# ? about rocks before substrate



## artlee6 (Mar 7, 2019)

New to aquascaping. This is for a 75 gallon. Here's the layout I might go with. Not doing much stacking but there are a few caves in there. Thinking this will mostly be for peacocks and haps. This is about 75 lbs of limestone and a bonsai driftwood tree with fake grass glued on. My question is, since I'll be placing the rocks directly on the glass, how do I then get the sand into all the little crevices between and in the caves and under part of the bigger rocks that aren't all the way flat on the bottom? If I do 2 inches of sand, should all of the rocks be in the tank first or is ok to set smaller rocks on top of the sand? This is my first time doing this so I'm a little nervous about placement and don't want to scratch the glass or anything. Any help or tips on set up or my layout would be appreciated. Thanks.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I love the rock layout look, you've got a great eye!!

First, 2 inches of sand will be quite deep and you'll lose some of the smaller rocks since they will get buried. Also the fish will probably do some sand moving as well.

Just be sure the larger rocks are on the bottom glass or if you want gaps under them for caves, use some smaller rocks to support elevate them. Once you have the rock placement to your liking, add sand to the tank to the depth you want. Add water to the tank so that you can gently 'shoo' additional sand in any cracks or crevices created by the rocks.


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## artlee6 (Mar 7, 2019)

Thanks!

And yeah maybe I should go with 1 to 1.5 inches of sand instead of 2. Pretty excited to see how this turns out. Thanks for the tips.


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## Kipnlilo (Feb 23, 2018)

Looks great! Can't wait to see it full of water.


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## artlee6 (Mar 7, 2019)

I started another thread asking for feedback but I guess I'll update this one now so there's a before and after. A lot of the smaller rocks got buried by the sand. Kind of wish I had some taller rocks but I think it'll work and will look pretty good once there's fish in there.


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## AV8TOR (Feb 23, 2019)

Art, what size heater are you going to use?


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## artlee6 (Mar 7, 2019)

Using the Fluval E300 that's up to 100 gals. Filter is Fluval FX4.


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