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| TCMAS Twin Cities Marine Aquarium Society Club Forum |
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03-10-2004, 02:28 PM
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#1
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TCMAS Member
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Elk River, MN
Posts: 424
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Aquascaping
I know that this is an old topic that has been revisited many times, I'm still trying to get a good grasp of 'theories' versus practice.
Last night at Scott's the tanks were stunning. I noticed that he had his rockwork up against the back of the tank. When we set up our tank, I was adamant that the rock had to be well away from the back for cleaning... since I had read that was the case. However now I'm not so sure this IS the case. I've seen examples of rock against the back of the tank that are quite lovely and seem to be working well as in the examples at Scott's last night.
Right now I feel like I have a bowling alley at the back of my tank, and I can't reach it anyway because of the height of the cabinet (taller than me, I use a ladder to get into the tank) and dimensions of our tank 24 x 24 x 48. The space at the back seems wasted, at least as far as viewing, and doesn't afford me much sandy bed in the front.
What are some thoughts about rock up against the back of the tank?
Sue
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03-10-2004, 02:33 PM
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#2
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TCMAS Member
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Brooklyn Center, MN
Posts: 5,666
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No rules all personal preference......
I myself like the ability to get in back in case a screw falls, dead fish etc. But then again, my tank is 30" wide
Plenty of people to stack against the back wall simple because tank isn't wide enough not too......
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03-10-2004, 03:13 PM
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#3
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reeferromper
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: mpls
Posts: 499
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if you cant get at the back wall you might as well stack against it. i only have a 55 so i kinda have to stack against the wall. i like the look with the rock more sloped.
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03-10-2004, 03:18 PM
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#4
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Hastings, MN
Posts: 203
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Most seem to recommend that you have at least some flow in the back of your tank, preferably from back to front to sweep everything to the front of the tank where it's easier to remove. Stacking everything up against the back of the tank obviously hampers that but personally, I like the look of a wall as opposed to the open look that seems more in vogue today. At least until things get so big you've got to remove rock to make room for more live stuff.
I'm thinking of using my 90 as a room divider of sorts in our new house and exposing three or even four sides. I'm thinking of having our builder run conduit and PVC through the concrete in the basement floor to where the tank is going to be located and run everything remotely to a different room. I'm thinking of running three our four PVC runs maybe 1.25 inches each (one for a remote sump, a return and one for wires to remote ballasts and maybe one more for a closed loop). Sorry to potentially hijack your thread but has anyone ever tried this or seen any plans for anything similar? If only I had waited and got a bigger tank....!!!
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03-10-2004, 03:19 PM
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#5
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TCMAS MEMBER
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,153
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personally, i dont like the rock stacked
and it helped, a seaswirl elbow fell into tank, I could just reach in and grab it
and the extra space is cool for the tangs to zoom thru
__________________
 -A procrastinator's work is never done.-
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03-10-2004, 06:54 PM
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#6
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Kichi Saru!
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: currently Nagaoka, Japan
Posts: 2,808
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I didn't stack my rock against the back, not for any perticular reason, its just the way I aquascaped it. And when my clowns feel theatened they hide behind the rock.
__________________
Devin wa dokodesuka.
Koi Acres
Fune de Nihon e ikimasu.
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03-10-2004, 08:51 PM
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#7
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Semi-retar...eh...retired
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Mpls, MN
Posts: 2,995
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Whenever I've stacked rock against the tank walls, it becomes the first place that algae grows (when it grows). I try to keep the rock from touching anything except the bottom and other rocks.
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You can't get romantic on a subway ride...
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03-10-2004, 10:45 PM
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#8
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TCMAS member
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Saginaw, MN
Posts: 299
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I have a couple of pieces that touch the back of my 90 but it is only at the top of my rock pile where I can easly move them if I have to get to the back. The pieces that I do have touching are not all that big of pieces, mostly flat to make a shelf.
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03-11-2004, 01:19 PM
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#9
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Heterandria Formosa
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Bloomington, MN
Posts: 373
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The way my tank is setup, it has a flow system that shoots water from the back of the tank to the front, I have a wall but I have at least a 4 inch gap from the back and you can view the entire back of the tank from the side. I just have a few of the upper rocks touching the all. Because of the setup on the System II tanks from Seaclear, I only needed to add 2 more power heads on the top right and bottom left of the tank for extra water flow. One of the nicest setups I have seen was at the old Lyndale Tropics. In the coral tanks, they had Tonga rock on the bottom and then Fiji and corals on top of that. I thought it looked really neat and allowed water flow from underneath the tank. On my right side of my tank I have a piece of Tonga holding up a nice size piece of Fiji rock, giving a very nice cave effect. I will have to post picts when I can.
jim |
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03-11-2004, 01:26 PM
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#10
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Heterandria Formosa
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Bloomington, MN
Posts: 373
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Oh, the main problem I do find with my aquascaping are those **** Turbo snails deciding to move everything around.. grr.. why is it that they always go for that new piece of coral or what ever you add to your tank?? But as for Aquascaping goes.. i would have to give Scott an A+ for his softie tank..
jim
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