clearsky57 December 16, 2011 Share December 16, 2011 Ok.... as usuall with me... when I get involved in something new... I read, maybe too much and my head swells with all the different solutions.. I have about 50 lbs of live rock (keeping in buckets at present, while I prepare everything else... and I have read with interest the ideas over sand vs no sand.. one thing I didnt' know was not to put the sand in first then put the rock in, so think I have avoided that pit.... I think I read somewhere that some people 'prop' their rock on top of some short pvc stacks to keep it off the bottom of the tank... is this useful? and if so, suggested? If I only use a minimum amount of sand in the tank, what are the reccomendations? if I understand, rocks first then sand then water??? right// I have a refugium filtration, and have cleaned it out and plan on starting over new on this thing... while it was up and running and seemed ok when I broke it down, the filterk itself looked like it hadn't been cleaned or dealt with for some time... I plan on adding rock to what I have and wonder if I were to purchase dry figi rock, and add it to what I have already (that is live) will that work ok?? thanks for the answers up front.... david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBVette December 16, 2011 Share December 16, 2011 Using dry rock is not a problem at all, if you seed it with a few pieces of nice live rock over 6 months or so all of your rock should turn live and have all of the grown on there. There are some sites that sell great LR, When I setup my tank I went with marco rocks. As for when to put the rocks in and what to put them on, I think it is personal preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S December 16, 2011 Share December 16, 2011 (edited) Hello David! I highly recommend dry rock from Bulk Reef Supply. We have a WAMAS group buy coming up December 26th (to spend that holiday money you get!). Check the Group Buy forum for more details! Here is a link to BRS's dry rock: http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/products/eco-rox-fiji-dry-rock As for rock and sand, it doesn't really matter when you put them in. I've done it both ways. Small pieces of eggcrate are often used underneath rocks to keep them from the glass. Again, I've used it and not used it. There isn't only one way to do it. If you want to be extra safe and keep your rock off the glass, then go with the plastic egg crate on the glass, and place the rocks on top of it. Once your rocks are in, then you can pour the sand in, and it will fill out the bottom of the tank and around the rocks naturally. I think this route probably looks the best. Then again, I've put the sand bed down first, then the rocks on top second, and it looks fine too! -Ryan Edited December 16, 2011 by Ryan S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buucca December 16, 2011 Share December 16, 2011 (edited) If you can get in on the BRS group buy for some dry rock. This will save you money on future purchases with them. I have always used pieces of 1 1/4" pvc to prop the rock on. Unless you go with a deep sand bed eggcrate will prevent the movement of some critters like Nassarius. Depending on where you are I have plenty of macroalgae to start up your refugium. Edited December 16, 2011 by Buucca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunWyrm December 16, 2011 Share December 16, 2011 (edited) Instead of trying to explain it I decided it was probably best just to link to the original article: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/deepsandbeds.htm Edited December 16, 2011 by YiatzOfEden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan December 17, 2011 Share December 17, 2011 Soundslike you're doing just fine. How much sand is really a personal preference. You willhear that a deep sand bed is the best way to go from one person and no sand bedfrom another. Stirring up a deep sandbed can cause a lot of problems. Propping rocks is to avoid air and dead spots under the rock.Really an issue when you have a deeper sand bed and again a personal preference. Some like the fact that they can get water flow under the rocks to avoid dead spots, detritus accumulation and elevated nitrates. Adding clean dry rock to existing live rock is fine. You may encounter a softcycle after your tank cycles so you may not want to stock until you have allthe rock in and completely cycled. WWW.wetwebmedia.com, www.fishlore.com and www.saltwateraquarium.about.comare good sites for you to read the pros and cons and preferences, etc. Ok.... as usuall with me... when I get involved in something new... I read, maybe too much and my head swells with all the different solutions.. I have about 50 lbs of live rock (keeping in buckets at present, while I prepare everything else... and I have read with interest the ideas over sand vs no sand.. one thing I didnt' know was not to put the sand in first then put the rock in, so think I have avoided that pit.... I think I read somewhere that some people 'prop' their rock on top of some short pvc stacks to keep it off the bottom of the tank... is this useful? and if so, suggested? If I only use a minimum amount of sand in the tank, what are the reccomendations? if I understand, rocks first then sand then water??? right// I have a refugium filtration, and have cleaned it out and plan on starting over new on this thing... while it was up and running and seemed ok when I broke it down, the filterk itself looked like it hadn't been cleaned or dealt with for some time... I plan on adding rock to what I have and wonder if I were to purchase dry figi rock, and add it to what I have already (that is live) will that work ok?? thanks for the answers up front.... david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clearsky57 December 17, 2011 Author Share December 17, 2011 Ok... assuming I use egg crating to set the rocks on, I could use some pieces of pvc as posts, to elevate the egg crate some.. would that be satisfactory, or do I need to perforate the pvc also? as far as rock is concerned... should a piece of "live rock" be put in the refugium as well? understanding I am planning on using new bagged "live sand" in the tank and refugium, and have cleaned it out (sump) and washed bio balls and such.... I am planning on buying water from a local fish shop, ( they are going to lend me one of their 100 gal tanks so I can fill the system all at once... From what I have read, and listened to, my feelings are to go with a shallow sand bed on the bottom of the tank, and try to have virtually no dead spots... I suppose I will most probably put in for the group order as mentioned.. assuming I can't find any more live rock between now and the next week or so... thanks for the intial help here folks.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef December 17, 2011 Share December 17, 2011 Instead of egg crate,, just get some starboard from like Home Depot.. (like light diffuser panels) then you dont want to raise it that makes it unstable again.. I never used it but if you dont have any burrowers planned then your good to go with it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clearsky57 December 17, 2011 Author Share December 17, 2011 I suppose that is what i was speaking of, (eggcrate) the light diffusers... bytheway..... what books would be reccomended reading... particularily on corals.. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k December 17, 2011 Share December 17, 2011 here's my take on making a sandbed in reef- eggcrate the whole bottom of the tank. put rock directly on eggcrate. this prevents rocks from moving when burrowing fish are used. put 2-3" of sand on bottom and around rock bases. this looks way more natural than anything else and goes a long way towards preventing dead spots under rocks. if you desire towering rock formations, make an internal skeleton by drilling the rocks and inserting pvc pipes or acrylic rods. don't worry about dead spots- there are plenty of dead spots in the real world where detritus accumulates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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