Aquascaping question....

[Sgc1107]

What's better.... Put your rocks on bottom of the tank (before sand)? or put them on top of the SB?

Why I'm asking... I'd like to put them in before the sand because currently mine are on top of the sand and as time has gone by the are shifting. I'm hoping its safe to put the directly on the glass not the SB to prevent this.

 

[somethingsfishy]

You should add the rock then add the sand for that exact reason. It will shift and possibly fall. Also if add any digging fish they will cause problems too.

 

[Sgc1107]

You should add the rock then add the sand for that exact reason. It will shift and possibly fall. Also if add any digging fish they will cause problems too.

Exactly my problem! So glad I can do it this way!

 

[MaineSalt]

I put this white grate on the glass then the rock then the live sand. Helps protect the glass and I put enough sand in that if something wants to dig holes it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[aquandrew]

+1 on the egg crates best way to do it is cycle it on the egg crate and then add sand after the cycle this will make it much easier to remove the organic waste unless you are using live sand

 

[Sgc1107]

I put this white grate on the glass then the rock then the live sand. Helps protect the glass and I put enough sand in that if something wants to dig holes it shouldn't be a problem.

Awesome idea!!!! How well does sand keep like this? Is siphoning easy to get each hole?

 

[Sgc1107]

+1 on the egg crates best way to do it is cycle it on the egg crate and then add sand after the cycle this will make it much easier to remove the organic waste unless you are using live sand

I will have live sand, the rocks are hand made & being cycled now! The guy I bought my first tank from us making them and he cycles them for months!

 

[Sgc1107]

I saw a squirrel in my backyard today. To my understanding it was a grey eared squirrel. Apprx. 1.4 feet in length. On a serious note i would live to see a red tree squirrel or perhaps a ground squirrel of sorts at some point. I threw a peanut or two at it. Or eight. But it did not bite down on my nuts; only ran away. Any thoughts on what to do????thanks in advance.

Ok that's a bit strange and off topic wrong forum?.... Bird food will solve your problem! I hate them! Come trap some from my backyard so they stop eating my bird food!

 

[Mebbid]

Personally, I would lay the eggcrate down on the bottom of the tank and then add the sand. The rocks can go in last. Doing it this way will prevent the rocks from being absolutely covered in sand. Just make sure to push the rocks down until they hit the eggcrate and you will be fine. That is exactly what I did with my cichlid tank and despite their rearranging of my entire sand bed there hasn't been a single issue with any of the rocks shifting. The 55g tank has 75 lbs of rock.

 

[Sgc1107]

Personally, I would lay the eggcrate down on the bottom of the tank and then add the sand. The rocks can go in last. Doing it this way will prevent the rocks from being absolutely covered in sand. Just make sure to push the rocks down until they hit the eggcrate and you will be fine. That is exactly what I did with my cichlid tank and despite their rearranging of my entire sand bed there hasn't been a single issue with any of the rocks shifting. The 55g tank has 75 lbs of rock.

But I feel any sand sifting/digging fish I put it will move the sand under the rocks. That's why I'm wondering about rocks before sand

 

[Mebbid]

But I feel any sand sifting/digging fish I put it will move the sand under the rocks. That's why I'm wondering about rocks before sand

yeah but if that eggcrate is underneath the rocks it will provide a stable base and it wont matter if any sand gets moved around underneath it. You just need to make sure to push the base rocks down until they hit the eggcrate.

 

[somethingsfishy]

I agree with egg crate. It protects the glass bottom. Proper water movement will clean all sand off the rock. Also don't dump the sand on the rocks, put it around and push it into the bottom rockwork.

 

[Sgc1107]

Great advice everyone! Definitely going with the egg crate! Guess I'll have to see what I have for rocks to figure out the rest. Do y'all cover the entire bottom with the egg crate or just under the rocks? Will either work?

 

[Mebbid]

either would work but I would cover the entire bottom. Eggcrate is cheap and it will be there in case you decide to change your aquascape.

 

[Sgc1107]

My concern is I'll have to make a deeper SB because I have a sand sifting star. Thoughts?

 

[Mebbid]

It should work just fine no matter how deep your sandbed is. Another option is to make PVC risers for your live rock so things can burrow underneath it with little difficulty. But that's a bit more labor intensive to do.