Home Improvement

[shay]

Have a 45 gallon tall tank for the last five years which has a crushed coral bottom. Have purchased 100lbs. of trop play sand. I wish to also add live rock. Do I have enough for a DSB? I will remove the crushed coral. When I add the live rock does it go directly on the bottom or do I place it on top of the sand? Is there a place where I can read a good description on how to do this?

 

[diatom]

Shay~
I think you should have enough sand. I place my rock on top of the sand bed...pushing it down a bit, but you could do either.

 

[shay]

Thanks. How do you figure out how much rock is needed? Is there a site that explains how to place sand, rock and seed it?

 

[diatom]

Shay~
1-2 pounds/gal is a general rule for LR.
It depends on what kind you get and what you like. I tend to go a little light on that rule. I prefer Marshall Island which is a bit lighter and I arrange mine a bit diffrently then some.
Seeding the sand can be done with a detrivore kit (search online) or with some LS from some reefer friends and from your LFS.

 

[shay]

Thanks, Diatom. I have 1 flourescent bulb for the tank. Do I need to upgrade the lights before I change over to the LR and DSB.

 

[diatom]

Shay~
It would be better for the life on the LR if you did. But it's probably not absolutly necessary. If it were me, I would though.

 

[mlm]

If you plan on having corals in your tank you definitly would need to upgrade the lights.

 

[fender]

Be careful putting rock on top of the sand, if you get any critters that dig - gobies, eels, some inverts, etc. as they can topple your rock pile killing your fish and breaking the glass. PVC can be used to build a framework to hold up rock. 4 inch PVC couples turned open end up also work well - remember to fill PVC with sand to avoid numerous problems.
Better lights are needed if/when you decide to go reef.

 

[shay]

Thanks for all the advice. Does anyone know of a site the gives you the step by step method on setup w/ LR & LS. I'm thinking of going with PC lighting and adding a protein skimmer. The remora as I need a HOT. Don't know anything about lighting. So I guess I need advice on both. TIA