I actually think that uncured live rock would have micro & macro algae spores as well as diversity in bacteria. By leaving lights off when fist setting up tank, bacteria get opportunity to colonize. Scrubber Steve is a smart dude.

Yep. Smart guy. I haven't seen him around on RC for months now. Hopefully he'll come back around. It's great to be challenged with new insights. I don't think everybody feels that way though. It's funny to think of myself as open minded, then witness my own reluctance to accept new ideas. I think I may have a thing or two yet to learn!

Don't we all!

The Rock Project has begun!

I have to do it in stages, separated by time, to allow cloudiness to settle. I started yesterday. First I moved all the rocks to along the back wall. I had originally planned to remove the rocks to a bucket, but I decided this would be less shocking and disruptive. I also decided not to remove any sand. Instead, I pushed the dead rocks down into the sand. I expect there may be some more settling, but the live rocks on top should stay out of the sand.

This morning, I finished adding the dead rock foundation. I then moved sand to fill in the spaces between rocks. This brought the cloudiness back, so now I wait for clearing before I figure out what's next. Once I get the sand in the tank moved to where I want it, I'll probably start adding the new sand, to finish off the foundation. Then I can move my live rocks back and that should just about do it.

The tank is hideous right now! I try not to look at it. It's depressing. But, before you know it it'll be done! Then I can make it pretty again.

Wait, what makes it hideous? Cloudiness?

Yes, the cloudiness and the settling out has coated everything in a drab, brown color. On the bright side, I haven't smelled any sulfur.

Oh yeah, I've been there plenty of times. It can be amazing to see how much "crap" is actually in our tanks :0

It does tend to pile up over time.

I made pretty good progress today. I think I should finish the rock project tomorrow. It's still a bit rough, but I'm starting to get excited about the finished product!

Throw on a hob filter with some floss and it'll clear up in an hour I'm sure. QED! :0)

QED? I had to look it up. Is that your way of saying it is a proven method, with a hint of Pirates?

The Rock Project is mostly done. Or is it? Will I tinker with it for months? All the rocks have been placed. It still looks pretty rough. I haven't done the finishing work to tidy up. I'm still looking at it. I'll probably add the new sand tomorrow.

How does it look? It's more substantial with all the additional rocks, so it's taller. I think it's going to be kinda cool. The Allen's Damsels have already been finding new homes in it. I'll try to get it tidied up so I can get pics.

Almost forgot, tonight I was looking at the tank with only the moonlight led on and saw something wild! A swimming worm! It sort of corkscrewed it's way through the water, reminiscent of the ribbon of a rhythmic gymnast. Pretty cool Nature sighting.

How big was that worm? I always see a few of those swimming around at night. Mine are probably 1/2"-3/4". No idea what they're called.

Ha ha! QED = quite easily done. Nerd joke. My calculus teacher back in high school taught us that. So any time we'd finish a big problem we essentially always wrote QED afterward, despite the opposite being true much of the time. :0)

You see them in your tank frequently? I would guess it was around six inches long. No idea what they're called. Just one of those random, night encounters. I think someone else posted a pic of one recently, here on RC. I don't think anyone ID-ed it. I'd guess it is a harmless detrivore. Why the swimming? Maybe it's a mating strategy.

Anyway it was fun to see. I'll probably start looking into my tank at night more now.

Ahh, a nerd joke. What are you if you don't get a nerd joke? Hipster?

I'm getting caffeinated for the final push on the Rock Project. I hope to get a nice, finished look to it, with the new sand. And of course I'll be fiddling with it over time. I believe I have achieved what I set out to - getting my live rocks out of the sand, and keeping them out.

O my goodness, I have missed a lot here these past few days! It sounds like the Rock Project went well however. I often say when rework is necessary that 'it has to look bad before it can look good!'.
I can't wait to see the pics of it. And your swimming worm sounds very cool. I can not recall ever seeing anything like that in my tank and I turn my moonlight LEDs on often.

Yes, with the stop-start nature of the project, it has taken days to do it. I could have worked faster, but what's the rush? So true, Dawn, about a rework looking bad before it looks good. That's where I'm at. If all goes well, it'll transition to looking good.

Ah, we definitely have different kinds then. Mine are tiny.

I got new sand spread around the whole tank. Now waiting for cloudiness to settle. I've got some coarser crushed coral gravel to add next. Hard to tell at this point, but I think I'm going to be happy.

I have no doubt that the tank is going to transition into looking good. Probably when the dust settles from your new sand you will notice improvement already and that is before the macro algae that was growing on your rock has a chance to re-establish itself. Once that happens I think you will be very happy with the results.

Thanks Dawn!

It looks fairly different, with over double the rock volume. I added more sand just to the left of it, to get a similar slope to the way it was, in the beginning. And there are definitely rocks that will need adjustment. But right now, I just want to get it done and live with it for awhile.

I got the crushed coral gravel in. I limited it to just that end of the tank. It's clearing but still a ways to go. I should be able to get pics tomorrow. Did I say that yesterday?

I am anxious to see the pics and how the new larger rock structure looks. I think personally I will like it. I presume also that this will allow more surface area for macroalgae to grow?

I did not realise that you only planned for the crushed coral to be on the patch reef side. Are you thinking that the crushed coral's size could hinder the seagrass growth?

Yeah, I kind of like it now, but I'll like it more once I've messed around with it. There will be more room to grow macros for sure.

Mostly I was just glad to have a little more sand/gravel to spread around. I have found it's a great refuge for pods. I may add some to the seagrass bed too. Haven't decided. It shouldn't harm the grasses, though I wouldn't use it as the only substrate to grow them in.

Looking forward to pics!!

I'm working on crusing through your old thread. I'm at the part where you were considering a butterflyfish and some zoanthids. Very entertaining!