Thoughts before finalizing; help me make it better

[PhamousPhish]

I used 40lb mix of Tropic Eden rock. Broke it all up to put it back together. Went for NSA look. It's in a 50gal IM aio. This is my first tank and I'm excited to have a mixed tank. I still have some small pieces of rock to add.

Are those circle places and places at end of arms enough space to put a torch ect?

Do i have enough rock or should I add more? Figure fish prefer less rock to swim around but also want enough space for corals and others.

Planning on getting mesoflakes by Tropic eden for sand. Anyone know if this will blow all over tank?
ANY ADVICE AND COMMENTS WELCOME!

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Personally to me, its not much rock, and really offers no caves or nooks or crannies for fish to hide it. Most of the fish that we keep are prey fish on the reef, so they have strong instincts to hide. If they can't hide their complete bodies in a way that you can't see them, then they get stressed. Rocks are the bio filter of a salt tank, rocks provide breeding space for micro organisms, and rocks provide hiding space for fish, its a very important part of the tank.

 

[PhamousPhish]

Update. This better? I was worried I had too much rock for fish but wondered if I had enough for coral... i like this cave i added. Think there is enough space for good water flow?

 

[Anna K]

The rockwork really depends on the fish you want to get, in my opinion. Some like the royal gramma love to hide in little caves. Mine made a little cave between two rocks, and now it lives between two rocks and a feather duster. I think the rock work looks great. I can't tell in the photos if it's near the glass, but use the IM glass cleaner that came with the tank to make sure it doesn't hit the rock. If it does, your rock is too close to the glass. It's a pain in the bum to realize that after you've already added the water ha-ha. Good luck!

 

[Tahoe61]

Honestly I like both equally. It's an IM 50 gallon (nice) you don't have a lot of big fish choices.

 

[Reef Jedi]

Don’t over think it, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it’s your masterpiece. Ive changed my scape a couple times over the last year, mainly to provide more caves/hiding places and adding more live rock. You may keep it this way for a while and randomly get an itch to create more hiding like i did. At the end of the day, it’ll be covered in coral and only the diehards will look at the rock lol

 

[PhamousPhish]

Plot twist. I turned everything around and wow what a difference. Now! Check it out and tell me. I think im really happy with this. Any criticism is welcome.
Do I have enough space for coral??
Id love to have a small yellow tang and a couple other fish and ofcourse as much coral as i can fit

Don’t over think it, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it’s your masterpiece. Ive changed my scape a couple times over the last year, mainly to provide more caves/hiding places and adding more live rock. You may keep it this way for a while and randomly get an itch to create more hiding like i did. At the end of the day, it’ll be covered in coral and only the diehards will look at the rock lol

 

[Anna K]

I like it! I know you said you wanted torches, so that rock in the front or the right could easily be made into a torch island (which always look cool)! You definitely have a lot of space for a wide range of coral. For the yellow tang, I don't think you can get any tang in a tank under 100g unfortunately. Some people do get them when they are tiny, and then rehome them once they grow, but it's always a double edged sword finding someone who wants that fish and can home that fish in your area. Most people usually end up upgrading to a bigger tank ha-ha

edit; to add I have the IM 40L and my current fish are: two clowns, a cbb, a banggai cardinal, and a royal gramma. I have two more coming in from Dr. Reef to finish off my fish club and they are a Springeri Damsel and a Firefish Helfrichi