Reef placement?

[jond]

I am about to switch equipment, lights, etc. My reef is 4 months old and is a 37gal. deep with about 45lbs. of rock. I currently have the reef built basically in the middle of the tank and it is very tall. I am thinking of moving it all the way back against the back glass.
What do you think?
Also, I currently have a small sand bed. (1-3") I thought about adding some CC to it.
What do you think?
Thanks for the help.

 

[robster]

here is what i think use your new light setup but if you have any corals adapt them slowly. dont use cc on your sand buy more good sand 3-4 inches should be fine.for your rocks dont place them on the back like a puzzle make cliffs and bridges for good water flo in front and behind the reefmine is agaist the back kind of on the sides they are some what piled with plety of water flo around in the middle i have a island with briges connecting to it with flow all the way around easy cleaning....hope this helps

 

[jond]

I do currently have lots of openings and shelfs, etc. Good flow all around. I just was thinking of moving it closer to the back. I have seen many reefs this way and it seems nice to have more space up front.
Any comments please?

 

[robster]

sounds good imo i have about 3 inchs in front
but my tank is alot bigger

 

[krazzydart]

Yo,,,,, DO what you want!!!! adding crushed coral is fine, also crushed puka shells....(for the shells for hermits) putting the rock right against the glass is not the greatest idea.... a piece could fall and crack(oops) mess it happened to me once!!!! but it was a good excuse to get a bigger tank ohhh welll have fun.

 

[beth]

Well, in larger setups, the weight of all the rock in the back could compromise the aquirum resulting in a disaster, but with your size, as long as the rocks are solidly placed, should not be a problem.
If you like the look of cc, then go for it, but LS is better for reef.

 

[jond]

Thanks for the replies. I have just spent the last 5 hours (at least) tearing down and rebuilding my reef. I don't know if I am happy with it yet or not. I have not seen it with the lights yet and I am really frustrated. I left some space in the back, and I think I may have only lost a few hermits. I took out the sand and I am going with CC. I know it is not the popular choice, but it is what we wanted.
I had another let down. My new Emporer 400 would not fit on my 37. The space between the partition on top is too narrow. Had too go with the small one.
I hope that and adding a skimmer will do the job.
The worst part is I spent 3 hours last night wiring my new VHO's to the canopy, and I havn't seen them on the tank yet. CRAP!!!!!!

 

[cveach]

You just took out your entire Live Sand Bed! Many benficial bacteria have grown over the past 4 months the tank has been setup which increasingly makes the tank much more stable and safe for its inhabitants. By just taking out all that colonized life you risk throwing your entire system down the drain.... not very advisible.