Is my rock structure too high for nano reef?

swilliams2207 · Apr 25, 2022

Hi All,

First time posting here on this awesome forum. I recently got back into the hobby after a 15-year hiatus. When I was much younger, I had a 40-gallon mixed reef tank that was really successful. Fast forward to my new 10g IM fusion. I just stocked this with 12 lbs of fully cured liferock from my LFS. It's harder to tell but the base is made up of a 1-inch thick flat slab that takes up much of the bottom of the tank. The sand fills in the gaps between the edges and the rock. The structure is comprised of 4 rocks.

My plan is to eventually stock with some softies and hardier SPS. My fear is I have too much rock? I want to ensure I have enough space for things to grow. I think the structure looks cool, just want to make sure it's also functional. If it helps, there is breathing room behind the main rock there. Curious about what people have learned from nanosystems in terms of the best sort of structure. I'm happy to get creative and mount some frags horizontally to see what happens.

I'm happy to adjust on the fly but always want to keep changes minimal down the road.

Mr. Mojo Rising · Apr 25, 2022

I think that looks great, much nicer than mine.

tharbin · Apr 25, 2022

Welcome to R2R! I'm kind of old-school, well maybe ancient-school, but I think your rock work looks very good. Theonly issue with a tall aquascape is if you plan to have a lot of 'sticks' as they need vertical room. My rock work goes to with in 3" of the surface in a 15 gallon tank but I only plan to have one or two monti digitatas up high everything else SPS will be encrusting or plating with some LPS down low. I like that the higher rock work gives fish a visual break from each other in case of aggression.

swilliams2207 · Apr 25, 2022

LordofCinder said:
I think that looks great, much nicer than mine.

appreciate it!

Spare time · Apr 25, 2022

Seems fine to me, just avoid placing a coral on the peak center spot unless you know the par there (of which I don't imagine would be that intense)

swilliams2207 · Apr 25, 2022

tharbin said:
Welcome to R2R! I'm kind of old-school, well maybe ancient-school, but I think your rock work looks very good. Theonly issue with a tall aquascape is if you plan to have a lot of 'sticks' as they need vertical room. My rock work goes to with in 3" of the surface in a 15 gallon tank but I only plan to have one or two monti digitatas up high everything else SPS will be encrusting or plating with some LPS down low. I like that the higher rock work gives fish a visual break from each other in case of aggression.

yeah, good point. I like the scape in your profile pic there. I'm wondering if I should rotate my top rock on its side so it's a little lower and spans across more rather than upwards too much. My fear with my current layout is leaving too much empty space on the sides of the tank. As much as I love mount crumpit, I don't want to run out of growing space.