Now I Am Scared...

Hi Guys,

After reading Strickland's post this morning, I am now terrified of the 70 gallons of water sitting in my office. I think that most of my rock is fairly secure, but I know that something could topple it. I also think that I buried it pretty deep but am not 100% certain since I added the rock after the sand. I have a couple of questions. First, does everyone use a glue or adhesive to secure their rocks? I thought about using ties but don't think that it would work. I also don't want to be stuck in case I change my mind about my aquascape. The second quesion is about burying my rock more. My tank is about a month old and is starting to finish its cycle. If I move the sand and possibly take some out to bury the rocks more, am I going to disturb the water balance and cause another cycle. If so, how long does that take to finish? Thanks in advance!!!!

Regards,
Ivy

 

I've been wondering the same, good timing on the thread. I saw the busted tank this morning too and now it's on my mind.

I have egg crate under my rock, and the rock is on the crate, but I have a few less stable caves I need to re-do. I notice when I move even small rubble it clouds the water with detritus, but a water test doesn't show any immediate spikes....

Some advice from the well experienced would be greatly appreciated here as well.

 

Don't be omgiv. That's tantamount to avoiding your car because of front page traffic accidents about which we see in the papers.

Just use common sense. (I am NOT suggesting that Strickland didn't.) I just think that to say this is a rarity or a freak incident would be a gross understatement. My guess would be that accidents such as these happen to less than one in a thousand. With the odds that this could happen to you being 1/10%, do your self a favor and sleep easy.

As others have said, placing your LR BEFORE you pour your sand is the best measure to avoid complete tumbles. Clowns are known for their incessant excavations, gobys, and other fish that burrow can cause tumbles too--but only if the rock is set on TOP of the sand.

That said, some secure rock to PVC with tie-wraps or epoxy; while others drill thru the rock and thread it through frames of PVC. I'm not critisizing those who do, but unless you have intentionally made ledges such as Otty's that require this support, IMO it's not completely necessary. In the end, we all do what makes us happy, comfortable, and that which allows us to sleep well at night.

And regarding your question, if you bury your rock more, it shouldn't disturb things to the point as to start another cycle. You haven't yet developed anoxic pockets of sulphur based gasses.

 

Clouding the water with detritus shouldn't cause a spike of anything. Depending on whose literature you trust, liberating detritus into the water column is beneficial. Detritus feed corals, and what detritus doesn't sink back to the sand will get mechanically filtered out, providing you have ample water movement in your tank. So you've fed your corals and are doing housekeeping at the same time. If you're not blowing off your LR with a baster or powerhead regularly, you're missing an opportunity to keep your tank healthier.

 

I think disturbing the sand might cause a "mini" cycle. Some people glue their rocks together, some use other things to hold them together (I used small pvc rods inserted into the holes of the rocks). Although I think this sort of thing is rare, it's best to prepare for the worst. I live in California, and if we have a really big earthquake I'm not sure any level of rock support will hold up.

 

Check out this long, but really good video about Mantis shrimp. They actually slow the motion down enough so that you can see the light it creates when it hits something.

Sheila Patek clocks the fastest animals | Video on TED.com

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I don't want to panic but I do think that I will make sure my rocks are on the glass just to be safe.

Greysoul, where did you get your egg crate and did you do anything to make it tank safe? Thanks!!!!

Ivy

 

I get egg crate from the "commercial lighting" section of Home depot, but lowes has it also, as would most any lighting specialty store. It comes in ~ 2x3' sheets for florescent light fixtures in drop-tile ceilings. It's about $10 a sheet + change and tax. I don't do anything to it, it's just plastic and pretty clean from the box. I guess you could rinse it w/ tap water.

I just cut it up and put it in. It cuts very easy with a pair of dikes (wire cutters).

I lined the full bottom of my tank with it, but you could cut out areas for sand burrowing critters where you don't plan to have rock as well.... it's about 1/2" thick... if you have 2" of sand on top of that, it should be fine. I did notice my short-lived goby burrowed through the sand to the egg crate, but otherwise ignored it.

 

Glass bottom is just as effective as egg crate at keeping things from burrowing under the rock. The point of egg crate is to keep pressure points off the bottom glass. It doesn't do much in the way of stability. Not saying don't do it, just make sure you address what you mean to address.



A one month old tank is not going to have enough build up in the sand to cause much of a problem if it gets disturbed. Plus, you're still not too stocked with coral. And you need to be sure rock is all the way down. I'd say make sure now. Sooner the better.


I went through same mistake and had to redo my rock about 3 weeks in. Alls well that ends well. That was forever a go

 

Thanks guys!!!! I picked up the egg crate today from Home Depot and plan on doing it tomorrow. I just hope that I can get my aquascape back the way it is now. I took lots of pictures, so hopefully so. Thanks again!!!!

Ivy