My first reef tank

[Big_Pun]

ahh ok well heres what i would do. the sand is all ready in the tank so leave it in. get good gravel vac like a python and use the attachment that hooks to sink or water hose(you will need a kit with long enough hose) if not a choice use any geavel vac and take out ditrius that way. with this method you take out junk and some water and do small water changes. now if you think its a lot of junk in sand that vacuuming wouldnt get out then go with original plan.

most newbies post on here first before setting up and they always get the same speech "take it slow and it gets ugly before it gets better"

[Big_Pun]

http://aquariumsupplies.marinedepot....die&modaf=null

[ramsey]

Yeah, I'd recommend either a restart and clean your sand really well, or what Chris said. I'd avoid a DSB in your display tank. Read up on them, it's generally not recommended in your display. 1" or 1.5" is what I'd go for.

[Reef Swimmer]

Think ill do a 3in bed I want to have a mandarin at some point as well as a watchman and pistol combo.

[ramsey]

Think ill do a 3in bed I want to have a mandarin at some point as well as a watchman and pistol combo.

None of those need a 3" sand bed. I've had two different pistol/watchmen pair, a scooter blenny and a mandarin. But hey, if you want more problems and need to learn the hard way, so be it! In all seriousness, you might be alright with 3" but that sounds like just enough to cause problems and not enough for a DSB. Maybe someone with DSB experience can chime in.

[FireWater]

You don't need a full 3" bed. You're asking for problems. You can do an area for the goby/shrimp pair. They will build a burrow for themselves. Have you read up on the type of substrate they prefer?

[BBQHILLBILLY]

think of your sand bed as a sponge. do some research with phosphates and dsb.

[Reef Swimmer]

Ok I think I'm going with a 2 in sb.

[jason081180]

sounds good. make your first tank as simple as possible for now you can always change it up once you get a stable environment

[Reef Swimmer]

Is it a good rule of thumb to place the power head on the opposite side of the tank that the return is on ie the return is on the right side and the overflow box is on the left do input the power head on the left side lower than the overflow box.