Live Rock in Sump need a light?

[beesnreefs]

You have a sound plan. If I might suggest some improvements:
1) I am not familiar with Carib Sea Ocean Direct Sand. If it comes to your directly from the ocean, it is likely a good choice. If it is off the shelf, I world suggest using (at least in part) live sand from KP aquatics or Tampa Bay Saltwater (TBS). This will help the biome and shorten the cycle. It will also provide Coralline to help it get started.
2) Add KP aquatics "Base Rock" to your sump first. It has the bacteria, sponges, and other stuff you wish to add to the biome without a lot of stuff that is going to die off.
3) A light in the sump is a personal choice. I have TBS live sand, Garf Grunge Plus, some dry rock, and KP Aquatics live Base Rock in my sump and don't use a light. It is intended to encourage the growth of cryptic stuff like sponges, tube worms, sea squirts, and copepods. Besides the bacteria provided to the biome, they provide nutrient processing pathways and contribute to the food web.

With a few tweaks he plan you have would allow you to skip an old school "fishless" cycle. You can check out how to start a new tank like @Lasse. Also read the article in the link in my signature. Both of these articles might help you think a little differently about cycling and how to start and stock a reef tank.

Thank you for this advice! It's very helpful and I appreciate you taking the time.

It sounds like I'm very close to what you are recommending and would only need a small tweak. FWIW, Ocean Direct is sand from the ocean that is packaged in a thin film of seawater in a "breathable" bag. BRS used AquaBiomics to test tanks started with this sand and found that four weeks in they were significantly more bio-diverse than others. The only thing comparable was tanks treated weekly with Aquaforest's Life Source which is live Fiji mud.

What you're saying about the sump light makes a lot of sense. Instead of KP Aquatics' premium live rock I can go with the base rock which will have the bacteria, sponges, and microcrustaceans I'm after...you make a good point about the light. Those organisms don't need (or really want) a lot of light.

I think I'll stick to my original plan as laid out....cycle tank with Ocean Direct first, then add KP Aquatics base rock to the sump, no light on the sump.

I forgot to mention, once cycled, I'll also be adding a package of sand/mud and beneficial crustaceans from Indo-Pacific Sea Farms. I also plan to add some aquaculture copepods to the system very early on.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Thank you for this advice! It's very helpful and I appreciate you taking the time.

It sounds like I'm very close to what you are recommending and would only need a small tweak. FWIW, Ocean Direct is sand from the ocean that is packaged in a thin film of seawater in a "breathable" bag. BRS used AquaBiomics to test tanks started with this sand and found that four weeks in they were significantly more bio-diverse than others. The only thing comparable was tanks treated weekly with Aquaforest's Life Source which is live Fiji mud.

What you're saying about the sump light makes a lot of sense. Instead of KP Aquatics' premium live rock I can go with the base rock which will have the bacteria, sponges, and microcrustaceans I'm after...you make a good point about the light. Those organisms don't need (or really want) a lot of light.

I think I'll stick to my original plan as laid out....cycle tank with Ocean Direct first, then add KP Aquatics base rock to the sump, no light on the sump.

I forgot to mention, once cycled, I'll also be adding a package of sand/mud and beneficial crustaceans from Indo-Pacific Sea Farms. I also plan to add some aquaculture copepods to the system very early on.

Sounds like a great plan. You can add some premium rock later to get more diversity once the tank can support the additional life.