Looking for some advice on new solana setup

[125tank]

Hi folks - Just got myself an AIO solana 34g Does anybody know how many lbs do I need in order to have 1'' sand bed? (i'm considering Tropic Eden mini-flakes/reef flakes). Also, I plan to work on some rockscape, any suggestion of what kind of glue/epoxy work best?


Is the original skimmer in the system sufficient enough? It seems like many ppl opt for the Tunze 9002 for some reason

 

[ava420]

no clue about how many lbs of sand you would need for a 1" sand bed sorry. but for the rockscape go with "JB water weld" it works great. i have seen some people drill holes and use acrilic rods to hold rocks. i like this idea but i always break the rock when i try drilling them for frag plugs so i would probably stick with JBww...

 

[Nate G]

Not sure the dimensions of your tank, but I used the reef flakes(http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/TE-TE03616R30.html) in my standard 20 gallon long. I'd estimate I used a little less than 3/4 the bag which makes the sand comes slightly higher than the bottom black trim. To give you an estimate of the depth, when I stick a frag plug in the sand, the "stem" is completely buried and the bottom of the disc is flush on the sand. This was also prior to sticking my rocks in the tank.

 

[MrX]

I'd guess a 40LB bag of sand would be enough to get about an inch of sand. I had an old salt bucket (5gal) 3/4ths full of sand that I'd cleaned and it gave me about an inch of sand in my 40B (36x18 if I recall).

This was also prior to sticking my rocks in the tank.

Not to hi-jack the thread but are you saying you put your rock in AFTER the sand? Did you do anything to assure your rock won't move? It's usually recommended to put your rock in first, then the sand, so that the rock is flush/flat on the glass/eggcrate. That way critters that dig won't dig under your rock and cause things to come tumbling down.

 

[Jarob]

I have a solana and used that sand as well. One bag is enough for 2+ of these tanks. As for the rock structure, use fiberglass rods and JB Water Weld, same I used!

 

[Nate G]

*snip*
Not to hi-jack the thread but are you saying you put your rock in AFTER the sand? Did you do anything to assure your rock won't move? It's usually recommended to put your rock in first, then the sand, so that the rock is flush/flat on the glass/eggcrate. That way critters that dig won't dig under your rock and cause things to come tumbling down.

I probably should have said it's not recommended so others don't follow that method but I did indeed do that. I figured it would be informative for him to know it covered the whole 20l without displacement from rocks. As for your concern its appreciated but I have no critters or fish that bury or dwell under the sand nor do I plan on adding any for this tank. Also, every piece of rock in the tank sits on the sand bed so no worries of anything toppling. :encouragement: