Setting rock in aquarium on ???

[Pickleowl]

Setting up a new tank and when I was in the hobby about 15 yrs ago, I filled my tank with sand and put rock on top of that and never had any issues..
I'm watching all these build threads and I see alot of people putting rock in first on the glass then spreading sand around the rock,, I also have seen rock on eggcrate then sand around..

What did you do with the rock? What's it on- glass or sand or something else? Pros and cons if you know any?

I kinda remember reading some thread on nitrates, I think and it mentioned nitrates leaching into the rocks if on the sand so it was suggested to put rock on some cut pvc or something to get it a hair above the sand.. any truth in that?

 

[chefjpaul]

I go right on the glass. Ill use tile squares where needed for balance and stability act as shims.

I like it on a solid surface.

 

[Cment]

I go to Home Depot and get small acrylic sheets and cut them into smaller squares and place these between the rock and glass. I dont like resting the rock right on bottom glass panel.

 

[bronsond99]

I just place a thin layer of sand then add my base rock and then add more sand around it. This allows the aquascape to have a solid platform because the rock will shift as tank ages. Also the thin layer keeps it from potentially cracking or stretching your glass bottom.

 

[P-Dub]

You can do whatever you feel comfortable with. When I first started, I followed Cment's route and placed small acrylic sheet squares bedded with silicone down where the rock made contact first then the rock then the sand. The rock placed on top in contact with the sand or on the glass makes a negligible difference, if any, regarding nutrients. The rock will likely settle down in the sand bed when placed on top anyhow. Rock directly to the glass or some interface between the glass and rock and then placing sand is more to add stability to the rock structure. With the rock already placed where it will likely end up, on the glass, limits settling and movement of the overall structure lending to greater stability. Personally, I would place something in between the rock and glass for a little peace of mind. I chose the sheets of acrylic as I may have wanted some sand sifting critters at some point. The egg-crate prevents the addition of these animals that I think are extremely beneficial if you opt for a sand bed. I eventually took out the sand and went bare bottom and having the clear acrylic sheets was nice as it made the transition easy being able to leave the rock structure in the tank instead of having to take it all down to remove egg-crate, had I installed that and the clear acrylic was essentially not visible.

This time around I am sticking with the bare bottom but opted for HDPE sheets to cover the entire bottom. While the cut squares worked well, any adjustments in the rock structure, once I went bare bottom, resulted in rock on the bare glass eventually. My tip for you is to think about the future of your system and any changes/modifications that you may wish to do and build accordingly. Personally, I have never heard of a reefer that is not trying new things out or not changing things, be it equipment, livestock, rock work, etc. Plan on making those potential modifications as easy as possible. Tunnel vision is only good in a tunnel.

My current choice...