Newby to salt water

Question
QUESTION: I am starting out running 180g FOWLR I have not yet recived the tank but my question is would you recomend using tap water to fill it then add conditioners, is this method safe and reliable?

ANSWER: Hello Matt. To answer your question I would say no. However I don't know how your tap water tests. Is it municipal water or is it well? Do you ever plan on putting invertebrates or only fish? If you have well water you may want to have it tested professionally and see what is in it. Municipal water is okay when an additive is used for dechlorination. I have successfully run fish only aquariums using both with having more luck with municipal water.I strongly recommend using distilled or RODI(reverse osmosis deionized) water.This can be expensive to buy by the gallon for initial set up and for partials as well. You may want to consider buying A RODI filter system for your home. They are easy to install and maintenance costs are low.It will cost you less in the long run. I have one and I don't think I would have the success with my tanks that I do if I didn't.

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QUESTION: thank you, for your opinion, (municiapal) is my source, my plan is to use my current faucet filtration i use for my drinking water. However slow to produce 180g for my tank i have read alot online regarding this issue, then of course testing it and adding the salt afterwards.

Do you have any opinion on substrate (livesand) I have read that some of the live sand will die off through transport, then also during the intial set up. Somw forums have stated that they would recomend using a cheaper (lower portion) of sand or subsrtate then put your choice of live sand on top, this would save money and not sacrifice the quality of my aquarium do you know of any suggsetions? Matt

Answer
Hello again. In my opinion live sand is overrated(and over priced). In the fish room that I manage I have used both and have seen no significant difference in the cycling time.(I am one of those people who tests their tanks often and keeps a tank journal on every tank.)I think the live sand craze is just that; a craze! You may wish to use it but because it hasn't proven itself through testing I don't really recommend it as something necessary. I think it is a marketing ploy to give people a false sense of security that they will not have to wait as long to cycle their aquarium and this just simply is not true. Some say they have a shelf life of one year but I also find that hard to belive. I am sorry if i seem like I am ranting here it is just so hard for the average consumer to see the marketing from the actual product. You can use live sand it won't hurt your tank but I would definitely mix it with a cheaper substrate. I also am not a huge fan of fine sand in a saltwater tank.(unless you need it because you want a stingray or something like that) I have seen it clog and ruin some pretty expensive equipment due to it getting caught in the impeller housing.