Live rock placement

[FishTaleZ]

Hi all;

Looking for some quick advice. I will be starting up a 14g bio cube next week (2nd time around) and have been viewing some threads on rock placement. With my last tank my rocks never touched the glass or the back of the tank. Could anyone share any information on rocks that are placed on the back of the tank?

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Robin

 

[JoeCanada11]

I think the trick is to make sure they are not putting any pressure on the glass so that you don't have any cracks because of it. Also remember that you will have flow issues there as well. I have my circulation pump directed so that there is flow in that back area where my rocks touch the glass.

 

[FishTaleZ]

Thanks for your input Joe. The back of the tank is plastic so if some of the rocks lean up against it, it may be alright. With my last tank the corralline took over the whole back of the tank, so I was hoping to hide some of it., plus have some extra room in the front. No rocks will touch the glass as you are correct in putting pressure against it. Plus I do want to clean the glass to avoid corralline build up.

Thanks again.

Robin

 

[nycmarisol]

This is a great thread. I too find myself torn between stacking against the back all the way up or keeping a few inches of space to ensure flow in the back, even though this doesn't allow for as high of a build up, in my opinions, though I am by no means an expert.

I can't seem to find enough material, opinions, etc. to support one or the other.

I have gone with leaving space, though I do see a whole lot of tanks with the rock work right up to the top and directly against the back. Perhaps, as Joe mentioned, these people make sure it stays clean by adding an extra pump and pointing it directly at the back?

I would love to see more input on this thread and get a good discussion going for the pros and cons and preferences on this one.

 

[Wrangy]

Foreword: lol this doesn't account for flow, just purely structural

Personally (not necessarily based on anything but engineering background and general knowledge) I would not stack rocks up against a tank wall, side back or front. The reason being is it makes the tank very unstable (all the weight is towards one side) and this can spell disaster with even a slight bump as your tank may go toppling over. The other thing is uneven pressure and deforming the tank walls over time (acrylic tanks). If you have a heavy rock wall with a fair amount of the weight stacked to one specific point it concentrates all that force to one point which means that a crack could form and bust your tank or if it's four separate bits take a whole wall out completely, disaster again

That being said if your tank is directly against something solid like a house wall then you may get away with doing it to a small extent but I still wouldn't count on it being fool-proof.

When stacking your rock try and get several bits to form the base of whatever structure you choose and have as many contact points with the glass bottom (if you're putting it directly onto it) so to spread the weight around, then from there build up your reef wall or stacks or whatever you please wonderful scapes can still be created without leaning against a wall but if you want to be more creative with yours then I would recommend getting some extra parts and some reef/SW safe epoxies/glues and go a bit DIY to ensure a safe sound structure :turntable but that's another lesson that I'm sure there are more experienced reefers than I on the subject however if you want more info I'm more than willing to offer you what I know and have seen around

Hope that helps!

Dom

 

[ReefApprentice]

The rock work placement ive mostly seen is against the back of the tank(if its up against a wall).I personally would do it up on the back wall but the have a 2 small islands and tons of sand space.