water and salt in new tank

[mind3d]

Hi,
I'm ready to add water to my new tank. The first thing I think I should do is put water in and check for leaks. Should I use tap water and then drain it out when it is determined there are no leaks? Or should I fill it with RO/DI water and if everything looks fine then mix in the salt directly to the tank? I'm not sure if adding salt directly to the tank is a good idea. Maybe there will be bad salt residue build up or something.
I know most reefers mix it in a bucket and then pump it into an established tank.
I prefer not to have to fill the tank and then drain it if I don't have to.

[jersey]

Are you going to put in a sand bed? I would fill the tank with regular water first to check for leaks. After that I would add the sand and fill with ro saltwater. You could mix your salt mix in your tank but I prefere to do it outside the tank in a large trash can.

[mind3d]

Hi Jersey,
Yeah I'm putting in a DSB. I was going to add it after I put the water in. Why do you prefer to mix the salt outside the tank?

[jersey]

By doing outside of the tank you can add it slowly to prevent stirring up your new sand bed. Trust me it's not going to look pretty for a while. Adding sand to a tank full of water will take forever to settle.

[karlas]

if your adding your sand 1st u could put a small plate or bowl on the sand then pour your water right on the plate that will help minumize the sand stirring up in your tank because it wont be hitting the sand directly

[intekhab]

Interesting suggestion Karlas...I like it.

[livingstone]

I'm just a bit ahead of you in the process. I've already filled the system with tap water, tested for leaks, siphoned/pumped out the tap water, and am in the process of filling with RO/DI water right now. This morning I was chatting and asked the same question. The best suggestion (or at least the suggestion I liked the most) I received (from the original "reefland") was to mix the salt in my system and siphon off any residue that may not dissolve. Since my sumps are too low to siphon from, and a power head may not work too well to pump out residue, I'll use the main tank that I can siphon from easily.