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takeing sand out?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by fmsill, Nov 12, 2010.

  1. fmsill Well-Known ReefKeeper

    445
    Cedar Falls
    Ratings:
    +6 / 0 / -0

    Just wanted some peoples thoughts. I am seriously thinking a takeing the sand out of my tank and switcing to a bare bottom. The reasons for this is that if i put my vortechs any lower in the tank they blow sand all over. I keep haveing problems with algae outbreaks and im pretty sure the reason for this is to much stuff on the bottom of the tank. Ive tried cutting back feeding which helps but im just really getting sick of the sand.
    So what im propoesing to do is to find a tank to transfer a bunch of live rock and sand as well as fish and coral to. I then want to take all of the rock and sand out and cook the rock to kill off all of the stuff i dont want such as gsp, xenia, and waveing hands. I would like my rockwork to be a little more solid as well.
    So here are a few questions abought the best way to do this.
    What is the best way to connect all of the rockwork together other than glue. Some sort of pin etc?
    Where do i get the cutting board for the bottom of the tank that others are useing?
    What is the best way to recure all of the rock, and for how long?
    Any input would be apreciated. Brian
     
  2. Matt

    Matt Inactive User

    867
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    I would honestly get a stock tank and transfer everything into. But I would say the best way to do the rock is let it dry out and kill everything then power wash it, then cook it. Hopefully Gered chimes in, he was telling me about some new stuff that he saw at MACNA that was for putting rock work together that was like a mortar.
     
  3. FishBrain Expert Reefkeeper

    New London
    Ratings:
    +399 / 6 / -0
    +1 on drying it out then cooking it. Just cooking it wont kill the GSP or xenia.
     
  4. adampottebaum

    adampottebaum Experienced Reefkeeper

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    Marco rocks has some really cool dry rock that they cut flat on one side that can be siliconed to the back glass, I think this would look pretty sweet in your 180 Brian. Also, the mortar Matt was talking about can also be found on Marco Rocks. You'll find both of these products on their home page.

    http://www.marcorocks.com/
     
  5. fmsill Well-Known ReefKeeper

    445
    Cedar Falls
    Ratings:
    +6 / 0 / -0

    Im probably gonna use my old rock. I have around 240 lbs of good live rock and dont really want to spend the money on new. If i do this im thinking im going to also get a calcium reactor, that can get expensive so old rock it is. The mortor sounds like a good way to go though!
     If i take my sand and rock out and put into a new tank or stock tank how big of a risk is their of killing everything?  Ive heard people say that if you stir up the sand you can cause major problems.
     
  6. mthomp

    mthomp Inactive User

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    I think that is mostly if you have a dsp in your tank. not exactly sure if its a shallow sand bed of a inch or so.
     
  7. fmsill Well-Known ReefKeeper

    445
    Cedar Falls
    Ratings:
    +6 / 0 / -0
    my sand is around 2 1/2 deep. Another option i was thinking of is to take all of the sand out and put in my sump then slowly take it out a little at a time. The pieces of rock with gsp i could take out and recure,
     
  8. mthomp

    mthomp Inactive User

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    you could also take out a cup of sand and set it aside, wash all the rest before putting it in a new tank, and seed it with the cup of activated sand.
     
  9. phishcrazee Experienced Reefkeeper

    Riverside
    Ratings:
    +0 / 0 / -0
    Might want to watch the Calfo talk from FF before you decide.....

    Personally, I hate the look of no sand. I understand it blows around with lots of flow, but I would try and keep some in for looks and also, it does add biodiversity to your tank. If you must take it out of the display, keep it in the system somewhere (sump) so you don't lose all the creatures that inhabit the sand. Same thinking goes for the rock. I would rather keep all the helpful critters that inhabit the rock, then kill everything living creature on the rock. If you don't like the anthelia or whatever coral is not what you want, I'd work at eliminating that with kalk paste etc. Yes, more of a pita than just nuking all your rock maybe and starting over, but you keep all the beneficial stuff that builds up over time. Just my two cents /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/smile.gif
     
  10. IrishStock

    IrishStock Inactive User

    343
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    Posted By phishcrazee on 11/13/2010 11:33 AM 
    Personally, I hate the look of no sand. I understand it blows around with lots of flow, but I would try and keep some in for looks and also, it does add biodiversity to your tank. If you must take it out of the display, keep it in the system somewhere (sump) so you don't lose all the creatures that inhabit the sand. Same thinking goes for the rock. I would rather keep all the helpful critters that inhabit the rock, then kill everything living creature on the rock. If you don't like the anthelia or whatever coral is not what you want, I'd work at eliminating that with kalk paste etc. Yes, more of a pita than just nuking all your rock maybe and starting over, but you keep all the beneficial stuff that builds up over time. Just my two cents /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/smile.gif Ditto...Ditto...Ditto
    I doubt we know how much diversity is in our sand and how much it benefits our tanks.  We get rock, frags, etc from many different places and each brings with it a little something different.  If you don't want it in the display then the sump is a good option too.
    I've never really understood why people would buy live rock and then nuke it or let it dry out...there is far more good than bad in live rock.  If there is a problem on an individual rock, just take that one out and treat it however you need to.  JMO
     
  11. Bluefool

    Bluefool Inactive User

    377
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    When I assembled my rock work, I used large zip ties. They were easier to use than glue or pegs. Yeah, at first you see the occasional strap, but it turns out those are way handy for sticking frags under. I don't expect to be able to see mine for much longer.

    You can also pull off weird stuff like a rock floating down from an arch.....one zip tie on the arch, one on a rock you hang into the arch....
     
  12. Bluefool

    Bluefool Inactive User

    377
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    +0 / 0 / -0
    Oh yeah; silicon caulk doesn't work very well to stick rockwork together. Worked great for sticking slabs to my overflow, but rock to rock it usually just flaked off.
     
  13. fmsill Well-Known ReefKeeper

    445
    Cedar Falls
    Ratings:
    +6 / 0 / -0
    So ive come up with a plan to get the sand out of my display. Im going to put half my rock in my sump right now and take abought 1/4 of the sand out on that side till its gone then do the same to the other side. I just picked up a 65 gallon so im going to plumb that into my main tank and put my coral and delicae fish in that so im not stressing them as much.
    As far as the sand goes i agree it can be benefical but im still concerned abought stirring it up and causing problems like i said earlier its abought 2 1/2 inch deep so im not sure what im gonna do as far as that goes. As far as the stuff on the rock im going to take out the pieces that have stuff i dont want and chisel it off and what i dont get i will kalk it slowly. I really dont want to take the risk of nukeing the rock and start over because i have some expensive fish as well as coral.
     

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