Rock Supports?

[maveri9720]

Hi guys. I am in the waiting stage of trying to set-up my 120 reef. All I need now is my sump, (which is being built), plumbing hardware, (which will be ordered once I receive my sump so I can determine exactly what I need) and misc supplies to be picked up at the LFS.

So I have been trying to research initial set up tips and info. I came across rock supports and was fairly intrigued by this.

What is everyone's opinion on making a support to keep your rock off of the substrate?

I like the idea and like even more combining the rock support with a CLS to get great flow under the rocks. So that way, it would function as a rock support and as a CLS / Spray bar.

Has anyone done this here?

Pros and Cons would be appreciated, along with any other info.

Thanks.

 

[mojo]

My opinion is that unless you use a lot of PVC or it's heavy-duty 1.5"+, it's just too difficult to work with in our tanks. I've seen the use of fibergrate and other forms of supports used well for large tanks - 100's of gallons, but IMO, it's just too hard to do in a hobby-sized tank.

 

[tsciarini]

Another option is to drill holes in 4" PVC and slice it...

 

[tsciarini]

In my tank I used small pieces of starboard and filled in the sand bed around it... thus creating BB under the rock and SSB thru the rest of the tank.... the problem comes in where the sand gets blown around and exposes the starboard (which could be controlled by adjusting my powerheads but that would be too much work. lol)

 

[maveri9720]

Can both of you take a look at this and tell me what you think of it:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Invisible-Live-Rock-Lift_W0QQitemZ160027278416QQihZ006QQcategoryZ117437QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem">http://cgi.ebay.com/Invisible-Live-Rock-Lift_W0QQitemZ160027278416QQihZ006QQcategoryZ117437QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem</a>

This person builds these for people and is a member of another fish forum.

Just wondering what your collective thoughts were and if you thought that it would be something effective and worth it to buy.

It is alot more inconspicuous than having the PVC in there. I saw the drilled PVC mentioned before and it looked kinda cheesy/ghetto to me. This looks alot more refined and seems to blend in quite well.

Thoughts?

P.S. What's up?

 

[tsciarini]

it doesnt look bad as long as you dont mind your entire rock base hovering above the sand like a spaceship....

 

[tsciarini]

All your base rock are belong to us!

HAHAHHAHAA

 

[maveri9720]

Is it any different than putting pieces of drilled PVC under it?

 

[maveri9720]

tscia wrote: All your base rock are belong to us!

HAHAHHAHAA

I don't get it.....

 

[tsciarini]

the idea is to hide it within the sand (UN-Like the second person did in my two examples)

 

[tsciarini]

Maveri9720 wrote: I don't get it.....

That's because youre not l33t like I am.... :roll:

 

[maveri9720]

tscia wrote: That's because youre not l33t like I am.... :roll:

I still don't get it. But you are still weird.:lol:

 

[mojo]

He's referring to nerd humor. I, of course, am not a nerd, but have seen this type of behavior before, so I'll provide some background:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_your_base">All your base are belong to us</a>

[IMG]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L33t">133t-speak</a>

:shades:

 

[maveri9720]

Thanks for deciphering Chris.

Tony, you are seriously weird.

Strange how you knew exactly what he was talking about Chris.............hmmmmmmm?????

Nice try.

 

[kappaknight]

I don't know about the invisible thing... it's very possible the coralline algae can grow on it. The way I have it setup is to put the rocks on the sand but only have select contact points. I definitely don't have a lot of the rocks on the sand, but some minimal contact is needed to support the rest of the shelves.

 

[maveri9720]

kappaknight wrote: I don't know about the invisible thing... it's very possible the coralline algae can grow on it. The way I have it setup is to put the rocks on the sand but only have select contact points. I definitely don't have a lot of the rocks on the sand, but some minimal contact is needed to support the rest of the shelves.

Hey, I PM'd you at TRT and sent you an email.

Let me know.

 

[gwen_o_lyn]

Maveri9720 wrote:

Tony, you are seriously weird.

And just think, Tony could be our next ARC president!! :yay:

 

[kappaknight]

I already responded... Let me know if you didn't get it.

Maveri9720 wrote: Hey, I PM'd you at TRT and sent you an email.

Let me know.

 

[george]

So, could someone elaborate the benefit of levetating your reef off the sand bed? Is this a dead-spot issue?

 

[matttvi]

gwen_o_lyn wrote: And just think, Tony could be our next ARC president!! :yay:

tony's 1337?! he's got my vote, FTW!