Acro about to touch surface- what to do ?

[Addicted2Reef’n]

I was proud of my aquascape when I built it but now a year later I am finding faults I should have done different. One is close to becoming a major issue. I created an arch and fortunately decided not to putty or cement them together so they could just be pushed together to make the arch. I did however make one arch much taller than the other and now my acro on top is about to run out of room. Options include moving the encrusted acro but doesnt fix the problem. The option I’m going to go with is to pull this rock out and hammer the bottom rock out and replace with a thin rock. Question - would putty be sufficient if I used a couple sticks to glue the new base to the tower or should I use the same Marco mortar I used the first time? I also have added other rock formations using quikrete hydraulic water stop cement with no issues other than the darker colored cement which in this case will be buried under the sand.
My concerns are that while hammering the base I break off the acro , I’m not overconcerned about it being out of water. When the return pump is off the top 1” is out of water and I have accidentally left return pump off for a whole 8 hours over night and it’s now months later with no negative effect that I see.
I’m really nervous to perform this “surgery” but it must be done if I want to continue to keep sps on that rock.
Ideas - suggestions ?
Thanks

 

[Addicted2Reef’n]

I was proud of my aquascape when I built it but now a year later I am finding faults I should have done different. One is close to becoming a major issue. I created an arch and fortunately decided not to putty or cement them together so they could just be pushed together to make the arch. I did however make one arch much taller than the other and now my acro on top is about to run out of room. Options include moving the encrusted acro but doesnt fix the problem. The option I’m going to go with is to pull this rock out and hammer the bottom rock out and replace with a thin rock. Question - would putty be sufficient if I used a couple sticks to glue the new base to the tower or should I use the same Marco mortar I used the first time? I also have added other rock formations using quikrete hydraulic water stop cement with no issues other than the darker colored cement which in this case will be buried under the sand.
My concerns are that while hammering the base I break off the acro , I’m not overconcerned about it being out of water. When the return pump is off the top 1” is out of water and I have accidentally left return pump off for a whole 8 hours over night and it’s now months later with no negative effect that I see.
I’m really nervous to perform this “surgery” but it must be done if I want to continue to keep sps on that rock.
Ideas - suggestions ?
Thanks

 

[Addicted2Reef’n]

So I pulled it out and I chiseled away the bottom rock and replaced with a shelf rock. Much lower now and it is perfect height with the other arch and fits perfectly. A lot easier than I thought. I got my quikrete hydraulic cement and once mixed set the rock onto the shelf rock and used hair dryer to harden it and then set it in an alternate tub to wash off before putting back in tank.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

That is the way brother