How do I rockscape??

[Jordan Siehr]

I have my tank setup now with the saltwater and sand/cc. In about a week or 2 I will start to add live rock. How to I arrange the rock?? I want caves and stuff. Pictures would be great!

 

[Loki]

Add it however makes you happy. The best way I have done was make a work space with the same dimensions of the tank and start playing with the pieces I have. My advice would be to make sure you really get the rocks down through the sand so that they are sitting on the glass. If/when you get a sand burrowing fish/critter it could get under the rock and collapse your structure and crush the animal. If you are able I would take the sand out just to be certain.

Here is a pic of my aquascaping when my tank was about one month past cycle.

 

[Loki]

Well that didn't seem to work. Let's try this.

 

[Young Frankenstein]

You woulds also need some flat rock, i also like caves

 

[Pappy]

Stack it before you put it in to see what arrangement you like the best then put it in the tank. This helps without having to move it around as much in tank(less sand)

 

[Rockadile]

its always easier to do your rock before you add water.

 

[gmoney243]

Here's some tips I've learned.

Try to make curves of the rocks going together match. It makes it look like they belong.

Medium size pieces on bottom for base. Big rocks on top. Small rocks are for frags or helpin bigger rocks go where u want.

Keep rocks away from all walls. Gives fish the sense of a bigger tank. Kinda like using rounded tanks for sharks. And it just looks better and helps with detritus buildup behind rocks.

I like to put rocks in before water or at same time. Gives you lots of time to re-arrange before you have fish and corals to worry bout. Trust me I've killed or hurt both re-scaping. Stare at the structure for few days and arrange rocks if needed.

Here's mine not the best video. Ita taken on my phone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpPl1ntvjC4&feature=youtube_gdata_player


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[BarbH]

Agree with what has been said. Before adding the rock into the tank I would work in trying to create what you want to achieve outside of the tank. Also when you do place your rock in I would make sure that your bottom rocks are resting in the sand and not on top. Will help to keep any livestock that may dig from being crushed or from creating a rock slide.

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[Jordan Siehr]

Okay, thanks! Very helpful. But now I have another q. lol. My tanks very cloudy. Why is that and is there anything I can do about it? Its 1 day old. I thought the sand would be settled by now.

 

[Loki]

Give it time. Some tanks settle in a few hours, and some take a few days. It sounds like it is still normal.

 

[Jordan Siehr]

Okay thanks! When can I start to add pre-cured rock to my tank? It'll be from the fish store so its in a tank with fish and stuff and already cured.

 

[Jordan Siehr]

How long do I have to wait to add already curred live rock?

 

[Steelerfan747]

just lay it out first to see what you got going, then look and see what you feel should go on the bottom and start from there. Try to picture it in your head

 

[Steelerfan747]

And remember that if you like it then thats all that matters

 

[BarbH]

Do you have any livestock in the tank right now?

 

[Jordan Siehr]

No not yet. Its a day old. How long till I can put cured live rock in it?

 

[chort55]

I would add all the rock you are going to add at the same time so you don't have to rescape after scaping it w/ just the base or uncured rock.

 

[BarbH]

You can put cured rock in now. I would keep an eye on the parameters for any possible die off on the rock, ammonia or nitrites. Are you going to be using any dry rock?

 

[Jordan Siehr]

Probably for the foundation under the sand. To save money. I'm not sure. What would you recommend?

 

[Loki]

Do you have any rock at the moment? I would recommend getting all dry rock. I used only dry rock from Bulkreefsupply.com. It all looks the same (same type of rock) and was only $3 a pound. Another advantage to all dry rock is that you won't have any pests that is possibly on live rock.

With that said. If you have live rock you can put it in at any time. The thing you can't put in is fish and coral. Because of the cycle. Do you have a test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, and phosphates? If not you should get one and test your water regularly (every few days) to know when your cycle starts, peaks, and finishes.