Set Up the Live Rock Center Piece in my Tank

[jaymz69]

Any best practices on setting up a Live Rock center piece?

I have a 36 gallon bow front tank
I am getting some LR and not sure if I just pile it up or is there a method?

I will be wanting to add coral, anemones, and only a couple of fish.

Right now I have a month of the water and a yellow tail damsel that has been doing great and all my levels are stable.
5lbs of LR

**** I also know I need to find at least a 100 Watt light to support the life any good places to buy on a tight budget?
Thanks

 

[mojoreef]

Jay best to do a search on that topic their are many threads on RF about different ways to do rock work and the different ways to do it. That and it is always nice to see other rockscaping for inspiration.


Mike

 

[eww]

As to your lighting inquiry... T5 light fixtures can be found rather inexpensively on ebay and from several of the sponsors on here. 30" width is not a common for these fixtures so finding something used might be more challenging than if you had a 24" or 36" wide tank. You could run a 24" wide fixture though and not have any problems. T5 runs cooler and uses less power than MH and you have a large variety of bulbs to choose from to get the color you want. One drawback (to some) is T5 does not have the shimmer effect that MH or LED gives you but it is a very viable option to grow anything you want. With your 21" tank depth you should be able to grow just about anything you want under T5 as long as you place the high light demanding corals from mid to top of the tank. Just my opinion though and I'm sure someone else will chime in with another idea. You will find that many people have many opinions and almost none of them are wrong. There are so many different ways to be successful in this hobby. You just need to look around and find what you like the most.

 

[1guydude]

+1 ive got a 36bow and i use a 24" oddsyea light from ebay! Make sure to get ATI or grussieman bulbs cuz the stock ones blow! 4bulb system or six preferably

 

[akunochi]

two things. I personally dry stack my rock and use great foam to adhere them together.

On your lighting If you do decide to go 36" T5 let me know. I have a spare one sitting in the garage that I'll beat any price on.

 

[jaymz69]

I still am waiting for Monday the 25th for the lighting.

 

[akunochi]

Yep I will see you Monday with your light.

 

[jaymz69]

Thanks again. How is the SEA-MAX going?

 

[Krish]

I'd get a visual in your mind of how you want your tank to look and then try and mimic it. Some people stack (that's me), others use zip ties or acrylic dowels to place their rocks exactly where they want them. I wanted basically two higher pillars connected in my 75gal and so I aquascaped the tank to look like it and accomplished it. Just takes a bit of patience and time. Here's a picture below of th 75 gal to give you an idea. We have threads here like "Show your full tank shots" that you can browse through to get some ideas. See a layout you like, then try replicate it.

 

[steven11]

Jay,

When I first started in the hobby, I found it very helpful to see other tanks in person. That way I could ask questions. I did this while I was collecting the equipment and got better advise than I would have at any store.

I had a 36 bowfront years back and lit it with a 250 halide. But I was growing sps. I have not been impressed with T5's as I was going through bulbs every 4-6 months. I hear that the fixture makes a huge difference in the life of the bulb though and I was running a Tek8 fixure. Specificly fixures that have "active cooling" will do better. If the t5's are operating too hot, the bulbs strength degrades. Im not to scientific with light meters measuring PAR but my corals would start looking like crap, I would change out the bulbs and within a few days they were all happy again. I am in Auburn as well, your more than welcome to stop by any time if you would like.

 

[Krish]

Here's that thread I mentioned. http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f14/show-me-your-full-tank-shots-1989/

Browse it and you should get some good ideas.

 

[jaymz69]

Thanks, I will.

Nice tank BTW

 

[jaymz69]

There are so many nicely pieced ones out there.

So many decisions. This will be fun.