New to saltwater!

[Katie Bourgeois]

i just recently bought a 90gal custom tank off a friend and her husband, they didn’t have time for it anymore. The only think I kept from their set up was the live rock. They told me not to put my rock onto the glass but an instagramer I talked to said his sits on the glass just fine. So I’m confused now. Is it ok for my rock to sit on the glass bottom or not?
My friends aren’t answering any of my questions about this tank, not sure why. But I also have no idea what sump set up is under the tank or if it is set up properly or halfassed...

 

[Flippers4pups]

Welcome to Reef2reef!

Rock on the glass is okay, but with a caveat. The only issue is if the rock work was tall, had heavy pieces higher up and it was to fall. Could break the glass. Some do place “egg crate” or pvc sheet on the bottom of their tank to prevent this.

Securing the rock work will help keep this from being a issue.

Mine sits on the glass.

 

[aKlevans]

On the bottom, its usually fine. Actually reccomended so that sand sifting animals will not mess with the rock structure.
The only worry is that the weight of the rock will be too much for the glass in localized areas. There are a lot of options to this, including using pvc and eggcrate beneath the rock structure. It depends on how much rock you have in order for this to be necessary.

 

[Katie Bourgeois]

if this works, here are some photos of my tank and setup.

 

[Idoc]

I have my rock sitting directly on my glass bottom. I could see where a sharp point could be a problem if iut had a lot of weight to it... but just use flatter based rocks for the bottom.

You might want to post some picks of your setup and sump for others to see and comment on the setup.

 

[DeepBlueSomething]

Welcome to Reef2Reef - good comments above. I think the real question is what do you want with your tank - Corals, Corals and Fish, Fish only?

As others have already said, sand may be required for some animals.

This is the right place to ask questions!

 

[Idoc]

obviously I'm a slow responder... you already posted the pics, lol

 

[Mal11224]

Welcome to R2R. It is okay to gently lay live rock on the bottom of your tank whether you are going bottomless or adding sand. My advice would be to do as much research as possible before you begin. You are at the right place for good information. This hobby requires patience. May need to post pics of the system for more support.

 

[redfishbluefish]

You've already heard it....on the glass, or if you wish, on egg crate or starboard. Important thing is rock in first and then sand. You don't want the rock sitting on top of your sand.

 

[Flippers4pups]

if this works, here are some photos of my tank and setup.

From your pictures, it’s fine on the glass.

 

[Katie Bourgeois]

How would I secure my live rock to starboard or eggcrate if I decided to go with one of those options?

 

[Flippers4pups]

How would I secure my live rock to starboard or eggcrate if I decided to go with one of those options?

You would just lay the rock it on it. The idea is it would distribute the weight across the pvc, starboard, egg crate, etc....

Your rock isn’t much, so I wouldn’t worry at all about it.

 

[Katie Bourgeois]

Welcome to Reef2Reef - good comments above. I think the real question is what do you want with your tank - Corals, Corals and Fish, Fish only?

As others have already said, sand may be required for some animals.

This is the right place to ask questions!

I want to have a coral and fish in my tank. I recently saw that someone has star polyps over the bottom of their tank and that intrigued me and left me confused on the bottom of the tank situation. And now I don’t know if I want sand at all after reading some of y’all a comments. But now I’m confused how do I secure my live rock?

 

[Katie Bourgeois]

You would just lay the rock it on it. The idea is it would distribute the weight across the pvc, starboard, egg crate, etc....

Your rock isn’t much, so I wouldn’t worry at all about it.

Ok awesome! So if I go with star board or egg crate then there’s no need for sand?

 

[Flippers4pups]

I want to have a coral and fish in my tank. I recently saw that someone has star polyps over the bottom of their tank and that intrigued me and left me confused on the bottom of the tank situation. And now I don’t know if I want sand at all after reading some of y’all a comments. But now I’m confused how do I secure my live rock?

Take a look at my build thread as I built tall columns of rock. I drilled holes into each piece and inserted fiberglass rod. Like a puzzle piece. I also used quikrete hydraulic cement from HD to cement the pieces together. There is other ways to do this, like reef epoxy etc..... isn’t always necessary, but you can create rock structures the way you want that way and have them sturdy.

 

[Flippers4pups]

Ok awesome! So if I go with star board or egg crate then there’s no need for sand?

Sand is a choice, but some fish, such as some wrasses require sand to sleep in.

 

[Katie Bourgeois]

Sand is a choice, but some fish, such as some wrasses require sand to sleep in.

I have a 5 gal tank that I got from the same people but it was fully set up just needed fish. I’m doing well with it I think lol I only have a clown fish 2 emerald grabs 3 turbo snails and 1 blenny that I plan to put in the bigger tank when I get it ready.

 

[Flippers4pups]

I have a 5 gal tank that I got from the same people but it was fully set up just needed fish. I’m doing well with it I think lol I only have a clown fish 2 emerald grabs 3 turbo snails and 1 blenny that I plan to put in the bigger tank when I get it ready.

Did you have test kits? Five gallon tank with them all in it will produce ammonia quickly! Was the five gallon cycled?

 

[Flippers4pups]

Here’s some reading for you to get you started:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

 

[Katie Bourgeois]

Did you have test kits? Five gallon tank with them all in it will produce ammonia quickly! Was the five gallon cycled?

Yes I cycled it for about 2 months and then took some water to the saltwater store in my town and they said I was good to go and I have prime and stress coat that I have been using with the tank that they recommend I get. I do a small water change weekly since the tank is so small