ANOTHER live rock post... Sorry

[Flaxon-Waxon]

I feel like the standard 55 gallon are very narrow, and that having a lot of live rock limits quite a bit of the area for fish to actually swim in (when the rock is put in the middle of the tank, lengthwise)
Like this:




That being said, I have a question/thought about live rock placement. I do see a lot of tanks with the rock set up towards the back of the tank, basically stacked next to the glass, if not leaning against it. Is there any reason to not have the rock towards the back of the tank as long as there is plenty of flow? I feel like it would in turn give the fish more room to swim, plus give a lot more usable floor space for the bottom dwellers... Thoughts?

 

[Sniperhank]

In my 55 reef, I have my rock up against the back glass due to being so narrow. This gave me more sandbed for my acan lords. Sadly, it does limit the flow back there and I have buildup that there isn't much I can do about. I'm thinking about adding some hermits to keep it stirred up for my skimmer to take care of.

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

What kind of power head set up in that tank sniper?

 

[Sniperhank]

I havea 1050, 3 750, and a 550 koralia and a marineland that equals a 1050. There is alot of flow in my tank...the 550 was set up on the back glass to try and avoid the settling of debree. Didnt work as well as i hoped, but my blue trumpet loved it so ot stayed.

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

Oh wow 5 ph's in a 55g... That's pushin some water! I have a 1400, 550 and 450.. I think I should be able to tweak em so it works out... Hopefully at least

 

[Sniperhank]

Ya. That doesnt even include my return pump.

 

[nikki_kaiser]

I have a 56 gallon tank and had mine leaning against the glass at one point but I moved it out some because it's very difficult to clean around. Basically, I pulled it 2 inches off the glass and stacked it upwards. I need to get more LR though. I only have 38 lbs in there now. Planning on getting about 15 lbs more this weekend so I can QT it and then put it in. Have you all used anything to dip your LR in to get worms etc off that's safe for inverts?

 

[Schism]

Stacking against the glass will limit flow around the rocks. Also detritus will build up significantly back there, making cleaning behind impossible. This will mean nitrate build up to some degree. An abundance of flow will help but it will not eliminate detritus buildup.

 

[Sniperhank]

Basically use my tank as an example of this. Tons of flow and doesnt solve the issue. Jist make sure you stack the rocks first then add sand. That or add some egg crate ro support the rocks if you want to stack close to the glass. One shift in the sand otherwise could mean disaster.