Rotating Rocks With Sand in Tank?

[Dinkins Aquatic Gardens Verified Sponsor]

Hey all! I have my tank installed in the wall with the rear of the tank accessible from under the stairs. I have about 16" of headroom, so I have to squat and reach (tank is 24" high and 30" deep) but it works. I'm trying to think ahead, though, to adding corals in a few months once everything stabilizes. I won't be able to reach the front of my aquascape to attach the corals. I was thinking of turning my aquascape "backwards," attaching the corals when the time comes, and rotating them around to face the front of the tank. Will this cause problems with sand already in the tank? Would sand grains getting under my flat-base live rock aquascape cause stability problems or even create pressure points on the bottom pane of glass?

 

[blaxsun]

As long as you can reposition it you should be fine. If the rocks are fairly stable simply switching them around shouldn’t pose any other problems other than probably stirring up a bit of sand when you do it, although it will really depend on how elaborate your aquascaping is. Turning off any pumps and wavemakers prior will help minimize this.