New to hobby, looking for pointers.

Rodey09 · Dec 19, 2018

So I've been reading through the aquascaping forum and realize that my rock is sitting on sand and not the glass bottom. What would be the easiest way to correct this? Will it be possible without stirring up a lot of sand? The tank was purchased with live rock and some fish and a couple leathers. So when I got home it was a rush to get everything back in the tank (fish were in buckets for about 8 hours). Also, while I'm here, am I using too much rock? It's what came with the tank.

RMS18 · Dec 19, 2018

Rodey09 said:
So I've been reading through the aquascaping forum and realize that my rock is sitting on sand and not the glass bottom. What would be the easiest way to correct this? Will it be possible without stirring up a lot of sand? The tank was purchased with live rock and some fish and a couple leathers. So when I got home it was a rush to get everything back in the tank (fish were in buckets for about 8 hours). Also, while I'm here, am I using too much rock? It's what came with the tank.

Hey there, a couple of questions. Is the sand new?
Do you have any animals that burrow in the sand or move sand around?
Are your rocks just stacked or are they glued or held with rods etc?

I dont think there is ever "to much" rock. It just comes down to a few questions, will you have enough surface space for bacteria to populate for your bioload.. do you have enough open swimming space for the fish you want to keep..and lastly do you like the way it looks.

Billldg · Dec 19, 2018

Welcome to R2R!!! Agree with above, to much rock, not enough rock, it really just comes down to whether u like the way it looks. As far as the rock structure sitting on sand, you could try and push the rock down and help it settle on the glass bottom, but not sure it that will work.

Rodey09 · Dec 19, 2018

There are some small snails and hermits, a couple of urchins, sea cucumbers and 2 shrimp. The sand is not new. It's been in the tank at least 3 years. I tried pushing the rocks down while setting it up when I got it home, but it was packed pretty solid. The Rocks are stacked, no glue, no rods.

Rodey09 · Dec 19, 2018

Also, the fish seem to have plenty of room. Some tunnels to swim through, pretty open area in the front of the tank as well.

RMS18 · Dec 19, 2018

Rodey09 said:
There are some small snails and hermits, a couple of urchins, sea cucumbers and 2 shrimp. The sand is not new. It's been in the tank at least 3 years. I tried pushing the rocks down while setting it up when I got it home, but it was packed pretty solid. The Rocks are stacked, no glue, no rods.

Since you do not have any livestock that could move sand around for borrows, I would not worry about it. Maybe if you were bored one day and wanted a project you can pull the rock out and set the bottom pieces in the sand but this really isn't necessary. - just in case the OCD doesn't go away. :)

Billldg · Dec 19, 2018

Personally, if the tank hasn't been set up in your house long, I would pull enough of the rock out to get to the base rock and then wiggle the rock thru the sand to the glass bottom and then put the rest of the rock back. The fact the rock isn't glued or pinned means the rock could tumble due to the sand shifting over time.

Rodey09 · Dec 19, 2018

Bmwm235i said:
Since you do not have any livestock that could move sand around for borrows, I would not worry about it. Maybe if you were board one day and wanted a project you can pull the rock out and set the bottom pieces on the sand but this really isn't necessary. - just in case the OCD doesn't go away. :)

Cool. Thanks man. Just out of curiosity, and maybe this should be in a different forum...with a sand bed, should I have things that burrow to help stir it around?

Billldg · Dec 19, 2018

Rodey09 said:
Cool. Thanks man. Just out of curiosity, and maybe this should be in a different forum...with a sand bed, should I have things that burrow to help stir it around?

Nassarious snails will stir up the sand bed as they bury themselves in it.

RMS18 · Dec 19, 2018

Rodey09 said:
Cool. Thanks man. Just out of curiosity, and maybe this should be in a different forum...with a sand bed, should I have things that burrow to help stir it around?

That is a widely debated topic. Personally I do not think sand shifting animals do a good enough job that would make me confident enough to stir up a mature sand bed.

I vacuum my sand bed twice a month. This allows me to prevent any major detritus build up that would risk a "crash". The sand always looks clean and i don't have to worry about any tank crashes due to nutrient build up.

