How much rock is too much rock?
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homer1475
Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
1 pound per gallon is all that needed, and even then thats overkill many times. Now we have things like marine pure that can cut down on that amount even more.
To me it looks like alot of rock, but it's your tank and if you like a lot of rock then keep it. I like a lot of rock also for biological filtration, but keep about half of it in my sump so the display doesn't look like just a pile of rocks.
To me it looks like alot of rock, but it's your tank and if you like a lot of rock then keep it. I like a lot of rock also for biological filtration, but keep about half of it in my sump so the display doesn't look like just a pile of rocks.
From an aquascaping perspective, it is very centered. Without any differentiation from one part to another.
Try to use up 2/3 of the tank and use perspective lines like you would in drawing a landscape. Will cause your eyes to travel to a spot and transverse down the line drawing the viewer in.
Any rock you have left over when change, you can call extra.
Try to use up 2/3 of the tank and use perspective lines like you would in drawing a landscape. Will cause your eyes to travel to a spot and transverse down the line drawing the viewer in.
Any rock you have left over when change, you can call extra.
Retro Reefer
Slow and steady wins the race!
On my new tank I used the 1/3 rule to create more visual interest/depth from my rock, I found it useful to impose grid lines on my tank and then scape to match 1/3 intersections..
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I would actually add much more rock, but position it more abstract and not all in the center.
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Reef Pumpkin Carver
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IMO you don't have too much rock, although (as others have stated) I prefer to vary the height. I have found that if the rock traps waste, completely blocks flow, or severely limits swimming space for the fish then it is too much. It is also helpful to keep a gap between the rock and the glass for cleaning. Good luck!
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If it has lots of caves for happy fish and you like the look, then it is just the right amount. It is really hard in pictures to capture the depths, the holes, everything unique about a rock design. In person, I bet it is really cool.
moz71
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I like it. My philosophy is more caves and crevices keep fish happy and therefore healthy. My opinion this actually allows more fish since they can find there own spot. I have sen fish really stressed when can’t hide or get away
Nereaga
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I agree that the only opinion that matters is your own, it is your tank, not ours. Do what looks good to you.
Honestly, IMO, a stacked mountain like that is only gonna cause you issues down the road. Trapped dirt and detritus will for sure collect inside that structure. I like spacing out my rock work now and having sufficient flow around it all. Meaning I center the rock work inside the footprint of the tank. Just something I picked up after setting up 5/6 setups now over the years lol.
I've gone to over 2lbs per gallon of rock in my setups(over 100lbs of rock in a 46g). Honestly, I feel like all it did for me was to make more work as more stuff is decaying/dying off. More clean up crew, more siphoning of the rockwork, basting weekly the areas I couldn't get too.
I go with 1lb per gallon now and maybe a touch less. All I well.
Honestly, IMO, a stacked mountain like that is only gonna cause you issues down the road. Trapped dirt and detritus will for sure collect inside that structure. I like spacing out my rock work now and having sufficient flow around it all. Meaning I center the rock work inside the footprint of the tank. Just something I picked up after setting up 5/6 setups now over the years lol.
I've gone to over 2lbs per gallon of rock in my setups(over 100lbs of rock in a 46g). Honestly, I feel like all it did for me was to make more work as more stuff is decaying/dying off. More clean up crew, more siphoning of the rockwork, basting weekly the areas I couldn't get too.
I go with 1lb per gallon now and maybe a touch less. All I well.
BornHandy
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I concur on the rock restricting flow and becoming a settling trap for detritus. I would try to keep the number of rocks that make contact with the bottom to a minimum, building your reef structure on top of the "pillars". Larger caves make for better flow, less detritus, and more control over the nutrient load years down the road.
Still, there are plenty of successful tanks that are stacked just like yours. So if you like the look, and aren't bothered by the thought of a higher nutrient load, "rock on".
Still, there are plenty of successful tanks that are stacked just like yours. So if you like the look, and aren't bothered by the thought of a higher nutrient load, "rock on".
Dkeller_nc
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OP: When you say "too much rock", you're not giving us much of a clue as to what perspective you mean. And as the responses note, there's a lot of those perspectives, such as "too much rock for tank maintenance", or "too much rock for aesthetic considerations", etc...
