The Puffer Forum

I've never dealt with live rock or even remotely close to the extent of aquascaping this 60 gallon marine tank will require.

I have 60lbs of sand, 50lbs of live rock, and 25lbs of base rock to go in this tank. Right now I have it only about half full, ready for when the live rock arrives, which should be tomorrow (yay! ). I have not added the sand or base rock. So a few questions...

Should the rock or sand go in the tank first? I am not sure whats safer for both the tank and inhabitants.

Do I need to use any type of putty or similar for securing the rocks to one another? I wasn't sure if this was more based on someones liking to get a certain look or for safety reasons as well. I was kind of afraid to use putty or similar, especially being new to this, and find I want to rearrange the rock work.

Those are the only questions coming to mind right now but I will definitely appreciate any suggestions/advice when it come down to aquascaping with the live rock, base rock, sand, etc. Thanks!

*GSP*Fan* wrote:I've never dealt with live rock or even remotely close to the extent of aquascaping this 60 gallon marine tank will require.

I have 60lbs of sand, 50lbs of live rock, and 25lbs of base rock to go in this tank. Right now I have it only about half full, ready for when the live rock arrives, which should be tomorrow (yay! ). I have not added the sand or base rock. So a few questions...

Should the rock or sand go in the tank first? I am not sure whats safer for both the tank and inhabitants.

Safer is probably putting in the rocks first, so you can make sure its stable on its own, so any shifts in the sand won't cause the rocks to crash into the glass .

*GSP*Fan* wrote:Do I need to use any type of putty or similar for securing the rocks to one another? I wasn't sure if this was more based on someones liking to get a certain look or for safety reasons as well. I was kind of afraid to use putty or similar, especially being new to this, and find I want to rearrange the rock work.

You would only need putty when you want a specific formation that couldn't stand on its own stably and I think thats usually done with base/dead rock iirc or when there are fish that like to wedge themselves in between rocks and are strong enough to actually be able to shift the rocks in question.

If you nip to a hardware store you can put eggcrate under your rock, this iliminates most of the risk of breaking. You can use miliput to hold the rock together if you wish, but as long as you are careful with stacking you shouldn't need it.

I've always placed rock directly on the glass. I've never had an avalanche.

I have read you should put 2" of sand under your baserock, and that is probably to prevent breaking. You should start with your baserock at the bottom. Stack your rock how you like, but do be mindful of keeping your live rock exposed to water movement from all around, as much as possible. I would never use any kind of putty, because than you can't move things around as easy, plus I'd worry if it was aquarium safe etc.

If things fall in water, they do so much more slowly, and you are not likely to ever have a tank break from that, but if a really heavy piece of baserock is on bare glass, that may not be good, but I could be wrong.

Gwen

The sand will move under the weight of the rock, causing an avalanche of rock which could easily break the glass or fall on your puffer.

I had read about having potential problems with placing the rock on the sand due to shifting in some way but had also read some still add sand then rock. So I was having problems deciding on which way to go about it. I believe I'll check locally for eggcrate, if its not easy to come by, or pricey, than I'll just place the rock directly on the glass and add sand later.

Since I was already placing an order online for a few things I went ahead and ordered a little putty to have on hand in case I need it in anyway.

I thought my live rock was going to be here on Saturday going by the tracking information, however, that was not the case. It should be here tomorrow though.

So I have a question somewhat relating to this topic...

My live rock will be here before my base and I intend on using the liverock for the cycling process. Now will it be a problem to remove the liverock, maybe a week or so later, to place my base rock in, liverock back in, and then the sand, as far as the cycling is concerned? I don't want to mess up the process.

Either rock can go on the bottom, you know.

Pufferpunk wrote:Either rock can go on the bottom, you know.

Oh yea its not just that but it will be hard to know what or how I want to place the rock until I see the base rock, which will be after I already have the live rock in the tank.

Its more of in order to get it all placed how I want it, I'm sure the live rock will need to be moved, probably out of the water.

Sure, as long as it's not out for too long.

How long is too long for live rock? i was given some for a future marine project which has been sat dry in my basement for some 4-6 weeks...

Any more than a few minutes & die-off starts.

oopppsssssssss!.

so....how do we make live rock????

Pufferpunk wrote:Sure, as long as it's not out for too long.

Thanks again.

I will definitely limit time out of the water, want as little die off as possible.

I was going to have the base rock first but it turns out the supplier for my LFS was out of stock of the base rock I had intended on getting. So I think I am just going to order through macrorocks.