Sooooooo.......
About a month ago I purchased a Red Sea Reefer Max 300 G2+ system from my lfs. (I have been out of the hobby for a few years). I"m still a beginner and I figured this setup would be the easier way for me to go, I've never had a sump before as my last setup was an AIO.
I realize now I have made some mistakes already (go read my thread build for more info) ......I'm trying to figure out the best way to solve the current and most pressing issue.
I paid to have them set up everything which was fantastic..however I didn't know what I didn't know. And now I know. I should have had them just set up the stand, equipment, plumbing, etc and left me with the responsibility of adding sand, aquascape, etc. That way I could have taken my time to do things right.
But no...I'm an idiot. I let him put the sand as well as the aquascape thinking they knew what was best. Well.......he didn't rinse the sand (special grade aragonite reef sand from caribsea). So of course it was super cloudy but by the next day it was looking pretty good so I didn't think it would be that bad. Well...every time I even think about touching the sand I get a massive dust cloud...it's like one of those haboobs we have here in Arizona. And of course my tank is cloudy and my reefmat goes crazy and uses a lot of inches. I've been kind of stirring up the sand every 5 or 6 days just to get the cloud going again so the mat can filter it all out as I REALLY don't want to take all the sand out and rinse it and I thought this would work and I'm in no hurry at all to put fish in there...still cycling, still reading and researching/learning.
But of course now I'm ready...the tank is cycled and I want to move forward. But the sand 'dust' is still kicking up a lot and then there is sand 'dust' everywhere..in my sump, all over my wavemakers, in my protein skimmer, etc.
What do I do?
Should I just bite the bullet and take all the sand out and give it a good rinsing and then put it all back in?
If so, do I have to recycle the tank and essentially start over?
What's the best way to get the sand out? Is there a best way? Ughghghhghghghghhg
I feel so stupid and frustrated that I didn't know better and slow this whole thing down.
Thanks for any advise!
About a month ago I purchased a Red Sea Reefer Max 300 G2+ system from my lfs. (I have been out of the hobby for a few years). I"m still a beginner and I figured this setup would be the easier way for me to go, I've never had a sump before as my last setup was an AIO.
I realize now I have made some mistakes already (go read my thread build for more info) ......I'm trying to figure out the best way to solve the current and most pressing issue.
I paid to have them set up everything which was fantastic..however I didn't know what I didn't know. And now I know. I should have had them just set up the stand, equipment, plumbing, etc and left me with the responsibility of adding sand, aquascape, etc. That way I could have taken my time to do things right.
But no...I'm an idiot. I let him put the sand as well as the aquascape thinking they knew what was best. Well.......he didn't rinse the sand (special grade aragonite reef sand from caribsea). So of course it was super cloudy but by the next day it was looking pretty good so I didn't think it would be that bad. Well...every time I even think about touching the sand I get a massive dust cloud...it's like one of those haboobs we have here in Arizona. And of course my tank is cloudy and my reefmat goes crazy and uses a lot of inches. I've been kind of stirring up the sand every 5 or 6 days just to get the cloud going again so the mat can filter it all out as I REALLY don't want to take all the sand out and rinse it and I thought this would work and I'm in no hurry at all to put fish in there...still cycling, still reading and researching/learning.
But of course now I'm ready...the tank is cycled and I want to move forward. But the sand 'dust' is still kicking up a lot and then there is sand 'dust' everywhere..in my sump, all over my wavemakers, in my protein skimmer, etc.
What do I do?
Should I just bite the bullet and take all the sand out and give it a good rinsing and then put it all back in?
If so, do I have to recycle the tank and essentially start over?
What's the best way to get the sand out? Is there a best way? Ughghghhghghghghhg
I feel so stupid and frustrated that I didn't know better and slow this whole thing down.
Thanks for any advise!