The more critters you have like snails, starfish or fish that stir the sand the more mouths you have to feed and more poop to clean. Counterproductive imo when a bi-weekly sand cleaning will do wonders.

Rodey09 · Dec 19, 2018

Bmwm235i said:
That is a widely debated topic. Personally I do not think sand shifting animals do a good enough job that would make me confident enough to stir up a mature sand bed.

I vacuum my sand bed twice a month. This allows me to prevent any major detritus build up that would risk a "crash". The sand always looks clean and i don't have to worry about any tank crashes due to nutrient build up.

The more critters you have like snails, starfish or fish that stir the sand the more mouths you have to feed and more poop to clean. Counterproductive imo when a bi-weekly sand cleaning will do wonders.

Gotcha. That may be the safer route for me since my rock isn't on the glass. Thanks for the info.

Rodey09 · Dec 19, 2018

Billldg said:
Personally, if the tank hasn't been set up in your house long, I would pull enough of the rock out to get to the base rock and then wiggle the rock thru the sand to the glass bottom and then put the rest of the rock back. The fact the rock isn't glued or pinned means the rock could tumble due to the sand shifting over time.

I may do that this weekend. I would feel better about the situation. The rock is pretty jagged, it's not going to create a pressure point on the glass?

RMS18 · Dec 20, 2018

Rodey09 said:
I may do that this weekend. I would feel better about the situation. The rock is pretty jagged, it's not going to create a pressure point on the glass?

I always create flat surfaces on the rock that touches the glass. Gives a better seating position.

Radman73 · Dec 20, 2018

Rodey09 said:
I may do that this weekend. I would feel better about the situation. The rock is pretty jagged, it's not going to create a pressure point on the glass?

I cut 1-2" pvc pipe into 1-2" lengths and used those as a buffer between the rock and glass. Just push the PVC into the sand and set the rock on top of it. I have maybe 10 of them throughout the tank(a 220) so I didn't have to worry about where I was placing the rock.

Rodey09 · Dec 20, 2018

Thanks for the help all. Definitely going to try to do something with it this weekend. Not a lot of livestock at the moment, so now would probably be better than later.

SPR1968 · Dec 20, 2018

Hi Rodey and firstly welcome to R2R it’s great to have you with us!

I think as already said, the design and quantity of your aquascape is really up to you and as you will have seen there are many different ideas to choose from and yours looks great to me.

Remember as well that the rock work will also form part of the bio filtration within the system, so the more you have the better this will be, but it’s all a balance with what is pleasing to your eyes of course.

I would certainly get the rocks onto the glass bottom otherwise you risk ‘collapse or movement’ as soon as any critters start moving in. You could maybe turn of the powerheads and then gently wiggle the base rocks down making sure nothing falls off when you do this.

And as you say, it’s better to do it now rather than when it’s stocked

davocean · Dec 20, 2018

I personally like a thin layer of sand down before rock, like 1/2" maybe, and this helps buffer and give stability as it fills some voids under rock and helps seat better.

I agree it's not too much rock really, but I do like some open space for swim room.

I like to do structures w/ rods so I can go up and maintain stability, but it's not a must.

I'm not sure what size tank that is, but keep in mind that sailfin gets pretty big pretty fast, they usually require at least a 180g, maybe bigger, just FYI.

He might be fussy w/ newcomers taking up limited space

Rodey09 · Dec 23, 2018

davocean said:
I personally like a thin layer of sand down before rock, like 1/2" maybe, and this helps buffer and give stability as it fills some voids under rock and helps seat better.

I agree it's not too much rock really, but I do like some open space for swim room.

I like to do structures w/ rods so I can go up and maintain stability, but it's not a must.

I'm not sure what size tank that is, but keep in mind that sailfin gets pretty big pretty fast, they usually require at least a 180g, maybe bigger, just FYI.

He might be fussy w/ newcomers taking up limited space

It's a 90 gallon. The sailfin came with the tank. I thought he looked a little big for it. But the previous owner had him for a year or so.

davocean · Dec 23, 2018

Rodey09 said:
It's a 90 gallon. The sailfin came with the tank. I thought he looked a little big for it. But the previous owner had him for a year or so.

Well, just know he may need to be rehomed pretty soon, and he will probably cause trouble w/ any new additions