I think I may have made a mistake

[MI0706]

My tank has been set up for about 3 months now. When I perfromed the initial setup, I thought I was supposed to do it in this order...
1. Live sand
2. Base rock
3. Dry sand
4. Live rock
5. Then proceed with all other hardware, let tank cycle, yada, yada, yada

I just read an article on the Reef Lounge website... They described to do it as follows:
1. Base rock
2. Some dry sand
3. All of live sand
4. Rest of dry sand
5. Live rock
6. Then proceed with all other hardware, let tank cycle, yada, yada, yada

I hope I didn't do my initial set up wrong. I've already put about $200 in livestock in the tank... 1 lawnmower blenny, 1 serpent star, 2 cleaner shrimp, 2 scarlet shrimp, 4 emerald crabs, 10 blue leg hermits, 15 astrea snails...

For you reef/marine experts out there, am I screwed?!? Or is my initial tank setup fine?!?

 

[Len]

You're ok Reef Lounge's list is a good order, but nothing horrible will happen with what you did. You might want to think about adding a few more pounds of live sand to seed your sandbed; the biggest problem that may have resulted is that you've killed most of your original sandbed critters since you added it first .... easily fixed by adding a few more pounds of good live sand to your system.

I like your signature

 

[MI0706]

Thanks Len...

How many pounds do you recoomend?!? And should I mix the sand or just lay it on top?!?

Also, I forgot to add that I put a thin layer of aragonite on top of my sand and another very thin layer of shells (just for looks)... Should I remove the aragonite and shells completely?!?

 

[Anonymous]

A few pound of LS should be fine. I just lay it on top, but that is just due to laziness rather than any specific rationale. Rather you remove the aragonite or the crushed coral/shells is up to you. I am sure you realize this, but there are a million ways to do things in reefkeeping.

 

[MI0706]

Whew... Thanks for the help....

Also, one last question... :?

I want to remove my bio-wheel set up (penguin 330)... How will I know if this was a good idea or of this what a bad idea?!? Basically, how will I know if I need it or not?!? What factors can I look at?!?

Thanks guys...

 

[Anonymous]

You probably don't need the wheelie unless your tank is primarily fish only.

 

[Len]

I agree with everything ck said. A few pounds (depending on the size of your tank) of LS will do the trick.

The biowheel can be removed without any problems. The only remotely possible result is you'll see a tiny tiny spike in ammonia and nitrite, but even if that occurs, it'll zero out in no time.

 

[Rainman]

Yeah, I just removed about 5kg of biological media from my sump that I thought might have been contributing to the biological filtration of my tank. I was worried that the ammonia and nitrite levels would increase, but they haven't (yet). The liverock and skimmer seem to be doing fine. But, I also have a fat plenum (not that it seems to be doing too much for the nitrates, which I can't seem to get below 10ppm. Not that 10ppm is too bad, I guess.