Live Rock to Water Ratio / Stacking & Securing

[TinyChocobo]

Hello.

I have a RSR 88 Gallon + Sump for a total of 112 gallons. I ordered 100 pounds of dry pukani from BRS and got shipped ~115 which I estimate will be ~150 pounds once wet.

I wanted to have plenty to choose from / to work with. That said I don’t want the aquarium packed full of rock - I want some open space / swimming room for fish too.

With 112 gallons of total volume would I be wanting to try to do 112 to the full 150 or is there anything I can do to help it?

I was thinking maybe some marine pure in the sump if I have the room. I’m also going to likely run the medium granularity argonite sand. I love the way the fine stuff looks but don’t want to irritate corals down the road.

Will a 1” sand bed help offset some need for rock?

That said about 1/2 of my rock is wet / curing with some live rock and half is still dry. I’m in no hurry to put fish or corals in but I would like to stack / arrange / support the rock somehow. I want some shelf / cave areas and I want to be sure my pincushion urchin or anything else can’t undermine or knock over anything. I really don’t want to come into the office to find that something fell over and busted the glass.

I’ve been reading a lot on here and other places. Epoxy putty. PVC. Acrylic Rods. Fiberglass rods. Zip ties. Etc.

I don’t really have any issues using a drill and rods but I’ve been seeing mixed reviews about the putty / epoxy.

I don’t have anything in the 88 gallon yet (it’s dry) but I was planning on filling it with salt water for a leak test then pumping it back out to a pair of 55 gallon water barrels while I arrange the rock.

I would like to avoid as much die off as I can but I am fine so long as not everything dies. I will have several pieces of good cured live rocks I won’t be messing with that I can put in the display or sump to make sure I get a good start.

At any rate I was thinking about getting a decent sheet of acrylic and drilling some holes in it for rods and then drilling the rocks to slide on to the rods. The idea is to perhaps be able to suspend the rocks off the bottom a bit but I’m wanting to go with a 1” or so sand bed and don’t want 1” acrylic under the rocks. I’m not sure if 3/8 or 1/2 would work for supporting. I do plan on having the rods vertical and not at angles and had not planned on going 100% through the acrylic bottom.

The rock I have is all made of pretty big pieces. I’m trying to imagine how I can break them up to make them fit a little better. This is 115 pounds dry so it should be ~150 wet.

At any rate I’m definitely open to recommendations and suggestions.

 

[Jackony]

Check out some aqua scaping videos. Rule of thirds and leading lines, etc. there are dos and don’ts here. Avoid a ruble pile. I’m at a similar build point on my second reef tank and I’m thinking less is more. Possibly just two structures in 120 gal tank. Don’t forget corals will grow and they are the show pieces, not the dead skeletons we glue them to.

 

[PedroYoung]

Use fresh water for your leak testing and save your salt. There are some great aquacape resources on here. Here is a link to a BRS video that references some other resources.
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/video/view/week-11-simple-ways-to-create-the-perfect-aquascape/

 

[User1]

Well, sounds like you don't want a wall, nor a pile of rock, that is good. There are pro and cons to both lots of rock and minimal so the advise given is pretty sound. Check out some videos to get an idea of which way you are leaning. Having just placed 150 LBS of similar rock, dry Pukani from BRS, I chose to use all of it. In fact some of the rocks are so big they could have been used for landscaping the front yard. Ok, that may be a fishing tale but you get the idea. Some are very large but I decided to use them anyway rather than break them up. The way I see it fish need places to call home or their retreat area. The more space I had for this within the rock and structures I created I figured it would be best.

I tried to create some depth with the rock which also will allow depth to corals. At least that is what I tried. Swim lanes, hiding spots, etc. The rock in the middle, front, right has since been broken up and placed elsewhere. I wanted to create a place whereas I could add a clam later. My tank is 30" tall and 30" deep but only 54" wide. I have some clearance in the back and lots of caves you can't see via this cruddy picture. Total sand is about 200 lbs which is giving 4 - 6" more or less.

 

[Susan Edwards]

def. use tap water for a leak test! There are a couple of good threads here to check out below. I just set up my second tank, a 125 gal. I cemented key pieces--only 2 or 3 groups and used the stacking ability of the rock to put it together. Having experienced the need to remove fish which mean removing rocks (try netting a fish OUT of the crevices and holes in some of that rock!), I don't glue everything but wedge and stack securely. I also don't plan to put in any urchins or anything else that might tear the rock apart.

You'll get tons of advise and dos and donots. Use what pleases you. If you like a jumble or wall, go for it. I also tried to create layers and terraces, envisioning where coral could go. If my rock became to "stacky" or just a wall, I adjusted until each layer of rock had some terracing or platforms to put coral. That I think is key--planning for corals. Helps if you know what you want as well. Goes for fish as well as you need their needs met--caves, crevices, swim throughs and open sand for some corals

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-on-creating-amazing-aquascapes.97209/
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/p...e-for-inspiration.355262/page-11#post-4432237

 

[a49panhead]

+1 with the tap water. If u also and a gallon or two if vinegar to it and run it for a due days it will clean out your pumps and lines.
2 birds

 

[TinyChocobo]

I wouldn’t be wasting the salt water. Would be storing it back in barrels while I scape and then putting it back in the tank. If I use tap - it will be a huge waste as it will just go down the drain.

Thanks for the advice. Yeah the pincushion urchin is the guy that worries me he is pretty strong and will only get bigger.

 

[Idoc]

I used Pukani rock... you will definitely want to cure that rock before even thinking about aquascaping! I cured mine for 6 weeks in freshwater and it is still leaching phosphates into my tank! I used freshwater since you will habe to drain and replace the water every couple of days due to the heavy organics deep in that rock. Many on here actually do a lite muriatic acid wash on their pukani with good success... among other ways. Then after this, let it dry and work on your aquascape. The pukani is pretty, but extremely dirty... just takes a few more steps and patience dealing with the algae after the cycle... but it looks good.

I doubt you will need any marine pure blocks with that much rock. Many follow the 1lb rock per gallon. Pukani is much lighter and looks like more... You will probably find that you only need about 50-75lb in the 88g display and it will look full.

Your pieces seem really big. You can easily chisel this rock to fit together. I took a huge ball of pukani and chiseled a tunnel... the rock on the right of the picture. I used hydraulic cement from Home Depot to "spot" connect some of the rocks to secure them...a tub costs about $10.

 

[User1]

@Idoc I like that stand the tank is resting on - looks nice.

 

[Dickeybrazil]

Looks perfect

 

[Idoc]

@Idoc I like that stand the tank is resting on - looks nice.

Thanks! I still haven't put the doors on yet! Lol

 

[Daltrey]

After drilling rocks and using fiberglass rods I would never go back to anything else. You can change up the look anytime you want and everything is secure with no chance of a rock falling over into your glass. This is 140 lbs of rock.