Setting Up The Tank
What You Will Need (Bare Minimum Reefing Essentials)
Marco Rock
Bacteria
Heater w/ Temp
We prefer to do a leak test by filling the tank and checking for leaks and then emptying before starting.
Now that the tank is in place, set up your rock work in your desired scape.
We use egg crate or reef cement to hold rocks together and keep them stable.
Once rock is stable and in place, add your substrate (crushed coral, sand etc.)
This will prevent any burrowing animals from moving sand around under the rock, making it unstable.
Add your saltwater slowly over the rock to avoid stirring up the sand and making it cloudier.
Plug in your return pump, heater and powerheads.
Next add your ammonia source (A dead shrimp or fish food willl work) and to speed up the cycling process, bacteria can be added.
Our Recommendations
Marco Rock
Why do We prefer Marco Rock over other Reef Rock?​
While it is nearly impossible to eliminate all pests from the tank, starting with clean dry rock helps eliminate the possibility of bringing something unknown into the tank. It also gives us the perfect starting point to create our desired ecosystems as we can decide what we want to introduce to the tank.
Marco Rock is a sustainable product that is not taken directly from the ocean.
It's 100% natural Calcium Carbonate and extremely porous. This allows for more surface area for good bacteria to continue to populate within the rocks.
These Rocks come in many sizes and shapes to allow you to get creative with your aquascape and make it your own!
Medium-Large Grain Sand Types
CaribSea Arag-Alive
Natural Reef Aquarium Gravel
CaribSea Geo-Marine
Florida Crushed Coral
CaribSea Arag-Alive
Florida Crushed Coral
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Top choice for reef displays
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Great for sand sifting gobies, wrasses, jawfish and other burrowing fish.
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Helps maintain pH
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Doesn't get blown around compared to other grain sizes.
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Easier to clean with gravel vac
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Brightens up the sandbed and reflects light back towards coral
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Can be added directly to the tank
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Contains beneficial bacteria
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Larger Grain size for easier cleaning
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Doesn't get blown around as easily in high flow areas
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Can support the roots of mangroves and is a great substrate for Macro Algae Tanks
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Best substrate for copepods and other microorganisms to populate
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Helps maintains pH
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Brightens up the sandbed and reflects light back towards coral
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Needs to be rinsed well before adding.
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Does not contain any live bacteria
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Larger Grain size for easier cleaning
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Doesn't get blown around as easily in high flow areas
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Can support the roots of mangroves and is a great substrate for Macro Algae Tanks
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Best substrate for copepods and other microorganisms to populate
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Helps maintains pH
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Brightens up the sandbed and reflects light back towards coral
Gravel Vac
Cleaning the sand/crushed coral
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Cost effective and easy to use.
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Siphon tube to avoid having to use your mouth.
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Removes aquarium water quickly out of the tank.
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Pulls out more waste and less water.
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Keeps sandbed looking cleaner
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Long narrow siphoning tube allows for heavier grained sand to settle back down on bottom of tank and decreases the risk of it getting sucked up.
Bare Bottom vs. Substrate (Sand/Crushed Coral)
You may be overwhelmed with all the choices when it comes to reefing; and deciding on your setup, is no different! However, making a decision between bare bottom or the type of substrate to choose can be very simple once you have an idea of what animals you plan to keep.
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Bare bottom tanks are easier to siphon gunk and detritus that have settled on the bottom. This can be particularly nice when keeping low nutrient systems, SPS corals, frag tanks seahorses or other animals that require more heavy feedings; or if you just prefer the look. It can be more cost efficient as sand can be pricey the larger the tank you get. Having a bare bottom tank can also reduce nutrients that would build up in the sandbed, keeping it in the water column and can reduce the risk of pests in the tank more than those with sandbeds.
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We at K&P Aquaculture prefer our sand to be a medium size grain or crushed coral in our systems. Not only does it provide more sources for beneficial bacteria, pod species and other microorganisms, but we also prefer the look! We use a medium size grain sand in display tanks, especially for tanks with burrowing wrasses, jawfish, or sand sifting gobies. Crushed coral can be too large and harmful to them.
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Some sands can be too fine and get kicked up by powerheads irritating and harming coral and can easily be sucked up during tank cleaning
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Medium grain sand or crushed coral can easily be cleaned with a gravel vac to prevent kicking up too much sand in the tank and creating a potential ammonia spike that could harm your fish and invertebrates.
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We prefer a sandbed about 1" deep to allow microfauna to grow but not trap excess nutrients and allow for easier cleaning. Unless you are keeping animals such as garden eels or jawfish there isn't much need for a deeper one!
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