Water, Sand, and LiveRock going in this weekend
- Thread starter thelawnwrangler
- Start date
thelawnwrangler
New member
good tip- honestly starting blank I feel like I need to just get some rock and jigsaw it together until I like it.
kind of lost when picking out pieces
davocean
Active member
I always make a template of my tank footprint on a piece of ply, or cardboard may work, and I play w/ the rock to see what fits best in that plotted space.
I personally like to drill my rock and use rods to make it stable, but epoxy could work too.
I make mine in movable pieces or islands.
I also cover the glass both inside and outside front panel and sides w/ carboard so I don't scratch it placing rocks in.
I like to lay down about a half inch of sand to seat that rock and deal w/ the voids or deviations, place rock to where it looks good, then add rest of sand to lock in place.
Yes tap is only a little dirty water I guess, but I don't want to add even a little of what I will be trying to remove later, so I use clean RO/DI to rinse that sand.
I pump water in w/ a pump and hose, and I place tupperware or something so I don't dust storm the sand.
I personally like to drill my rock and use rods to make it stable, but epoxy could work too.
I make mine in movable pieces or islands.
I also cover the glass both inside and outside front panel and sides w/ carboard so I don't scratch it placing rocks in.
I like to lay down about a half inch of sand to seat that rock and deal w/ the voids or deviations, place rock to where it looks good, then add rest of sand to lock in place.
Yes tap is only a little dirty water I guess, but I don't want to add even a little of what I will be trying to remove later, so I use clean RO/DI to rinse that sand.
I pump water in w/ a pump and hose, and I place tupperware or something so I don't dust storm the sand.
Saltwaterw
New member
Just coming out of cycle now.. My experiences
I used the very fine grain sand and it does look great but does tend to have some minor dips being dug by one of the power-heads in a couple of spots. I just adjusted them a bit and put a rock to block/redirect the flow a bit and its better. I'd go with the fine/med sand if doing it over again, especially if you want to have corals that will need higher flow eventually.. And you can rinse the sand all day and you'll still have some cloudiness for a couple of days so don't freak out as it will settle. Rinsing is better than not, so do it well but don't kill yourself about it..
I marked my Hex tank outline on an old beach towel sitting on a table to figure out my rock placement and then took a pic of it for reference. Marked the rocks with a sticker/number so I could easily recreate the sequence and placement in the tank. Rock went down, then sand with me forcing as much as I could into crevices. While doing that I was making RO/DI water which I used a cheap small very slow flow pond pump from Home Depot to transfer water from my buckets via hose into the tank. I let it sit for 2 days to settle before getting any filtration going. I used 3/4 base rock and then after things settled added 1/4 live rock from the LFS that they make in tanks in the back.
I used the very fine grain sand and it does look great but does tend to have some minor dips being dug by one of the power-heads in a couple of spots. I just adjusted them a bit and put a rock to block/redirect the flow a bit and its better. I'd go with the fine/med sand if doing it over again, especially if you want to have corals that will need higher flow eventually.. And you can rinse the sand all day and you'll still have some cloudiness for a couple of days so don't freak out as it will settle. Rinsing is better than not, so do it well but don't kill yourself about it..
I marked my Hex tank outline on an old beach towel sitting on a table to figure out my rock placement and then took a pic of it for reference. Marked the rocks with a sticker/number so I could easily recreate the sequence and placement in the tank. Rock went down, then sand with me forcing as much as I could into crevices. While doing that I was making RO/DI water which I used a cheap small very slow flow pond pump from Home Depot to transfer water from my buckets via hose into the tank. I let it sit for 2 days to settle before getting any filtration going. I used 3/4 base rock and then after things settled added 1/4 live rock from the LFS that they make in tanks in the back.
thelawnwrangler
New member
Holy sand storm
24 hours in nothing running.
I am tempted to go buy a small HOB filter to hopefully pull some sand dust. Then sock it away for QT tank my wife doesn't know I will buy at some point lol
Any thoughts if it would help. I can't add filter sock BC it is an all in one.
24 hours in nothing running.
I am tempted to go buy a small HOB filter to hopefully pull some sand dust. Then sock it away for QT tank my wife doesn't know I will buy at some point lol
Any thoughts if it would help. I can't add filter sock BC it is an all in one.
gone fishin
New member
A hob full of floss, Pillow stuffing is cheap, will help. Other than that time is your friend.
thelawnwrangler
New member
Got a HOB and it is clearing up very nicely
Learning very quick this happens on the aquariums time table not yours
I ended up with 38 lbs of live rock will do my first water test tonight see if I had any die off
gone fishin
New member
LOL yeah the tank does not much care about your timetable or plans. Some folks never really get this and end up in trouble right off the bat.
