Preparing for first tank

[Neal Flomenberg]

Planning to set up a first reef tank in May. Could use a bit of advice. Four questions for now.

Tank will be a 75 gallon Oceanic Reef ready. Will have a CPR sump/refugium. Would like at least 3 inches of sand in the tank and deeper (? 6 inches) in the center section of the sump/refugium which I'm guesstimating will be 18 inches by 16 inches.

So the first question is how much additional sand to get beyond the 75 gallon package?

Second question is the value of any extra rock in the sump. I'd hate to waste nice TBS rock in the sump. Should I presume 150 pounds is enough and just take those few pieces that are least attractive for the refugium or should I leave rock out of the refugium altogether?

Next, I'd like to elevate the rock off the sand bed to avoid detritus build up underneath. Not sure the best approach to TBS rock. If I had LFS rock, I'd consider drilling it and lifting it off the substrate with 1/2 inch acrylic rods, but I'm concerned about damaging the life on TBS rock in doing this. I could make a frame out of PVC, but that would be more dependent on the shapes and sizes of the specific rocks I get and I'm concerned about how quick I can do this and get the rock into the tank quickly.

So question 3 is best advice for elevating TBS rock off the sand a little, but in a way that is quick and gentle to the life on the day of arrival.

Finally, had wanted to do something to secure the rocks to avoid rock slides. Had again considered acrylic rods, but that creates the same problems. Had considered cable ties (and letting them cover over with life with time, but am concerned that I may need to remove pieces briefly to get rid of unwanted hitch hikers.

So question 4 is best way to build a stable rock set up that can be reworked at least initially.

Many thanks to all for any advice.

Neal

 

[ybenormal]

Have you considered making racks of various sizes, elevations and shapes using plastic egg crate covers for fluorescent light fixtures? You can buy a 2' x 4' section at Home Depot for about $10, cut into sizes/shapes to fit your needs and hold them together using plastic cable ties.

 

[Neal Flomenberg]

I understand the part about egg crate supporting the rock. However, don't I still need PVC or something else to elevate the eggcrate off the substrate? Seems that would need to be designed/built based on the sizes of the rocks I obtain in real time after they're picked up from the airport. That's the part that concerns me the first time around. Am I making this more complicated that it really is?

Thanks,
Neal

 

[ybenormal]

Not exactly. You can cut small sections or strips of the eggcrate to use as legs of any length and height. Arrange these pieces in a "T" under/between each of the shelf layers and hold in place using plastic ties.

 

[Neal Flomenberg]

Got it. That does seem like it would be quicker. Thanks.

 

[figuerres]

well IMHO just put the rock on the sand and let it be.

why?

1) thats the way it works in nature.
2) thats why you have critters.
3) thats why we have pumps.

in other words you should not really have a "build up" of anything.
what you should have is pods, stars, crabs, fish etc... all working to use any kind of "food" they find...

many of the worms and the serpent stars and the cucumbers will move anything as they look for food.

and the hermit crabs too...

and if you find a "dead spot" just get a power head you can use to add some flow near that location and let that clean it.

 

[ybenormal]

Other than personal preference and to minimize dead spots, I can think of a couple of reasons to terrace the LR:

1) give the appearance of more LR than actually exists
2) help minimize chances of LR piles avalanching

Then there's always the counterpoint of...

why not?