Does LR placement in tank affect performace?

one4gatr · 09/24/2009, 12:21 PM

I have a new reef tank I am working on and have it mixed with LS, LR, BR no critters other than the hitchikers that came on the rock... I wasnt really happy with my aquascape and decided to move things yesterday. I removed ALL of the rock and the reassembled in the tank in a way I thought looked nicer...

Well to make a long story short the live rock was originally on the bottom with BR on top... now its just the opposite... I have a HOB filter and most of the LR is now around the intake to the filter... I had a little cloudiness in the water prior and elevated Ammonia and Nitrates.... Within an hour of the rock restructing the water cleared IMMENSELY (like an Analog TV vs HD) and testing today shows a large drop in the Ammonia and Nitrates.

SO... does LR placement really have that kind of effect or is it just coincidence that my cycle is just ending at the same time?

Thanks!

blazing · 09/24/2009, 12:50 PM

IMO the placement of the rock does not effect ur water prams. i think when u moved the rocks it stured up some stuuf and thats y u had the spike.

seapug · 09/24/2009, 12:52 PM

The aquascape arrangement can have a dramatic effect on circulation which can cause or create dead zones where detritus settles and algae can thrive, but the ammonia situation you just described is most likely a coincidence. Rearranging rocks can kick up a lot of detritus so it's more common to have a slight (temporary) decline in water quality immediately after, not an instant improvement.

blazing · 09/24/2009, 12:55 PM

i hate u seapug!!! lol j/k i love ur avatar, thats some nice zoas and love the color mixture

one4gatr · 09/24/2009, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by seapug
The aquascape arrangement can have a dramatic effect on circulation which can cause or create dead zones where detritus settles and algae can thrive, but the ammonia situation you just described is most likely a coincidence. Rearranging rocks can kick up a lot of detritus so it's more common to have a slight (temporary) decline in water quality immediately after, not an instant improvement.

Cool.. Thanks all... I think the circulation pretty much stayed the same but since I dont have a huge bio load on tank right now I assume thats why no spikes but I will chalk it up to coincindence that the levels DROPPED.... maybe it was just time as I have been cycling for about 3 weeks....

aNorthernSoul · 09/24/2009, 02:58 PM

Um, I'm a total newbie, so feel free to say I am 100% wrong, but did you say your live rock was on the bottom and the base rock was on top and when you switched them around it improved? I would say this likely had something to do with it, no? As far as I understood, you don't want your live rock leaning against each other or anything whenever possible and that base rock should be on the bottom otherwise you will start to get more die off on the areas of rock that are covered or pressed against other pieces. Is this not correct?

seapug · 09/24/2009, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by aNorthernSoul
Um, I'm a total newbie, so feel free to say I am 100% wrong, but did you say your live rock was on the bottom and the base rock was on top and when you switched them around it improved? I would say this likely had something to do with it, no? As far as I understood, you don't want your live rock leaning against each other or anything whenever possible and that base rock should be on the bottom otherwise you will start to get more die off on the areas of rock that are covered or pressed against other pieces. Is this not correct?

it's okay to have rocks touching, what you want to avoid is creating a dense wall of rock that water can't can't flow through or completely burying a live rock. The difference between "live rock" and "base rock" is generally a subjective thing based on appearance (and therefore, cost). If both are limestone based and spent time submerged the ocean, they're both "live rock."

aNorthernSoul · 09/24/2009, 05:19 PM

Ah, OK... thanks for clearing that up! I'll stop stressing about if my rock is touching then!

one4gatr · 09/24/2009, 07:29 PM

No my base rock was/is old Florida LR... my new LR is a mix of Fiji and Florida. I like the Florida due to the vast amount of holes and caves they provide. When I started the tank I went out and bought a few pieces of mix and match LR and basically just threw them in... Then I shopped over the next month or so adding a piece here and there to my aquascape. As a result MOST of the LR ended up being on the bottom of the reef pile. SO when I rearranged everything I brought the LR to the top of the pile as now I have PLENTY of BR I could build upon. My water params went from middle of the road to close to zero's in less than a day.

