Should I place my rock against the back?

[thewackyreefer]

Or, should I leave it where it is, allowing for increased flow, room for fish to swim, etc?

I feel like another 2-3" up front in the sand bed would be nice, but, is it worth it?

(Please ignore the random PVC I was using to move sand around )

 

[TheDashCave]

Additional water flow and lack of dead spots in the back outweighs sand real estate in the front. I've learned the hard way. Maintenance is just a pain when stacked flat up against the back. Not only to clean the back glass but detritus build up.

 

[reef lover]

Yup. +1

 

[thewackyreefer]

Additional water flow and lack of dead spots in the back outweighs sand real estate in the front. I've learned the hard way. Maintenance is just a pain when stacked flat up against the back. Not only to clean the back glass but detritus build up.

I appreciate the confirmation. The tank is 30” deep so I have plenty of space, just wanna make sure I’m doing the right thing.

Thanks again.

 

[TheDashCave]

I personally like to keep coralline algae off the back. If you want to do the same make sure you test run your scraper to see if you’ll have enough space + leverage to clean.

 

[TheDashCave]

Just thought of something else, account for coral growth and placement while you do that too

 

[thewackyreefer]

I personally like to keep coralline algae off the back. If you want to do the same make sure you test run your scraper to see if you’ll have enough space + leverage to clean.

I'm pretty sure that's going to be impossible for me anyways, given the size of the tank. It's 72" x 30" x 27" and I'm not sure there's any way I can reach to the bottom in the back center of the tank. I'm going to have to try this out though! I appreciate the suggestion.

 

[Bryce M.]

I got a new tank and the previous owner put rock on the back, all scratched up

 

[Lol21]

Besides flow in the back. Keeping the rocks out like that also allows more room for the fish to swim. My 6ft 135g the rock wall is out like yours is. It allows my fish to swim 6ft in front and 6 feet in the back

 

[Mcgregor19]

I’d leave room in the back just for flow purposes I have stacked a scape on a back of an older tank I had and it was a pain to clean the glass but if you were just going to let coraline take over the back glass stacking it on it wouldn’t be an issue in my opinion