A question on adding liverock and sand

[Devilishturtles]

Hey guys.

I just got my liverock today from the LFS, 15 pounds, for my 29 gallon tank. I have two questions.

One is, can I scrub the liverock off? It looks like it has "dirt" on it. Will this hurt the rock? Also, I have this plant on it that looks like Thanksgiving Cactus (long flat green leaves), that is sorta unsightly, but kinda cool. Should I take it off, can I take it off, and how do I? Just pull it?

Second, I read that you can't lay down sand and then add liverock on top, as it could create pockets of posionous gas. Is this true? If it is...how do I add more liverock in the future? Or do I have to wait until ALL of my liverock is in place and then add the sand. I want to put the sand in tonight, around the 3 pieces that I already have.

Thanks for your help!

 

[PatM]

I have scrubbed live rock with a fingernail brush before to remove hair algae and other junk I didn't like or trust. As for the gas I've never heard of that and I have laid live rock on top of sand with no problems, where did ya hear that?

 

[Devilishturtles]

I have laid live rock on top of sand with no problems, where did ya hear that?

The book "The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael S. Paletta states this....but I really doubt it...as I have never heard of it before. I tried to research as much as I could before starting the whole SW thing, but this is confusing me.

To Directly quote "The rock should not rest on the sand, as this can allow dead (anaerobic) areas to form and generate poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas" It is stated in a section titled "Live Sand: Reef Harvested or Grow Your Own" So does this mean that this rule applies only for Live Sand users?

I'm quite confused 8O

 

[Atari]

I would say it's being overly paranoid. Some people do lay down base rock or PVC in the sand and place the LR ontop of that, but that's more for stability in a very deep bed. To be honest I don't think you need to worry about it.

 

[philc21]

i think that the flat green leaf that your talking about is a type of caulerpa i saw a rock covered in it at the lfs it looked kind of ugly but also interesting at the same time all i no is its a good thing the rock at the store was selling for
12.99/lb so i wouldnt take it off unless u really dont like how it looks

 

[Devilishturtles]

all i no is its a good thing the rock at the store was selling for
12.99/lb so i wouldnt take it off unless u really dont like how it looks

I'll check out the capulera info. I wanna find out what it is, I do kinda like it now...but it's kinda dirty. I'm gonna take a light brush to the rocks today and get some of the dirt and debris off of them. It looks kinda nasty in there...

Thanks for all the help!