setting up my first monster tank

[crazy_cavi]

in less then a month i will be moving into my new house (my first house ) i had purchased a 150gallon 24x48xXX 150 gallon tank and was waiting for this till i could set the new tank up.
the biggest tank i had previous to this was 2 55 gallon tanks and those i let establish themselves for 1 1/2 weeks before ading fish.
how long should i wait before adding my knifefish and oscars to this tank?
im a little bit of a noob to media also i may use silica sand from a local sandblasting company.
another question is how deep should i make the media given the dimensions of the tank?
in my tanks i usually have put in as little as possible but any feedback would be great thanks!

 

[CHOMPERS]

Since you have a local sandblasting company, why not consider glass beads? They are around the size of sand grains used in sandblasting, and I think once you see them in the tank you will agree that they are worth the extra cost.

 

[BDawg364]

I believe the word you are looking for is substrate. Media is what goes into the filter. Don't worry, I made the same mistake just a few months ago. If you want to speed up the cycling process on the 150, use some old filter media that has been running on another tank, it will help transfer bacteria. Congrats on buying your first big tank, and don't forget to post many pics.

 

[StevePerry]

As far as adding the fish, you can do that once it has cycled. Transferring substrate and filter media from an established tank will speed this process up. You'll know the tank has finished cycling when Amonia and Nitrites are down to 0, and Nitrates start to slowly rise. Congrats on the tank and good luck.

 

[blacklabel_1988]

DONT DO SAND UNLESS YOU HAVE TO!!! it Fing sucks gets into your filter and fk's everything up

 

[dougefresh]

isn't silica sand bad for fish too? or is that just rays?

 

[Bassman89]

i would say that it is safe to add the fish after the water is totally cycled and the bacteria in the tank starts getting going

 

[fisher12889]

The general rule of thumb is to add 1 pound of graval per gallon of water. You have to add at least one fish in the tank for it to start cycling(and become established). Get some test kits (ammonia and nitrites) and when they go to 0 then the tank is cycled. Thats when you can start adding more fish to the tank.

 

[uapkrn1]

crazy,

I'm in the same boat as far as opening a big tank soon and I got a lot of good advice out of another thread in this topic titled "Fastest tank cycling ever" (or something like that). I recommend you have a look.

Good luck!

 

[crazy_cavi]

thanks for all the info it really sped up my learning curve, i have just been really busy doing renovations to my new house. All my tanks are still running in my old house. I havent even brought the empty 150 to the new place yet.
U say glass beads will work fine in an aquarium? what size of substrate should i get? i dont know exactly what those look like but i will soon find out.
right now im planning to add my royal knife 3" (still a baby) clown knife 7", 4 irradecents and 6 tinfoil barbs into this tank. i will keep you all up to date and post pics when i get everything set up
thanks bye,