow box. CPR makes some good ones. And of course you will need a pump to return the water to the display tank. For a glass tank a subersible such as a Mag pump will be optimal.

Although my set up is fairly elaborate, you can see the flow from the main tank to the sump, the baffle design and then where the water goes back to the display.... http://www.reefland.com/forum/attach...g?d=1109986319

There are some tricks in glue in the baffles to be sure they stay put so if you decide to go that way let me know....

[Cims]

Oh sorry I should of explained more. I had this overflow/sump/trickle filter system for freshwater and now I am converting it to saltwater. I have a 900GPH rated overflow, it goes down to the 40g tank (which I plan on putting in sections and adding miracle mud and bio balls). The pump is rated at 1200 GPH and the system works really well. So my 40g will be a sump/refugium?

Do you think its worth the hassle of removing the pool filter sand for aragnite? My brother is on a very tight budget, but if this pool filter sand isnt good enough I'll tell him to take it out. I dont see a big problem though, it isnt really coarse, or to fine.