New Tank setup
- Thread starter Sammi Mi
- Start date
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It happens! Usually goes like this:
I think I'm gonna rotate that one rock just a little.... It won't take long...
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.
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4 to 6 hours later.... Completely new aquascape!
But yeah, take your time get it right and where you are happy before there's livestock to worry about
Greybeard
2500 Club Member
Welcome 
And take your time. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby. Sometimes, powering off your flow pumps while rearranging rockwork can help prevent a sandstorm... sometimes. Interesting rockwork can be tough. It's worth getting it right now, as once you've got a bunch of corals covering the structure, changing the rockwork around becomes a real nightmare.
Enjoy!
And take your time. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby. Sometimes, powering off your flow pumps while rearranging rockwork can help prevent a sandstorm... sometimes. Interesting rockwork can be tough. It's worth getting it right now, as once you've got a bunch of corals covering the structure, changing the rockwork around becomes a real nightmare.
Enjoy!
My tank is 60 gallons... kinda skinny as far as depth is concerned. I'm having a hard time getting a setup I like without touching the walls of my tank. I'm thinking about breaking up some of my larger rocks.
Also, I'm thinking about taking the sand out and keeping it in a plastic bin with saltwater until I have the aquascaping the way I want it. I think I may have too much sand...I need to build my rocks up off the bottom off the tank or the sand covers a good bit of the rocks.
Tips, suggestions, ideas, opinions needed please.
Also, I'm thinking about taking the sand out and keeping it in a plastic bin with saltwater until I have the aquascaping the way I want it. I think I may have too much sand...I need to build my rocks up off the bottom off the tank or the sand covers a good bit of the rocks.
Tips, suggestions, ideas, opinions needed please.
Greybeard
2500 Club Member
Removing and re-adding the sand at this point is probably not the best plan. You'll make soup out of it... twice... in doing so.
Pushing/twisting the rocks into the sand until they hit bottom is probably sufficient.
Narrow tanks do indeed provide a challenge in creative aquascaping. Back in the day, when the prevailing wisdom was 2 lbs of rock per gallon, we all ended up with a big rock wall. Thankfully, techniques have improved to the point where that's no longer necessary. Still, wide makes things a bit easier. The tank I just ordered is 30" wide... for a reason.
As for 'too much sand'... that can be a huge argument. I'm a firm believer in deep sand beds, which are currently out of favor among most reefers today. You'll find opinions ranging from bare bottom, shallow fine sand, shallow course sand, and a few old fogies like me still doing deep sand. All have been successful, provided the 'right' techniques are used for the rest of the system.
Pushing/twisting the rocks into the sand until they hit bottom is probably sufficient.
Narrow tanks do indeed provide a challenge in creative aquascaping. Back in the day, when the prevailing wisdom was 2 lbs of rock per gallon, we all ended up with a big rock wall. Thankfully, techniques have improved to the point where that's no longer necessary. Still, wide makes things a bit easier. The tank I just ordered is 30" wide... for a reason.
As for 'too much sand'... that can be a huge argument. I'm a firm believer in deep sand beds, which are currently out of favor among most reefers today. You'll find opinions ranging from bare bottom, shallow fine sand, shallow course sand, and a few old fogies like me still doing deep sand. All have been successful, provided the 'right' techniques are used for the rest of the system.
I like the "look" of the deep sand. One of my main questions is how do I raise my rocks so they're not covered by sand? Also, do you have any suggestions on how to break up my large rocks?
You could make a base out of pvc, basically a square your rock can sit on to raise it up. Also the tank below and my current tank have egg crate on the bottom, which adds a 1/4inch to the bottom.
Your gonna cover the rock some that can't really be helped tooo much. Some people get cheaper "base" rock with is denser, less pretty rock to put on the bottom of the rockwork
Breaking rocks, well you can take hammer and chisel to it usually. Just wear eye protection obviously.
Here's a (not great) pic of my old 55g, that's only 13" front to back. I tried to add some dimension by varying height, and pushing the rock work as close to the back as possible. Maybe it can give you some idea, tall skinny tanks are more challenging to aquascape.
I don't necessarily think removing the rock is a bad idea, I would suck it out with a hose and while you have it out rinse, rinse and rinse some more. It will help in the long run to remove all the silt now anyway. Just whether you want do the work.
Thank you...going to look into the egg crate and pvc this week. Seeing that pic of your old tank does help...I started looking at aquascape pics today to try and get some ideas...help jump start my creativity lol.
Since I have live rock, is there a certain amount of time that its ok to have it out of the water? Should I try to keep it wet?
Since I have live rock, is there a certain amount of time that its ok to have it out of the water? Should I try to keep it wet?
Yeah, you can use a new clean spray bottle with saltwater in it to keep it moist. Epoxy (like JB Waterweld) and superglue can be used to help secure the rocks to each othe
Ok, so I've tested my tank twice since getting the rocks in the tank which was about a week and a half ago. I've not tested it a lot since I was still messing with the LR and trying to get my aquascape just right. I also cleaned my filter after I was done moving the rocks around. (there was a good bit of sand inside) I tested once about 5 days after the rocks were in the tank and then yesterday. Anyway, the ammonia levels were at about .50ppm the first time, nitrite was 5.0ppm and nitrates were about 40ppm. Yesterday when I tested the ammonia was about .15ppm, nitrite was still 5.0ppm and nitrates were about 30ppm.
Is this normal? I thought ammonia was supposed to be a little higher to start with in the nitrogen cycle? Thoughts and advice please.
Is this normal? I thought ammonia was supposed to be a little higher to start with in the nitrogen cycle? Thoughts and advice please.
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