How many pounds of sand for a RS Reefer 250?

[Aquarist76]

It's Carib Sea ACS00940. Yes about 2 inches. Good stuff.

 

[Westside Guy]

It's Carib Sea ACS00940. Yes about 2 inches. Good stuff.

The grain size in your picture looks extremely fine, is the size similar to Fiji Pink or finer?

 

[Aquarist76]

The grain size in your picture looks extremely fine, is the size similar to Fiji Pink or finer?

It's actually not that fine. I put finer sand in my Reefer 750 and found it would get blown around easy. This is just the "standard" grain size stuff and I really like it. I'll see if I can get some closeup pictures of the sand bed.

 

[Westside Guy]

Thanks, I don’t want the sand to be blown around too easily. I love the color of Fuji Pink and want a color like it but have read several posts saying that people think it is a little too fine for their needs.

 

[Aquarist76]

Here's some pictures I had already taken that show the sand grain a bit better.

 

[Westside Guy]

Very nice!

 

[Westside Guy]

I landed up using 40 pounds of CaribSea "Reef Sand" which is coarser than the Fiji Pink and is approximately 1.5 inches deep in the Reefer 250. The lighting isn't perfect but it is beautiful.

 

[smellytunic]

I landed up using 40 pounds of CaribSea "Reef Sand" which is coarser than the Fiji Pink and is approximately 1.5 inches deep in the Reefer 250. The lighting isn't perfect but it is beautiful.

Wow Looks great!! I am about to set up this exact same combination this weekend. Red Sea Reefer 250 and 40lbs of this exact same sand.

 

[Westside Guy]

Wow Looks great!! I am about to set up this exact same combination this weekend. Red Sea Reefer 250 and 40lbs of this exact same sand.

I played with the lighting settings on my iPhone's camera to what they describe as "dramatic" and improved the color to make the picture look closer to how it actually appears. When looking in person the sand and rocks are actually whiter in color. I absolutely love the way the sand looks!!!

By the way, make sure that you get the new V3 version of the sump. It will be clearly labeled on the outside of the box and also right under the valve.

 

[smellytunic]

Yep, it is the new v3 version. Tank stand and plumbing all in place. Now just waiting on my RO/DI unit to churn out some more water... Like watching paint dry or well water drip. LOL

 

[Westside Guy]

Yep, it is the new v3 version. Tank stand and plumbing all in place. Now just waiting on my RO/DI unit to churn out some more water... Like watching paint dry or well water drip. LOL

Are you planning to add water to the ATO in the very beginning when you fill the tank? My installer did not do this and said to wait, was it a mistake?

 

[smellytunic]

Are you planning to add water to the ATO in the very beginning when you fill the tank? My installer did not do this and said to wait, was it a mistake?

It was lower on my list of getting it up and running. My plan was to get the sump/overflow balanced, then get the skimmer going and see what evaporation was like and go from there. It is by no means needed to set it up.

 

[Westside Guy]

It was lower on my list of getting it up and running. My plan was to get the sump/overflow balanced, then get the skimmer going and see what evaporation was like and go from there. It is by no means needed to set it up.

Yesterday I heard a loud sucking noise coming from the pump chamber and the water had already evaporated to the point that the pump was half exposed. I added RO water to the pump chamber yesterday and it had already gone lower when I checked on it this morning. I put RO in the ATO today and hopefully that will resolve the issue. Please bear in mind that the tank was installed on Tuesday.

 

[Nokiaec11]

As long as it is live sand (bacteriarize) you will be fine as long as it cover the bottom well

 

[Westside Guy]

It was lower on my list of getting it up and running. My plan was to get the sump/overflow balanced, then get the skimmer going and see what evaporation was like and go from there. It is by no means needed to set it up.

I was told by my LFS not to run a skimmer in the very beginning of a new tank setup.

 

[Jeffrey Dunn]

Go bare bottom.

 

[Westside Guy]

Go bare bottom.

As I already have 40 pounds of live sand in the tank it is a little too late for me.

 

[smellytunic]

I was told by my LFS not to run a skimmer in the very beginning of a new tank setup.

Yeah. Not really much to skim while waiting for it to cycle. I set mine up made sure it was working then shut it back off. While still cycling the tank you don’t want to pull any of that nutrient out.