FishProfiles.com Message Forums

	Sand On Rock Or Rock On Sand
sodaaddict84 Enthusiast Posts: 255 Kudos: 108 Votes: 52 Registered: 02-Nov-2006	i keep hearing about arranging rock then adding sand around it. but i put sand first then added rock few days later, when i got the fish click flash *click "whered he go???"
Posted 25-Sep-2007 09:17
mattyboombatty Moderator Tenellus Obsessor Posts: 2790 Kudos: 1507 Votes: 1301 Registered: 26-Mar-2004	The reason people suggest adding sand afterward is so that there isn't a giant dead spot of sand underneath your rock. I feel that if you put the sand in first, you can avoid the dead spots by pushing the rock down into the sand until you feel the glass underneath. That's what I did, and I think that arranging the rockwork with the sand supporting the rock is FAR easier. Less sliding around. In a true deep sand bed, neither approach is going to be used, because you want some of the sand bed to be anaerobic for nitrate reduction. Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients
Posted 25-Sep-2007 16:21
sham Ultimate Fish Guru Posts: 3369 Kudos: 2782 Votes: 98 Registered: 21-Apr-2004	In a DSB you want to bury the base rock to the bottom of the tank or near it if you are keeping any fish that might dig. There are alot of fish that will. Then your whole rock stack will come tumbling down. That is always the main reason I have heard and I have never been told not to bury the rocks. In a shallow sand bed it's not really an issue. There's not enough sand there to cause problems with aneorobic spots so long as you clean around the rock well and the fish can't dig enough to make the rocks fall. With sand it's best to either go completely 1 way or the other. Either put in around 1" or less for a SSB or over 3" for a DSB. In between will lead to problems with the anerobic areas instead of helping to filter the tank, maintenance difficulties, and the problems with rocks not being buried.
Posted 25-Sep-2007 18:19
poisonwaffle Mega Fish Posts: 1397 Kudos: 591 Registered: 11-Feb-2003	Definitely put your rock in first. If you don't, you may end up with a collapsing pile of rocks o.O One of my friends put sand in before rocks in one of his tanks... he had a rockslide at 3am one morning and the front pane of glass broke... he had about $500 in damage (dead corals, dry-running pumps, etc)...
Posted 25-Sep-2007 19:22
sodaaddict84 Enthusiast Posts: 255 Kudos: 108 Votes: 52 Registered: 02-Nov-2006	thanks for the help everyone. ill take that into concideration when i redo my tank in a few months. im moving around the first of the year so im not really doing anything with my tank for now till we move click flash *click "whered he go???"
Posted 26-Sep-2007 08:02
Melosu58 Hobbyist Posts: 120 Kudos: 86 Votes: 0 Registered: 05-May-2007	I put the sand in first and then the LR. 10 yrs and the rock is still where I put it. Losg as you test the piece where it is for sturdiness it should be OK. As you see there is no one way to do this. One thing I would surely stress to to cycle your tank without the use of live fish. Hold off putting the fish in till your tank is cycled. Read this http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=15
Posted 27-Sep-2007 04:26
sodaaddict84 Enthusiast Posts: 255 Kudos: 108 Votes: 52 Registered: 02-Nov-2006	im gonna be moving sooner than i planned so im going to be tearing down the tank within a week or two. as for now nothing is goin to be done im actually looking for someone to take my two damsel fish off my hands click flash *click "whered he go???"
Posted 28-Sep-2007 02:22


	Jump to:

The views expressed on this page are the implied opinions of their respective authors.
Under no circumstances do the comments on this page represent the opinions of the staff of FishProfiles.com.

FishProfiles.com Forums, version 11.0
Mazeguy Smilies