tank setup question

[four-eyes]

I'm about to get my 75-gal SW tank going again and have some questions. Previously, I had only had crushed coral and some decorations in the tank. I would like to do a deep LS bed and some LR for a FO tank with a cleanup crew. My first question is, do I have to actually do LR or can I get away with just using base rock since I'll be using a deep LS bed (probably about 4 in.) and it's a FO? My next question is what order should I add these things in? I will be adding these things incrementally since I don't have like a thousand dollars up front. I'm guessing I should add the LS first, then the LR (or BR), then the cleanup crew and fish? My only concern is that I know that the LS bed is actually live and requires food. Will me feeding it be sufficient or will it require some sort of fish waste? Thanks in advance. Lance.

 

[four-eyes]

"Hellooo, helloo, hello. Is anybody OUT there?" Courtesy of Pink Floyd, The Wall.

 

[lcc]

From what I have read you should go with both if possible. If you can only afford one I would go with the Live rock. The reason being that you can add live sand later and not cause the tank to recycle. But, if you go with the sand first when you add the live rock later the tank could recycle. Remmeber you do not have to purchase 4 inches of live sand for the bottom of your tank you can use 1/2 play sand (from) Home ***** and the live sand in time will seed the play sand. Just a way to save some money.
Good Luck

 

[krustytheclownfish]

LCC is right. Get aragonite or something and seed it with ls to save some money. Put lr in at the same time and use that to cycle the tank. If you put the lr in afterwards, chances are you will have another cycle. After the cycle, add the clean-up crew and the fish slowly.

 

[four-eyes]

Yeah, I was planning on seeding with LS. I hear about the sand at HD all the time, but I've yet to look for it at the stores. Should I look for something specific? A certain type, brand, etc.? Also, when you seed, do you mix the two sands together, or lay the LS on top of the other, or what? Thanks again, guys. It's great to be back on a board. I was on the saltaquarium.com board for quite some time and one day the site just died never to be seen again. It's a fish-eat-fish world out there I guess. Thanks. Lance.

 

[up north hermit]

A great answer Scott. I have noticed you here on this BB and would like to welcome you. Your knowledge is an asset which will be most appreciated.
And welcome also to Lance!
Can't add really to good advice, except to say when I started my 40 gal reef set up I went with 100% ESV oolitic sand, and I LOVE the stuff. I seeded it with LS from my 7 year old 125 gal reef. Made a 6" deep sand bed. Nitrates are currently undetectable and DSB teeming with life. Life is good on the reef.
Good luck, HTH
Hermit

 

[beth]

The "play sand" reference is Home Depo's Southdown sand, and it is only available in some areas of the country. Do not get any other play sand but this, if you can find it.
Yes, since $$ is an issue, then you can lay mostly base rock and then seed this with a few pieces of quality LR. The seeding will result in your base rock becoming LR with the coraline alage which is what makes using LR so attractive in the hobby. Base rock or LR should be placed on the glass of your aquarium, not sitting on top of your substrate. The advantages to using LR rather than just having a FO setup is, not only the beauty, but also an excellent natural filtration source. And, as I said, with just a few pieces of LR, eventually your whole tank, including base rock, will be seeded with the coraline as well as the "live" componet of your initial LR seed.
You can expect you water to cloud up when adding any substrate, so you might want to consider gettting your sand bed in place, feeding it as you suggest, then adding your rock structure when you can.

 

[blangley]

I hope you don't mind if I jump in here. I've been reading a lot of the discussions on this board for a few months now as well as researching setting up a saltwater tank for close to a year.
I have pretty much decided on a 65 - 72 gal tank with a plenum, LS and LR. First question, my LFS suggested I buy a box of what he called live rock - the package is labelled "Reef Rock" I believe from Carib Sea. Would it be correct to assume that placing 50 lbs of this in a tank with approx. 20lbs "true" live rock such as Fiji rock that the base rock ("reef rock") would become "live" as well - but at a lower cost?
Also, Beth said (and I have heard this elsewhere) to place your LR on the bottom of the tank, not on the substrate. Obviously with a plenum I cannot do this. Will this cause problems?
Finally, at least for now, how much LS should be placed on top of the plenum - 2 or 3 inches or deeper?
Thanks for your patience with this long post.
Brian

 

[blangley]

Plenum vx DSB - sounds like a discussion I could use. I was going to go with plenum because I read some discussions on this board raving about nitrate reduction with plenums. I found a web site with plans for a plenum which looks easy and cheap to build.
If it's easy to build and would save me cost over buying sand, then I thought do it. I have checked 2 stores near me for the Southdown Play sand but they don't have it. North of the border here, they have a different brand of sand imported from a manufacturer in Georgia.
Brian