How do i set up the rock in my saltwater tank?

Question

How should i set up my rock in my 55 gal. reef tank? I am just getting started so all it has in it is the sand and water. The water quality is just right now, any suggestions would help?

Answer 1

You should actually put the rock in before the sand. If you have anything that tries to burrow under the rock, it can topple and crash into your glass!

Instead of taking it out, just try moving as much as you can to one side so you can set the rock directly on the bottom of the tank.

What you want to do is to have the rock stacked so there's the maximum space possible between the pieces - that way the water flows through and around the rock so you make the most of the biological filtration (the bacteria that live on the rock that remove harmful substrances from your water). It also gives your fish, and invertebrates if you have any, places where they can hide if they feel threatened.

What I like to do is to have three rocks in a triangle, then put another rock on top so it sits on all three. This is the most stable way to place them. Put two more rocks down on the bottom, then put another on top of those two and one of the first three. Keep continuing until you have a complete row. You can shape the row so it curves around the sides, or is straight across the back. You can also have two sections, one on each side, or one all the way across. You can place it right against the glass (but remember if you do this, you can't clean the glass!) put it an inch or two from the glass, or build an pyramid-shaped "island" in the middle. There really is no "correct" way, other than to leave space between the pieces.

As you put a group of rocks in place, keep moving the sand around to fill in at the base of the rock, and clear off another section of bottom.

You can build this as high as you want, but you don't want to get so high that the rock will be exposed when you do water changes.

Answer 2

Set it up the way it looks Good to you.
Remember to leave lots of caves and spaces where your current can blow through and fish and critters can hide.
There isn't any set way to do it, Make it solid.