Remove rock in my 13.5 Evo or not?

[mje113]

I've been having a tough time with my aquascape and since I'm about ready to start gluing corals I've been acclimating, I think it's time to make it right.

It may not be clear but the large flat rock on the right is taking up a lot of space on my sandbed. I was originally going for a more open scape with lots of negative space, and I think this rock is the main issue. So I'm considering removing it altogether.

My thoughts are to remove the "red" rock, move "green" into its spot, and using "yellow" to reestablish the arch.

I'm not too concerned about removing bio filtration as I can add more bio cubes to the back (or should I be concerned?). And while it'll reduce space to glue corals, I also feel like making things a little less verticals will give more top-down surface area.

Id love to hear any opinions.

 

[blaxsun]

I actually like it the way it is. The only change I'd make is with the rock in yellow, as it seems a bit precarious perched there (but possibly not).

 

[LiverockRocks]

Getting the rock up off the sand bed is a good thing, I'd do this:

• Put yellow rock in place of blue rock.
• Blue rock appears flat and long, so I'd make that the arch/bridge.
• Green rock goes in place of red rock.
• I'd break up the red rock into many pieces and use as supports/wedges to secure the arch structure. You can use these little pieces to help lift a corner of the green rock, if needed.
• Use the remaining broken red rock rubble as coral frag plugs.

Just be sure to nestle the base rocks through the sand to touch the glass.

 

[mje113]

Thanks for all the great advice!

I ended up getting impatient so I first came up with this which I liked aesthetically:

But I couldn't figure out good coral placement as it left a lot of overhangs and shady spots.

 

[mje113]

So I started on what I hope is the final iteration. All rock moved closer to the back freeing up more visible sand bed. The new rock placement gave me lots of space for coral placement at various levels. I think it's a little meh, but hope it looks good when things grow out.