Newbie questions (sand/powerhead recommendations). Am I missing anything to get my cycle going

[meh180]

My tank arrived faster then I expected. Still need to get a few things before I can set it up and get the cycle going. My partner is building that stand still so I probably have a couple weeks before being ready to fill it. Any advice is appreciated!

The more reading I do, the harder time I have deciding on a couple items. Mainly which type of sand (looking at caribsea, but they have a lot of options) to go with and what power head will work.

Looking to do a reef setup (fish, inverts and some beginner friendly corals).
Was seeing that for sand sifters a finer grain is better (bahamas oolite) but that can have more issues with san blowing. Would the Fiji pink or the special grade reef be better? Or would that be worst for sand sifting critters.

To do the initial water fill on the tank, is it better to get the premixed salt water or just fresh RODI from my lfs and add my own salt?

Tank - Waterbox AIO 35.2 gal
Light - AI Prime 16 HD
Heater
Powerhead
Live Sand
Dry Rock
Eventually planning to get a protein skimmer and ATO.

 

[Lasse]

Please see this article from me about a smooth start - some of your questions are answered there.

I use to blend different grain types and trying not to aim the wavemaker down at the bottom

You are talking about power heads - i would recommend to use some type of wavemakers instead.

Power head for me is a pump like this

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A wavemaker/streamer give a wider and larger flow

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Sincerely Lasse