155 gal question

[ging]

I finally got my 155 gal double bow front and MANY thanks to World Down Under for all of there help, they are great!! I have 100lbs of live Tonga and Marshal Island rock in there now and going to get about 10-15 more tomorrow. My question is what should be the right about of rock and have read different opinions on leaving the lights on or off for a few weeks. Could someone please advise on the lights and amount of rock.

 

[SPC]

Hi ging, If you have a deep sand bed the amount of rock is not as important as once thought because of the DSBs ability to perform the biological functions. I have about 110 lbs of live rock in my 180 simply because I like to see open areas, I also have a 6" DSB.
I have done both lights on and off and saw the same amount of nusience algae either way. I now believe that lights on is better especially if you have live rock that has macro algae on it. I purchased aquacultured rock and it has many types of macro, lights on allowed it to grow.
Steve

 

[ging]

Thanks Steve
I have about 3-4 inchs of sand now, would be ok to add more now or should I just leave it the way it is.

 

[SPC]

Ging, the experts on DSBs say from 4 to 6 inches so you might be ok. If you decide to add some however now is definitely the time. Also remember that one of the important things to make a sand bed function properly is the life in it. As far as keeping the top clean I have had great success with a sand eating cucumber (tiger tail) and 3 small queen conks.
Steve

[ November 02, 2001: Message edited by: SPC ]</p>

 

[ging]

Thanks Steve

 

[Anonymous]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by SPC:
<strong>Ging, the experts on DSBs say from 4 to 6 inches so you might be ok. [ November 02, 2001: Message edited by: SPC ]</strong><hr></blockquote>

Steve,

Is there any concensus on sand beds over 6"? Does it make a difference or is anything over 6" a waste?

-Greg

 

[SPC]

Your welcome ging.
Gregg, actually I have read where Dr Ron has said the deeper the better but I don't know if there is a point of diminishing benefits.
Steve

 

[naesco]

I would really advise you to think about getting less than you are planning. IMO you have enough.
In that way one month or 2 years from now, when you see a really beautiful piece of live rock, you still have a lot of room in your tank for it.
Nothing is worse than having to pass by an excellent rock teeming with all sorts of things, because there is no room in your tank for it.
Go sloooow.

 

[ging]

naesco,
haha, I am

My thoughts were getting all my rock first, to keep from causing my tank to crash when I added more at a later time. If it is safe to do that then I like that idea. I was going to move some rock from my small tank to open up some flow areas, but was thinking about giving it 2-3 weeks for what I have in the big one to cure a bit. I am also going to add a few more inches of sand. Any suggestions or changes in this theory.

 

[naesco]

No, the beautiful live rock you will see the future will already be cured.
I agree with SPC but I don't know about the cuke though.

 

[ging]

Great thanks for the info, will do

 

[SPC]

Naesco, the cuke I have is not supposed to poison the tank if he dies like some of them can. I would want to get him out ASAP however as he is pretty large (about 8"). He does a great job cleaning the sand, it goes in one end dirty and comes out the other clean. Personally I would not keep him in a tank that was less than 100 gallons for fear of him starving, but I could be wrong about this.
Steve