time for some aquascaping

[chris31]

hey i was waiting for some some color on my rocks but i want to aquascape and my ? is how long can the rock stay out of the water like do i have to rush to get it back in the water and also there is a bunch of die of in the sand i can suck all of this out right? would a gody eat this stuf in the sand?

thanks chris

 

[fatdaddy]

As long as the rock stays moist, you're good for a few hours. If it dries out, you kill any coraline algae and some/all bacteria. ie, you'll need to recycle the tank. This is why rock is often wrapped in wet newspaper for transport.

As for die off in the sand, I'd vacuum it out. You certainly don't need the excess nutrients at this point.

 

[lat0403]

I wouldn't touch the sand, unless it's just to vacuum the surface.

 

[drummereef]

You can siphon out the die-off in the sand. No problems.

 

[chris31]

ok is there any tips any1 can give me with aquascaping? anything thing i should be aware of

 

[fatdaddy]

I just pile up the rocks such there there are lots of caves and swim throughs. You can go nuts with PVC frames (spray painted black), resin to hold rocks together, etc.

On one system, I went with a rock wall that looks good in a tall tank. In the other I went with a rubble bottom that has a maze of rocks, structures across the bottom, but there is little height. My clowns settled in and dug out a cave on their own.

It really depends on what sort of look you're going for and then how stable that would be without some sort of support system.

Be sure to put your rocks directly on the glass bottom and not the sand. There are lots of fish, shrimp, etc that will burrow under your rocks and destabllize them. Either use base rock or egg crate for the bottom.