my LR is on the way - what should i do to prepare?

[guitarded]

my LR is on the way. i will be adding to a new tank so i will cure in the tank. i could use advice with what i should do to prepare.

water chemistry, temperature, cleaning the rocks, water flow, aquascaping, etc...

 

[jaiden]

I sunk some 4" pvc fittings (about 4" long) into the sand (actually before adding sand) to keep most of the LR up off the sand... I think this helps with surface area

be sure to drill some holes into it to keep it from getting totally anoxic inside

 

[sipe]

I bought egg crate grating for ceiling lights and lined the bottom of the tank. Its only 1/2" thick and will keep the LR off glass and doesn't interfere with 3-4" LS bed

 

[guitarded]

hmm... during my research, i haven't heard about elevating the LR. very interesting.

sipe,
since i have my sand (about 4") already in the tank, would embedding eggcrates be mute at this point? you know, i have read that some members of this forum actually place the LR right on the glass before putting sand in the tank. they say its no problem. at any rate, it is interesting to hear from others.

jaiden,
when placing the 4" pvc in the sand, how high do you elevate the LR? is it actually sitting above the sand? why would it be bad to just place the LR right on the sand itself.

i have been starting my system very slowly and have been researching since september. so many things to learn!

 

[cmor1701d]

I believe the idea is to avoid having dead sand areas where gasses can build up under the rock (no way to escape). Then there's also the the possibility of sand being moved by critters and having a piece of rock tumble onto the glass, or livestock..OUCH!

I used base rock under my LR because I didn't want to bury my expensive LR under the sand.

Here's an article from Inland Aquatics on setting up.

 

[guitarded]

so does the rock actually sit above the sand so that there is a small gap?

 

[Bearfan]

My rock sits pretty much on my sand bed, but I think my sand is live enough to get stirred with all of the critters and nassarius.

 

[sipe]

In my previous tank, the sand was constantly being moved by the gobies, stars and urchins. At times the LR resettled. A fellow reefer had the unfortunate event of sand shifting his aquascape enough to allow a top rock to fall and crack the glass at the bottom. We had read that egg crate could be used to prevent cracked glass.

The article above uses rock rubble to help prevent this problem, but for $2.50 the plastic egg crate does the same thing and covers more surface area and will never be seen unlike some PVC pipe in the back.

It may also have the added benefit of giving the anaerobes a hiding place from deep sand sifters.

 

[guitarded]

yeah, you know, being raised in hawaii and always in the water (diving, surfing, ocean kayaking), i get to see the ocean environment up close all the time. the rocks, of course, are not held up by pvc and such. the rocks are in and on the sand. so all lot of things i read about setting up an aquarium surprises me. however, i know that the members of this forum are experienced aquarists so i value all the suggestions i read.

so bearfan, placing the rock right on the sand works for you? i may have to go this route also. because it will be too late to put eggcrates in the tank. however, placing the pvc to stabilize the rock system is interesting. i guess it could save the rock from collapsing as the substrate disolves.

 

[guitarded]

sipe, how deep is your sandbed? i have a 4" DSB. do you feel that this would be deep enough to cushion a fall and protect the glass?

 

[Bearfan]

It works for me. My gobies dig under it and all. I just put the larger pieces on the base. I don't have any small pieces with other rocks stacked on them, they are all on top. Seemed to make sense that the larger pieces with more surface area wouldn't shift, and it's held true so far.

 

[cmor1701d]

It's not that much work to clear a space of sand and put a piece of base rock down on or very near the bottom. At the very least you should press the rock down into the sand to seat it and prevent it from moving too much.