When to add sand.

[Curt Boswelll]

Today I am getting the live rock for my tank. Problem is I don't have my sand and don't know if I'll be able to today. Would it be better to keep the rock in my tank and add sand once I get it. Or to keep the rock in a bucket with a heater and powerhead? Thanks everyone!

[kenny1]

IMO The live rock should be settled into your tank before the sand is placed. If you later get a animal that digs, pistol shrimp, they can sometimes cause the live rock to shift if it is not all the way down to the glass. That being said, the live rock that ends up under the sand will almost certainly have some decay. In other words don't completely bury it.

[kenny1]

An avalanche can cause big problems

[briankmarsh1980]

You can add your rock if you want or you can put it in containers. ..

I find it easier to add the sand first.
If you dont wash the sand well you will have a cloudy mess for days and you wont be able to see where you are placing your rock.
So depending on how you are doing this I cant say what it better.

[SwampyBill]

Place rock on bottom of tank first, get aquascaping the way you want it; then spread washed sand around it to help anchor rocks in place. How long between adding sand to live rock? A few days shouldn't matter; but much longer & you'll probly just have a bit longer cycle w/ bacteria colonizing the rocks/sand.

[FDdragon]

I always added my rock after the sand, but I did have some rocks that moved a little when my eel was making it's home under the rocks. This was because my rock was resting on the sand instead of the tank.

[Mrramsey]

I did all of my rockwork first then the sand followed by the water. But I was scaping with dry rock.

[tmz]

I think using some dry rock (lesser organic material) for the bottom layer or some other clean base material makes burying it less of a worry in terms of sulfide produdtion . Putting rock on top of sand is going to be trouble in terms of stability over time.

To be clear sand isn't necessary for filtration,bare bottom tanks do well as do shallow sand bed tanks .Sand does provide additional surface area and some find it aesthetically pleasing or need it for certain critters they wish to keep.