Is it ok to have LR ontop of sand or on the glass bottom?

buckshott

Member
I have ls on bottom of tank,(Obviously) and put the LR on top of that. Is this ok or should the lr be on bottom then add sand?:notsure:
 

loopy

Member
Your fine with the rock on the sand....it will also eventually become live if I understand things correctly. I don't think I would put a rock directly on the glass anyway, just in case, ya know????!!!!
 

mudplayerx

Active Member
If you place the live rock on top of the sand you WILL run into problems; potentially disasterous ones.
Things in your tank like to dig and burrow. If a critter burrows underneathe of one of your live rocks, odds are that it is going to collapse on the critter and crush the life out of it. Believe it or not, that is the lesser of the disasters.
The real disaster is now that the live rock foundation's integrity has been compromised, the entire structure is likely to topple over. This can lead to damage/death to your critters, and in a worst-case scenario, a cracked tank with water all over the house.
 
D

denasoro

Guest
Is it best to put live rock right on the glass, or to put it on top of something so that it's not touching it? If on top of something, any suggestions? One idea I had, was to put egg crate on the floor (the kind that was used during the days of plenums... does anyone still use the Jaubert/Berlin Method??), fill in the holes with sand, then put live rock on top, such that it's supported by the egg crate, and finally fill in the sand all around. Any thoughts on this idea?
Going on a tangent, another thing I've been wondering about is live rock touching the vertical glass in the back. Is that a no-no?
 

bigarn

Active Member
I've seen many tanks with the rock touching the back glass with no problems. Just be sure the rock is secure. :D
 

mudplayerx

Active Member
In my humble opinion, rockwork touching the front/back and side glass panels is a no-no. The seals are designed for holding the weight of water, not for additional stress caused by rockwork.
Just my opinion.
 

gfk

Member
just dig the rock down til it cant go down anymore (meaning its touching the bottom glass)
then surround it with sand to make sure its secure
 
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