Do you stack rocks against the glass?

[Bmezz]

yes i do! i like the look of the rocks up the back and all the the places to make caves and shelves for coral and tunnels. i used big pieces of live rock so there are not a ton of small pieces filling in crevices so there is movement all over

 

[raymanucy]

I worry about putting extra stress on the glass seals holding everything together. What are your experiences and thoughts ?

 

[Mark Gray]

I usually have rocks at least close to the back wall I never clean it

 

[Old Glory]

Yes on the back wall. I have it stacked so the rock is more in the center in the first row the the second row is oriented at an angle with a few on top leaning against the glass. There is enough space for fish but not a a magnet in some spots. Every so often I move a power head to blow out behind the rocks right before a water change.

 

[AJsReef]

I did a lot when I first started in the hobby. I’m pretty methodical about cleaning so I learned over time that not being cable to access the back glass easily bothered me.

It’s a lot easier to accomplish in deeper tanks, 24”+ width.

 

[petemichelle]

Tank is going on 16+ years with rock stacked against the back wall and never had an issue with Nitrates. I have to dose spectracide to get measurable Nitrates

what kind of zoas are those on the whole left of the tank????? beautiful

 

[pscheel2]

what kind of zoas are those on the whole left of the tank????? beautiful

They are Tubbs Blue Zoas

 

[Jeepguy242]

i used to have rocks on the back glass....

im gonna do a tank reboot and leave a little space back there this time.... also going with alot less rock and a more thought out scape.... trying things different for easier maintenance this time.....

 

[MartinWaite]

I have my rock in a "m" formation and only some of th top rocks touch th back glass and nothing touches the sides. Although I have just introduced another large block of MarinePure so I can reduce the amount of rock I have in the tank and have more fish in. I also have loads of turnover in the tank to prevent waste been caught up round the back of the rocks my tank only holds 200 litre plus 80 in the sump and I have a MP10, a CP25 gyre, and a pair of Jecod rw4's which I prefer at least I have directional flow to ensure I have good flow round the tank.

 

[Dianna Marshall]

I
Like the space for cleaning - no pockets for detritusto build - I had once heard it’s not good for the glass to have any sharp edges or pressure against the glass from the the rocks- wives tale?

 

[ReeferRoo]

Whenever I decide to redo my tank aquascaping i will add more rock work towards the back but I wouldn't put the rocks against the glass.

 

[Ento-Reefer]

I have done both in the past. For my new build I am trying to leave enough space for flow and cleaning on all sides.

 

[Brian W]

No. Makes it harder to clean the glass

 

[BlueWorldJeff]

I've done pillars in the middle of the tank for the Blue World 180.

In my previous 120g, I have rock piled up and it caused a nitrate sink., even though it was just rock work against the short wall of a peninsula setup.

I need more rock to mount corals to, so I was thinking of adding rock walls on either side of the center overflow of the 180. I would create the walls like I did with the pillars, mounting the rock together outside of the aquarium with epoxy. With such a a small footprint that would go in the sand, I dont think alot of detritus will build up, although when constructing the walls, I will try to provide some space behind the rock for water to flow.

I remember when Jason Fox was talking about his 700, he said he left room behind the rock and has a powerhead the blows behind the rock work.

I think building rock from teh back wall towards the front like alot of tanks have is beneficial for coral lighting and minimal shading as well as getting flow to blow "across the reef".

I'd be interested in seeing more back to front aquascapes like Jason Fox and Sanjay have. I asked jason if he had any pictures of his rockwork before mounting coral and he did not.

 

[Forsaken77]

I have one rock that's against the back glass for my cleaner shrimp to live in an area where he won't get nibbled on and have safety from the fish, and sooo much gunk gets collected back there from just one rock. I would definitely not recommend it unless you have a hidden powerhead back there to move stuff around.