How do you place your live rock?

[tbrown]

Alright ladies and gentlemen! I am in the process of setting up my new tank. On the majority of the tanks I have set up I have put down the rock first, directly on the glass and then fill in around with the substrate.

What is your preference and why?

Please no arguing.

 

[Kathy Floyd]

I have done both but even if I put it on the sand, I wiggle it enough where it ends up on the glass anyway.
I think it's safer that way and less risk of a catastrophic collapse.

 

[LandLockedJones]

Straight on the glass for me. I generally add rock/sand/water in that order.

I try to build mine up on a sheet of plywood, that I’m pretty sure is not warped. Then I glue several rocks together to help with balance and weight dispersion. The flatter the rocks I can find for the base the better. Then I add more pieces to the base to offer more contact points as I build up. Then go right to the glass.

Just be sure you don’t build your base on a tiny point, if it fractured due to the weight above, it could be catastrophic. Hopefully that kinda stuff happens on the plywood, not in the tank.

If I were going to build one for a friend, I would tell them to use the foundation base rocks on the bottom and build up from that. And what I would like to add to my most recent scape to raise it up some and offer a flat surface to spread the weight

If you have a tile saw you can cut your own. Just use a fresh blade.

Also, I don’t mind small lightweight pieces being on top of the sand. But I would be sure that those pieces are not high enough that they could fall into the glass.

I had a small 10 gallon and the aquascape was removed for some reason or another and I set it back on top. It did not fall, but if a snail got wedged in just right it could have shattered my front/back glass easily as it was heavy and a cheap tank with thin glass.

 

[Reefkeepers Archive]

Live? I use dry. Anyway I build the scape outside the tank and then lowered it in. The tank already had the live sand in it


Though it is a risky maneuver lowering 40LBs of rock into a glass aquarium

 

[tbrown]

I have done both but even if I put it on the sand, I wiggle it enough where it ends up on the glass anyway.
I think it's safer that way and less risk of a catastrophic collapse.

True! I have a Twin Spot that's going to be moving over and probably will end up getting a YWG and possible Pistol Shrimp.

I had a Yasha in my old tank probably 15 years ago now and between him and the Randall's Shrimp one corner of my structure collapsed.

 

[tbrown]

Live? I use dry. Anyway I build the scape outside the tank and then lowered it in. The tank already had the live sand in it

A mix of both. I actually make a lot of Aragocrete rocks and will be using some of those.

 

[JGT]

If you don’t have a DSB it won’t matter.

 

[tbrown]

If you don’t have a DSB it won’t matter.

I will. I have 2 Halichoeres wrasses and may end up with a third eventually.

 

[JGT]

OK diff issue then. Similar if you had pistol shrimp as they are excavators. I’d do glass or slight layer, then rock then fill around with bulk of sand.

 

[LandLockedJones]

Live? I use dry. Anyway I build the scape outside the tank and then lowered it in. The tank already had the live sand in it

If you were asking me, I’ve only ever seen dry rock haha. Going on my 3rd year into this.

If you don’t have a DSB it won’t matter.

This is true, I think of the sand like an anchor for the bottom of the scape though. If I only had a thin layer I would be terrified of putting a ton of weight on it.

I would fear that something would cause it to shift and lean or fall over into the glass. But this also depends on the structure I suppose.

I’m also really bad about building my scape with just enough room in some places to pass a scraper between the rock and glass. Which is dumb of me and I’m trying to work on not doing it anymore. My brain things we are playing Tetris but the board never clears.

 

[tbrown]

If you were asking me, I’ve only ever seen dry rock haha. Going on my 3rd year into this.

This is true, I think of the sand like an anchor for the bottom of the scape though. If I only had a thin layer I would be terrified of putting a ton of weight on it.

I would fear that something would cause it to shift and lean or fall over into the glass. But this also depends on the structure I suppose.

I’m also really bad about building my scape with just enough room in some places to pass a scraper between the rock and glass. Which is dumb of me and I’m trying to work on not doing it anymore. My brain things we are playing Tetris but the board never clears.

Thanks for the input!

 

[00W]

I am bare bottom.
I stack using the back to try and hold everything up and keep piling as it keeps falling down and just keep piling. Eventually everything stays put and I can fiddle everything around.
I used to move everything once a month to keep the fish on their toes so to speak but haven't touched anything in a year or more.
Finally, between gsp and coralline everything gets stuck together anyway.
I've never used glue, epoxy or whatever anyone uses.
I'd go rock then sand if I liked sand.
But that's just me.

 

[Katrina71]

I always prefer rocks on the glass. Watchman and pistol shrimp are always scaping.

 

[tbrown]

I am bare bottom.
I stack using the back to try and hold everything up and keep piling as it keeps falling down and just keep piling. Eventually everything stays put and I can fiddle everything around.
I used to move everything once a month to keep the fish on their toes so to speak but haven't touched anything in a year or more.
Finally, between gsp and coralline everything gets stuck together anyway.
I've never used glue, epoxy or whatever anyone uses.
I'd go rock then sand if I liked sand.
But that's just me.

Similar. I try to do a little more stable than a house of cards. I push against them to see how much pressure a snail would need to exert to to knock it over. Once I'm comfortable, I add the next rock.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

In my latest build I put down egg crate then rock then sand. I have very chunky live sand from TBSW.

 

[tbrown]

In my latest build I put down egg crate then rock then sand. I have very chunky live sand from TBSW.

Do you see a benefit using egg crate? I'm just curious because of the current cost. Also, would you fill the squares of egg crate with sand before placing the rock on them or leave them empty?

 

[Cichlid Dad]

Do you see a benefit using egg crate? I'm just curious because of the current cost. Also, would you fill the squares of egg crate with sand before placing the rock on them or leave them empty?

My sand does not move. I added sand last but it filled the egg crate. Reason is I feel that the rock is more stable. Could just be my imagination though

 

[tbrown]

My sand does not move. I added sand last but it filled the egg crate. Reason is I feel that the rock is more stable. Could just be my imagination though

It makes sense. The rock can "grip" the ridges of the egg crate rather than sliding on the glass.

 

[Mschmidt]

If the rock is nice and flat, on the "glass". If not, I've 3d printed rock stands to buffer corners.

 

[rmorris_14]

Do you see a benefit using egg crate? I'm just curious because of the current cost. Also, would you fill the squares of egg crate with sand before placing the rock on them or leave them empty?

I used PVC 2x4 ceiling tile cut to fit on the bottom of mine. Then siliconed it all along the edge. I left about 1 to 2inch buffer just in case I ever wanted to remove it and wouldn’t risk cutting the silicone seams on the tank. I think one piece was like 12 bucks or less