live rock or coral gravel in first?

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pomme

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another question?

okay which should i put in first as again i have heard different storues, so its another one of those works for some people and not others, or it doesnt matter.

well the question is should i put the live rock in first when the tank is up and running and then the sand, so that the live rock is on the tank and there wont be a build up of detrious under the rock,

or put the sand in and then the water and add the salt and let it settle in and then add the live rock, so its ontop of the sand.

Asll should the live rock be up against the tank sides or not? or should you leave a gap inbetween the live rock structure and the tank sides?

oh by the way when i said sand, it the tropical marine gravel in varying sizes that i will use.

andrew
 
pomme said:
well the question is should i put the live rock in first when the tank is up and running and then the sand, so that the live rock is on the tank and there wont be a build up of detrious under the rock,

or put the sand in and then the water and add the salt and let it settle in and then add the live rock, so its ontop of the sand.

I would put at least some of the rock on the bottom of the tank. You can use some of the smaller pieces to make pedestals for the rest of the rock to sit on. This keeps you from getting detritus buildup under the rock and keeps any digging critters from digging under the rock and causing the pile to fall over.

Asll should the live rock be up against the tank sides or not? or should you leave a gap inbetween the live rock structure and the tank sides?

Personal preference. I usually let a couple of pieces rest against the back wall of the tank for stability, but I try to leave enough room for fish to swim around back there. If you want a free standing aquascape, in the center of the tank, you might want to use some stick epoxy to secure the rock in place.

oh by the way when i said sand, it the tropical marine gravel in varying sizes that i will use.

By this do you mean crushed coral gravel? Why are you going to use this instead of sand? You can use it of course, but I think sand looks better. Even if you don't go with a DSB. JMHO.
 
yeah it is cruched coral sand but it looks like sand its that coarse, its meant to help with the ph, but that might be a load of s**t. and i got it in different sizes as i will have the small stuff manly and then in a few place sprinkle some larger stuff, which i think makes things look more natural.
 
yeah it is very fine, but i want the larger bits just in a few places over the top in a sort of group to give a more natural feel.
 
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