aquascape

hey guys, what is the best way to do your stacking. i have 10 pounds of liverock...fiji just bought today and quite a few tufa rocks that were used in my fresh water that i plan to use in my sw tank. i rinsed the tufa rock before i put it into my tank.

 

Do you have any livestocks in your tank? The tufa rocks will have some die off of bacteria. I am assuming you are going through a cycle, right?

Check this out for stacking.
http://www.3reef.com/forums/live-rock/how-stack-live-rock-30440.html

 

no livestock yet. i will get that once the cycling is done which will be in a few wks. should i do anything else with the tufa to make sure it's a ok. i haven't added it all yet, it's been in a bag for a while and now dry.

 

The best way to set up your live rock is to make sure you have good water flow between the rocks as much as possible. The reason for this is to eliminate dead spots and to keep detritus from settling on the live rock and fueling nitrate and phosphate(algae) growth.
Having caves, overhangs and open areas between a group of rocks is best. It is also a more realistic rendition of our reefs as oppossed to the old set up of a so called "rock wall" formation with the rocks set up along the whole length of the back wall. Come on you guys and gals, who isn't or hasn't been guilty of that in the past or still has this arrangement? I am guilty as charged! Next month, with the setting up of my new 125 gallon reef tank, I will have pillar style rock formations with caves to allow a much better water circulation around and through my rock work. And the rocks will not be positioned in a way as to rest along the back glass of my tank, again to increase the water flow and help remove detritus and suspend it in the water column for the skimmer to remove.
Now you can take my advice or go with something totally different but to hear from noteworthy and experienced professionals as Delbeek and Sprung and Borneman stressing the importance of proper rock work set-up and water flow, it has changed my planning for my rock placement.
Oh yeah, also the need for 1-2 pounds of live rock per gallon of water has basically been discarded. Now the focus should be in creating a deeper sand bed (4-6inches) and less rock especially lessening the amount of rock placed on top of your substrate. Bacterial and buffering capacity is reduced as well as oxygen conversion and transport.
Hope this helps you fellow reefers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

thanks

thanks so much. i will take your advice. i have crushed coral for substrate and was told less is better so it's just above 2 inches and i won't add more as it made a huge mess even after rinsing and rinsing. how much live rock is good for a 55g? i will be adding my tufa rock as well which i used in my freshwater. do i need to do anything to the tufa prior to adding in my tank? it's been bagged and now dry. i have quite a bit of tufa and it looks quite the same as liverock. i actually prefer an open set up rather than a huge wall. i always wondered how people cleaned it. thanks so much, you are always giving a wealth of info and as a new sw hobbiest i really appreciate the help the lfs and books don't give. i was really excited about my liverock, i'm concerned how things will get food?

 

You want to have a deep sand bed(4-6 inches) and less live rock. As for the tufa rock, I don't really know much about it but I would soak it in bleach for a few hours and rinse it very well though to sterilize it and to eliminate introducing contaminants into your tank(ie. ammonia).
Be careful when setting up the rocks in your tank. Bury some of the rock in the sand as a base so the rocks don't slide and fall. Try locking the rocks together as you build your aquascape. Otherwise your corals, inverts or fish could succomb to a detrimental fate either by being stung by landing on other corals, or being crushed by the weight and force of the rocks falling down!

 

I say organize the rock however you see fit. There are great detritivores to help rid of detritus settling in dead spots. Arrange how you like it. I would advise to look at other tanks and maybe some will inspire you and push you in the right direction.

My reef structure is inspired by a nice reef at a horrible LFS. Needless to say, they re-aquascaped it months later and it now looks horrible.

 

Who discarded this "need" and along the same line how long will it be before somebody does away with the "deep sand bed" theory?

I always thought that this LR theory of LB/GAL was well studied by aquaria intellectuals before becoming a rule/guideline.

Is it like fashion? "In" one year and "out" the next?

 

This concept was introduced, researched and tested by the likes of professionals, such as Julian Sprung, J.C. Delbeek and Eric Borneman! So obviously there is some credibility in this concept...You can read about it in "Aquarium Corals", and "The Reef Aquarium" for two examples and studies!