Others have already answered from the the above perspectives, but there's another one that hasn't been addressed yet. Specifically, what sort of fish do you intend to keep? If you intend to keep fish that are benthic or otherwise highly dependent on reef structure, then I'd say your tank may be ideal from that perspective. If, on the other hand, you're interested in open water swimmers, then that much rock may restrict their swimming room to some extent.
An example of a few fish that might appreciate the caves and hiding places would be hawkfish, firefish and frogfish. Examples of more open-water swimmers would be tangs, large angels and some of the more boisterous wrasse species.
Others have already answered from the the above perspectives, but there's another one that hasn't been addressed yet. Specifically, what sort of fish do you intend to keep? If you intend to keep fish that are benthic or otherwise highly dependent on reef structure, then I'd say your tank may be ideal from that perspective. If, on the other hand, you're interested in open water swimmers, then that much rock may restrict their swimming room to some extent.
An example of a few fish that might appreciate the caves and hiding places would be hawkfish, firefish and frogfish. Examples of more open-water swimmers would be tangs, large angels and some of the more boisterous wrasse species.
Indytraveler83
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I think it depends alot on what you want in your reef.
This setup would be fantastic if you want to go heavy on coral, inverts, and smaller, rock dwelling fish. It would be negative if you plan to stock with larger, free swimming fish.
For the record, my system looks similar, and I stock wrasses, gobies, etc and tend to stock very heavily with coral and anemones.
This setup would be fantastic if you want to go heavy on coral, inverts, and smaller, rock dwelling fish. It would be negative if you plan to stock with larger, free swimming fish.
For the record, my system looks similar, and I stock wrasses, gobies, etc and tend to stock very heavily with coral and anemones.
X-37B
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Its totally up to you. I agree that the 2lb per gallon rule is not needed and makes good water flow more difficult. All previous tanks of mine were at least 2lbs per.
My current 120 is 1/2lb per gallon around 60-70lbs total. I wanted something different than the "Great wall of reefing" lol. I will admit it is easier to keep clean and with a bare bottom and room behind the scape there is alot of open swimming area. That said I am pushing 50 corals in there with 10 fish at 6 months old.
I wanted room for several stag corals I have to grow into the upper areas of the tank.
Again it really depends on the look " YOU" want.
Here is a few pics of the look I wanted.
The best advice I could give is try to picture what you want your tank to look like when its 2+ years old and grown in.
My current 120 is 1/2lb per gallon around 60-70lbs total. I wanted something different than the "Great wall of reefing" lol. I will admit it is easier to keep clean and with a bare bottom and room behind the scape there is alot of open swimming area. That said I am pushing 50 corals in there with 10 fish at 6 months old.
I wanted room for several stag corals I have to grow into the upper areas of the tank.
Again it really depends on the look " YOU" want.
Here is a few pics of the look I wanted.
The best advice I could give is try to picture what you want your tank to look like when its 2+ years old and grown in.
BornHandy
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Nicely done! I want to see this grown out.Its totally up to you. I agree that the 2lb per gallon rule is not needed and makes good water flow more difficult. All previous tanks of mine were at least 2lbs per.
My current 120 is 1/2lb per gallon around 60-70lbs total. I wanted something different than the "Great wall of reefing" lol. I will admit it is easier to keep clean and with a bare bottom and room behind the scape there is alot of open swimming area. That said I am pushing 50 corals in there with 10 fish at 6 months old.
I wanted room for several stag corals I have to grow into the upper areas of the tank.
Again it really depends on the look " YOU" want.
Here is a few pics of the look I wanted.
The best advice I could give is try to picture what you want your tank to look like when its 2+ years old and grown in.
Timfish
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To a large extent it's up to the individual aquarist to decide what they like. Personally I figure to start with between 1/2 to 2/3 lb per gallon guessing more will be added as corals are added. I also depend heavily on the "Rule of Thirds" as well as the "Golden Ratio"
OP
OP
wallman87
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Thanks for all the opinions. I left about 3 finger lengths of room on the back side and some of the caves near the bottom something 9 inches tall by 5 inches wide could get through. I’m ghost feeding and I do see one spot on the far left side where detritus/ food is sorta collecting some. Can reach the spot with my hand if need be in the future or adjust my flow
Dragonreef202
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You'll find that when your fish are in there you may change it. I would make sure you have enough flow so there are not dead spots that can collect in the tank.
