I have a 54 gallon corner aquarium that I had set up as a reef in 12/18 by a lfs. The lfs set it up with 100 lbs of live rock, which I'm now thinking was a bit too much rock. I'm looking at redistributing the rock, and possibly eliminating some of it, to get more of the look I wanted, but still keeping it habitable for the fish.
The rock is stacked mostly toward the center of the aquarium - lots of nooks and crannies, but some of the livestock seem to "hide" in these areas and are then not available for viewing. I currently have an emerald crab (I think), a starfish (I think), and a damselfish that seems to be hiding in the stack of rock. I eventually want to get a few more fish and corals and anemones for my aquarium, but thought I'd better rethink the aquascaping before I do so . . . maybe a more "open" look to the rock aquascaping would give me the viewing pleasure that I want??
My questions are as follows:
1. Is 100 lbs of rock too much for a 54 gallon aquarium? Can I take out some of it now, and re-add it if I change my mind? How do I store the live rock in the meantime?
2. Are the livestock happier having unobservable "caves" to hide in? Some of the pix I've looked at online seem to have a very open structure to the rock placement, which I really prefer, but I don't want to do this if this will cause the livestock to suffer.
Any suggestions would be helpful!
The rock is stacked mostly toward the center of the aquarium - lots of nooks and crannies, but some of the livestock seem to "hide" in these areas and are then not available for viewing. I currently have an emerald crab (I think), a starfish (I think), and a damselfish that seems to be hiding in the stack of rock. I eventually want to get a few more fish and corals and anemones for my aquarium, but thought I'd better rethink the aquascaping before I do so . . . maybe a more "open" look to the rock aquascaping would give me the viewing pleasure that I want??
My questions are as follows:
1. Is 100 lbs of rock too much for a 54 gallon aquarium? Can I take out some of it now, and re-add it if I change my mind? How do I store the live rock in the meantime?
2. Are the livestock happier having unobservable "caves" to hide in? Some of the pix I've looked at online seem to have a very open structure to the rock placement, which I really prefer, but I don't want to do this if this will cause the livestock to suffer.
Any suggestions would be helpful!
