Best way to arrange Live Rock???

[Moonrs]

Well, I've been into Saltwater fishkeeping for almost two years now and, aside from pictures, I've only actually seen two other peoples tanks. Having said that, I've built up whatever knowledge I have here and there, piece by piece. I've always wondered how the majority of others choose the arrangement of LR (and livestock, I suppose). It seems like what I'm doing is working, more or less, but I am not sure. Would you all mind letting me know how you decided on the final arrangement? I wouldn't bother changing anything at this point, but I am facing a move to a house onbase in 10 days. Since I'm going to have to move everything anyway, I figured I'd try to set it up better this time, with advice from you guys. Some of the questions I've wondered about were.... should I set the LR back into the tank leaving a space around the edges to allow things to crawl around, or pile it right to the wall? I've got a good 6" (or more) of space between the LR and the sides, back, and front. The picture is a rough estimate of the way I've had the LR set up in the past. I am still planning on leaving the space in the back. but wasn't sure whether I should maintain the spaces on the side or just build up the LR and let it lean on the glass. I appreciate everyones help. Thanks. Moonrs

[dan]

i would'nt let the rock touch the sides or the front. you need to have enough room to clean the glass with your magnet. in my tank all my rock is in the middle with 3 or 4 inches of open space from rock to glass.

[StephenA]

I have 2 main piles. They all have caves. Then I have one 50lb rock that sits in between the piles. It creates a pretty large cave in the rear. The fish all seem to like the large caves for when I'm cleaning the tank. Like dan said, keep it about 2-3 in from the sides and front. I have one spot on the side where it is about 1.5 in from the side and it cuts my hand when I have to clean down by the dsb. You main concern is rock slides! Try to put the bottom rocks 2-3 in under the sand.

[RobertG]

Just make it sturdy, & have it the way you like it to look. :-D

[Tim Marvin]

I keep the sides and front clear, but it piles back against the glass. Keep the base out a few inches from the back and you can pile up and slightly back so the top couple pieces will touch the back glass. The key is to pile it up as light as you can so flow can pass through it. Of course you don't want it to be unsightly either but small cave and such look good IMO.

[Moonrs]

I have a california-style overflow. That means there is a small partitioned area that runs the length of the back of the tank and takes up the top, back 3" of space. This allows water to constantly skim off the entire surface of the water. This partitioned area also prevents me from stacking the LR in a semi-pyramid, with the widest part of LR at the bottom, going narrower and narrower until I get to the top. I can do a variation of that, where everything is piled more or less straight on top of each other, but then I end up only being able to set my livestock on the very top only. I guess I'll just have to play with it while I'm setting the tank back up.