Is stacking rocks using the back wall of the tank a bad idea?

[mistergray]

My tank is only 32 gallons and at the moment I only have 16lbs of live rock, although 30lbs is recommended. My goal is to get 30lbs but I have limited space. I currently have the rock situated in the middle of the tank but if I were to move all the rock to the back wall I would be able to situate the rock better by using the back wall as leverage. Is stacking rocks using the back wall of the tank a bad idea? I understand it would be difficult or impossible to clean the back wall after that but I see beautiful tanks that have the whole back wall covered. Is not having access to clean the back wall of the tank a completely bad idea? I see some do it and some do not. Trying to get a feel of what I can get away with in order to not have any issues in the future.

And YES, I’m going to snatch that stupid little decoration out as soon as I can convince my kids that the fish will hate it. Lol!!!

 

[Nalca Ozius]

I would say it’s not necessarily a bad idea as it shouldn’t stop you from having a successful tank and you can utilize the support gained to build structures you wouldn’t be able to otherwise. However like you mentioned you wont be able to clean back there, flow will be restricted and possibly create a dead zone and covering the back wall with a more evasive coral such as gsp will be out of the question as it will get to your rock and colonize there.
I always change my rockwork around for 3 months in a new tank before I settle on something usually. Once you start adding coral it’s harder to make changes.

 

[mistergray]

I would say it’s not necessarily a bad idea as it shouldn’t stop you from having a successful tank and you can utilize the support gained to build structures you wouldn’t be able to otherwise. However like you mentioned you wont be able to clean back there, flow will be restricted and possibly create a dead zone and covering the back wall with a more evasive coral such as gsp will be out of the question as it will get to your rock and colonize there.
I always change my rockwork around for 3 months in a new tank before I settle on something usually. Once you start adding coral it’s harder to make changes.

I forgot about the whole “restricting flow” issue. I may have to be creative and work on making a stable structure in the middle. Thx for the info!

 

[Hermie]

Some people will say you want space to clean your glass, also there's the possibility of flow behind the rocks.

My advice is look at a bunch of tank photos, find an aquascape you like and see if they have rocks on the back wall. Some tanks do! Some don't... so find what you end goal is.

 

[Nalca Ozius]

Another tid-bit would be that stacking against the back wall tends to create a lot of caves that don’t have a whole lot of viewing potential so if you get any cave dwelling fish you wont see them much. If you bought dry rock you can do as I did and strategically smash some of it to create other structures. I smashed a bottom portion out of this rock and then glued it back onto the bottom edges elevating it creating a cave.

 

[mistergray]

Some people will say you want space to clean your glass, also there's the possibility of flow behind the rocks.

My advice is look at a bunch of tank photos, find an aquascape you like and see if they have rocks on the back wall. Some tanks do! Some don't... so find what you end goal is.

Good info, I’ll have some googling fun for this project today!

 

[mistergray]

Another tid-bit would be that stacking against the back wall tends to create a lot of caves that don’t have a whole lot of viewing potential so if you get any cave dwelling fish you wont see them much. If you bought dry rock you can do as I did and strategically smash some of it to create other structures. I smashed a bottom portion out of this rock and then glued it back onto the bottom edges elevating it creating a cave.

Oh wow, sadly I never considered breaking the rock to help it shape into what I needed. Can’t believe I didn’t think about that. Think I’ll go on the hunt for some rock today. Thx!!!

 

[Timfish]

What ever looks good to you and is stable is good. I certainly don't agree with the old rule of thumb of 1 lb per gallon. Even just one piece of quality maricultured or wild live rock would provide the cryptic sponges for your system. Cryptic sponges are essential IMO as they remove not only hydrophoic DOC but also the hydrophilic DOC skimmers can't remove and they do it 1000X faster than the bacterioplankton removed by skimmers.

 

[Poof No Eyebrows]

Have you ever seen a "clean" reef in the wild? I personally like to have the back of my tank as a sort of space for nature to do what it will...

 

[F i s h y]

Look at negative space aquascape. Pretty successful way to do it in a smaller tank.

 

[F i s h y]

Have you ever seen a "clean" reef in the wild? I personally like to have the back of my tank as a sort of space for nature to do what it will...

I agree, back wall tends to stay dirty in my reefs

 

[Rmckoy]

I have mine away from the back wall , but closer at some points ..

Being a 6’ long and 27” deep I can’t reach the back anyways .
flow is somewhat important not to have dead spots ...

I have always wanted to make some structure across the back wall leaving more of the sand bed for corals and swimming space .
There are a few aqua scapes using the back wall to support their structures ...

 

[mistergray]

Have you ever seen a "clean" reef in the wild? I personally like to have the back of my tank as a sort of space for nature to do what it will...

Great point!

 

[mistergray]

Look at negative space aquascape. Pretty successful way to do it in a smaller tank.

I haven’t heard about that yet. I’ll check it out!

 

[mistergray]

I have mine away from the back wall , but closer at some points ..

Being a 6’ long and 27” deep I can’t reach the back anyways .
flow is somewhat important not to have dead spots ...

I have always wanted to make some structure across the back wall leaving more of the sand bed for corals and swimming space .
There are a few aqua scapes using the back wall to support their structures ...

Sheesh...6 feet long! And to think I initially thought my tank was big. If it’s not too difficult, do you mind sharing a photo of how yours looks?

 

[RobB'z Reef]

It's your tank, stack it up or not.

 

[MaxTremors]

If it it were my tank, I would go with 45lb of rock.

 

[mistergray]

If it it were my tank, I would go with 45lb of rock.

That’s a lot for a 32g, but more so because it’s not your average shaped tank with normal dimensions. I’m at about 23lbs of rock at the moment. I definitely need to be more creative. This is new to me but very fun.

 

[MaxTremors]

That’s a lot for a 32g, but more so because it’s not your average shaped tank with normal dimensions. I’m at about 23lbs of rock at the moment. I definitely need to be more creative. This is new to me but very fun.

I don’t think so, the old recommendations used to be 1-2lb per gallon, and this man made rock everyone is using these days is heavier and less porous than real live rock (depending on the rock). If you’ve got 23lbs in there now, you could easily double it and still not even be 2/3 of the way to the surface. I’ve got a 28 gallon cube going right now with roughly 40lbs of rock (half ‘life rock’ and half live rock), and I could still use a little more, most of my scape is less than half way up the water column, with one little column going around 2/3 of the way, and I’ve still got a few places I’d like to stick a couple more rocks (probably 5-10 more lbs). I guess it just depends on the aesthetic you’re going for. In a tank that small, you’re not going to have any fish that require a ton of open swimming room (like a tang for example), so I prefer to just have lots of caves and little nooks and crannies for fish to swim in and out of and to have plenty of space to put corals.

 

[FishTruck]

The reef wall on the back of the tank is out of style, but, still has some great advantages.

Good:
1. you don't have to scrape the back wall
2. hides your overflows and returns
3. leaves room in the foreground for other stuff
4. lots of space for fish to hide

Bad:
1. sometimes it is hard to mount corals
2. you need to be somewhat creative to maintain water flow and avoid creating a detritus trap
3. fish can hide from you so well you will start to doubt what you put in the tank last week
4. out of style (but will probably be back in style soon enough)