# Sand first, or rocks in a new tank???



## carpet1 (Sep 5, 2009)

I am setting up a 100g tank. I have read to put the live rock in before you add the sand. True??? Any difference in a 1" layer of sand, or 4-5" of sand, and sand or rock first?? I am thinking raising trained fleas is easier!:-D:-D:-D:-D


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

I would, without question, add the sand before the rock. The sand gives you a surface to anchor the rock in, preventing slips and slides.

A 1'' sand bed is for visual effect only. The depth is small enough that it will not trap detritus, but not deep enough to provide much denitrification. A 4''-6'' sand bed is ideal for denitrification, which is ultimately the purpose of the sand bed. I would suggest 4'' to 6''. Keep in mind, if you use a 1'' sand bed, you will want to compensate by using more live rock than normal, for the denitrification benefits of the rock.

By the way, are you using any dry rock or base rock? If you are, remember to place these pieces on the bottom, secured into the sand bed, as opposed to live rock. Any areas on the live rock that you bury into the sand will have some die off, causing higher nutrient spikes during the early weeks of the maturing process. If you need a good vendor to order rock, I personally use marcorocks.com. You can see some pictures of this rock on my 180 build thread. http://www.fishforum.com/saltwater-fish-pictures-videos/pasfurs-180-reef-build-21979/page13/


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## zachhay11 (Dec 27, 2008)

hmmm... i heard your always supposed to put the "base" peices of rock in there and then add the sand so that the base rocks(meaning the bottom rocks, as oppose to actual base/dry rock) have an anchorage and will be better in place. then add sand and then stack the other rocks.


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

zachhay11 said:


> hmmm... i heard your always supposed to put the "base" peices of rock in there and then add the sand so that the base rocks(meaning the bottom rocks, as oppose to actual base/dry rock) have an anchorage and will be better in place. then add sand and then stack the other rocks.


Semantics. ;-) The bottom few rocks can be put in place before the sand, but the actual construction of the reef should wait until the sand is in place to stabilize the structure.


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## carpet1 (Sep 5, 2009)

So tonight I added 1" of live sand from another tank I had used for curing rocks. I put a layer of the grid from lighting systems in the tank. Why, it seems like a good idea to keep the sand in place with a 1" layer of sand. I had the stuff, why not? I am waiting on the dry rock from Marco, should be here Tues, I hope. Probably too soon to add several yellow tang?
HUMOR, OK!!!!!!!!
I am going to start a thread on my tank, home made sump, and overflow box made from a filter from somewhere from parts unknown. This is like an adventure, learning from so many people, watching things progress. At this point, livestock are in the future. I was in the LFS today, and it hit me what Pasfur and several others have talked about. [sorry, if I left names out] That being very selective about what to add to a tank, when, and having done the homework.. Tomorrow, more reading. By the way, I am not too young to learn. I started my first guppy tanks before I went to Nam. I sure thought fantail guppies were the only way to go.


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