input on stacking lr for a reef

[710delta]

I have a 29 gallon tank with about 20lbs of lr. I am planning on buying more rock this week. The pieces of lr that I have are larger base rock. I have heard that it is not good to stack against the back of the tank and would just like to hear how other people have done their tanks.

 

[q]

I have mine far enough away so I can run my scraper behind them.

 

[nm reef]

and mine is against the back glass at points........

 

[ak_reefer]

I have some of my rock touching the back of my tank as well. Stacking is more of a preferance than anything. Stack it the way you think it looks best in your tank.

 

[lerch]

I have a lot of my rock stacked against the back of my tank. As far as cleaning the glass goes I don't think it really matters since you will probably let coraline algea grow across the back to give your tank a more natural look. The only problem I have found with haveing your rock against the back is keeping detritus from gathering back there. If you can get a small tube behind the rock to suck up the detritus then you should be fine.

 

[chevron tang]

It's all about you. Stack it how you think it looks good. I have some of mine against the back of the glass. I just make sure I keep it far enough away from the sides and the front in order to clean the glass. I've let the back of my tank build up with algae which is now turning to coraline. Personally I like the idea of not cleaning the back of the tank.

 

[fshhub]

yep yep yep, me too
i feel that cleaning behind it is senseless, especially if you stack it, who will see back there anyhow
and if you want to keep it clear of detritus, i have a small powerhead blowing through, and it looks like the cleanest sand i the tank
HTH

 

[bt_1999_66]

710delta,
What I have done is run a 3 power heads behind the rocks that are stacked against the back. I other words no dead water. You can actually see the flow of water coming from in between the rocks out to the front. Also I have never cleaned the back glass and coraline has started to grow on it. I have the back glass painted black, which brings out the natural colors of the lr and critters. It also hides all the gadgets...

 

[von_rahvin]

i have min touching the back in all kinds of places, i don't ever intend on cleaning it and the coraline algea is starting to take over. i think it provides a nice back drop

 

[underthesea]

I have my lr stacked through out the back to the top of my tank as a wall. Behind the rock I have four power heads hooked to a wave maker. This does a good job at blowing the detritious out from behind my lr and able to be sucked into my filtration saystem. I have plenty of room in the front for corals and also for my to get in there and clean the front and side panes of glass. Also were there might be caves against the back wall it is covered with coralin Alge.

 

[canadian-reefer]

Most books and articles on the web that I've read say to pile it high in the middle in any weird funky but stable assortment that you find attractive. Keep it off the glass, all four sides and if you have a good quality, perhaps Fiji rock there will be lots of 'natural' hidding places for your fish. That's what I read. As for my tank, it's all piled up along the back wall and along one of the sides. It looks great, to me, and there are many cavernous caves. It also hides most of the plumbing and I don't mind the algae growth on the back and side wall, adds character and it's really not too bad.
My suggestion, do what you think looks nice. You can always rearange it before you add any live-stock.
I have approx. 90lbs in a 65 gallon, looks nice.
If you go with the centre pile, you need more ro ck to achieve the desired height. If you pile high along the back, you can get away with less rock.

 

[canadian-reefer]

Take a look at my pics if you're interested! This set-up is approx. 2 months old.