dsb and reef flush

[ClownieandBilly]

Hi just starting to build up my 120gal reef tank and as my computer has been out of action i have lost touch with you guys.I have my tank in position now but have a question before i put the sand in for my 5" DSB.The company who built my system have positioned my reef flush bar right along the bottom of my tank.They say that i need to put egg crate plastic down then build rocks up on that and only having sand up to the egg crate.Surely sand will slowly fall through under the rocks?They said that i can not build my rocks up on top of the sand as the sand will eventually solidify and cause problems.I would like your advice on this as i will need to raise my reef flush bar so it sits above my dsb if i can build my rocks on top of sand.I can not put any sand in until i know the best way to go.THANKS

[OrionGirl]

Best bet it to put the rocks on the bottom (get base rock, or tufa rock), then put in the sand, then put the live rock on top of the rock base. Any digging fish you get will undermine the rocks if set on the sand, causing problems.

Or, use the eggcrate. We built a stand of eggcrate with PVC legs, so the rock sits about .5 inch above the sand bed. We have an engineer goby, so this prevents cave ins. The DSB gets shifted around a bit too much, but not a problem since this is only one of three in the system.

You will want to return to be a bit above the DSB--otherwise, it will fill in with sand.

[ClownieandBilly]

so how does this sound,i put in my 5"-6" dsb and fully cover bottom of tank.Then i put egg crate along the back of my tank on top of the sand then build up from there with rocks.The reef flush bar will sit on top of egg crate so when it is turned on it will push out any debris from under the rocks.Will i have a problem with the sand becoming solid under the eggcrate if i use this method?

[Ray Pollett]

It will depend on the animals you populate the sand with.

Ray

[ClownieandBilly]

what animals can i introduce that will stop sand solidifying under eggcrate and live rock?

[Ray Pollett]

Originally posted by ClownieandBilly
what animals can i introduce that will stop sand solidifying under eggcrate and live rock?

I never use eggcrateing. I buy base rock. here is a good place www.hirocks.com I put the base rock on the bare bottom of the tank and pour the sand in around the base rock. Detrivores, cleanup crews, pistol shrimp and gobies all help the sand from compacting. Most would probably work with the eggcrateing also, just never tried it.

Ray