Thats why I was a bit perplexed wondering was the LR getting enough exposure to the water column to do its thing. Like many said I guess coincidence but hey I will take it... Kids are driving me nuts about adding some fishes... I will wait another week or so and do a couple of small water changes in between to see if my params stay down... if so then we will head down to the LFS and get a small clown and/or blue or green chromis get our feet wet so to speak....

09/24/2009, 12:21 PM	#1
one4gatr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Jacksonville, Florida Posts: 400	Does LR placement in tank affect performace? I have a new reef tank I am working on and have it mixed with LS, LR, BR no critters other than the hitchikers that came on the rock... I wasnt really happy with my aquascape and decided to move things yesterday. I removed ALL of the rock and the reassembled in the tank in a way I thought looked nicer... Well to make a long story short the live rock was originally on the bottom with BR on top... now its just the opposite... I have a HOB filter and most of the LR is now around the intake to the filter... I had a little cloudiness in the water prior and elevated Ammonia and Nitrates.... Within an hour of the rock restructing the water cleared IMMENSELY (like an Analog TV vs HD) and testing today shows a large drop in the Ammonia and Nitrates. SO... does LR placement really have that kind of effect or is it just coincidence that my cycle is just ending at the same time? Thanks!

09/24/2009, 12:52 PM	#3
seapug Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: 4980 ft. Posts: 7,954 Blog Entries: 1	The aquascape arrangement can have a dramatic effect on circulation which can cause or create dead zones where detritus settles and algae can thrive, but the ammonia situation you just described is most likely a coincidence. Rearranging rocks can kick up a lot of detritus so it's more common to have a slight (temporary) decline in water quality immediately after, not an instant improvement. __________________ insert clever saying here. Current Tank Info: 200 gallon custom Marineland DD peninsular tank. LPS dominated mixed reef. Previous 90 gallon mixed reef TOTM April 2009.

09/24/2009, 12:50 PM	#2
blazing Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: yay area Posts: 625	IMO the placement of the rock does not effect ur water prams. i think when u moved the rocks it stured up some stuuf and thats y u had the spike.

09/24/2009, 12:55 PM	#4
blazing Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: yay area Posts: 625	i hate u seapug!!! lol j/k i love ur avatar, thats some nice zoas and love the color mixture

09/24/2009, 02:58 PM	#6
aNorthernSoul Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Calgary AB Canada Posts: 35	Um, I'm a total newbie, so feel free to say I am 100% wrong, but did you say your live rock was on the bottom and the base rock was on top and when you switched them around it improved? I would say this likely had something to do with it, no? As far as I understood, you don't want your live rock leaning against each other or anything whenever possible and that base rock should be on the bottom otherwise you will start to get more die off on the areas of rock that are covered or pressed against other pieces. Is this not correct?

09/24/2009, 05:19 PM	#8
aNorthernSoul Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Calgary AB Canada Posts: 35	Ah, OK... thanks for clearing that up! I'll stop stressing about if my rock is touching then!

09/24/2009, 07:29 PM	#9
one4gatr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Jacksonville, Florida Posts: 400	No my base rock was/is old Florida LR... my new LR is a mix of Fiji and Florida. I like the Florida due to the vast amount of holes and caves they provide. When I started the tank I went out and bought a few pieces of mix and match LR and basically just threw them in... Then I shopped over the next month or so adding a piece here and there to my aquascape. As a result MOST of the LR ended up being on the bottom of the reef pile. SO when I rearranged everything I brought the LR to the top of the pile as now I have PLENTY of BR I could build upon. My water params went from middle of the road to close to zero's in less than a day. Thats why I was a bit perplexed wondering was the LR getting enough exposure to the water column to do its thing. Like many said I guess coincidence but hey I will take it... Kids are driving me nuts about adding some fishes... I will wait another week or so and do a couple of small water changes in between to see if my params stay down... if so then we will head down to the LFS and get a small clown and/or blue or green chromis get our feet wet so to speak....