Too cramped or just right?

[Danielsj]

Hello fellow humans i have just setup my very first saltwater tank, and i am worried i may have put in too much rock. I like the way my hardscape looks but i would like to keep a pair of clownfish and some corals later down the line. So i am wondering if my tank has enough open space as it is right now, for the clownfish to swim around or if maybe i should replace the big rock on the right with a smaller one to open up the tank more. What do people think? any guidance is greatly appreciated!

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello fellow humans i have just setup my very first saltwater tank, and i am worried i may have put in too much rock. I like the way my hardscape looks but i would like to keep a pair of clownfish and some corals later down the line. So i am wondering if my tank has enough open space as it is right now, for the clownfish to swim around or if maybe i should replace the big rock on the right with a smaller one to open up the tank more. What do people think? any guidance is greatly appreciated!

Doesn’t look bad but do keep in mind that each chunk you place in tank takes up volume and reduces available usable gallons
Example: if this is a 40g, you will have about 28 total gallons in the tank

 

[ilikefish69]

With only 3 rocks you're gonna be pretty limited. Have you thought about busting up your rocks and regluing them? You would also get a lot more surface area - those rocks look pretty dense and a lot of the surface area is hidden

 

[Danielsj]

Doesn’t look bad but do keep in mind that each chunk you place in tank takes up volume and reduces available usable gallons
Example: if this is a 40g, you will have about 28 total gallons in the tank

Yes ofcourse. This is a 15 gallon tank and i have about 10.5 gallons of water in there, so the rocks are taking up 3-4 gallons i would guess.

 

[SlugSnorter]

Hello fellow humans i have just setup my very first saltwater tank, and i am worried i may have put in too much rock. I like the way my hardscape looks but i would like to keep a pair of clownfish and some corals later down the line. So i am wondering if my tank has enough open space as it is right now, for the clownfish to swim around or if maybe i should replace the big rock on the right with a smaller one to open up the tank more. What do people think? any guidance is greatly appreciated!

Rockwork looks fine, make sure to use RODI water and not tap, and that the rocks are under the sand and not on top.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yes ofcourse. This is a 15 gallon tank and i have about 10.5 gallons of water in there, so the rocks are taking up 3-4 gallons i would guess.

My guess 5-7

 

[Danielsj]

With only 3 rocks you're gonna be pretty limited. Have you thought about busting up your rocks and regluing them? You would also get a lot more surface area - those rocks look pretty dense and a lot of the surface area is hidden

They are relatively airy, like they have a lot of holes and stuff in them. But the big one on the right does take up a lot of space in its current form. I do have a smaller rock i could replace it with, which would be the same as breaking up the big one and taking some pieces out, but without all the mess.

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

There is no such thing as too much rock. If corals can fit and the fish have space to swim, you are good to go. The amount you have looks about right to me.

 

[Danielsj]

Rockwork looks fine, make sure to use RODI water and not tap, and that the rocks are under the sand and not on top.

Currently using premixed saltwater from Aquaforest so that should be all good. The rocks are resting on the glass bottom of the tank and the sand layer is about half an inch, should it be deeper?

 

[Danielsj]

My guess 5-7

Sounds like a bit much. The entire volume of the tank if filled to the brim is 15 gallons, i have about 2 inches from the top of the water to the edge of the tank, and i know i have put in 10.5 gallons of water so that leaves 4.5 gallons before the tank would overflow, and im pretty sure i can fit atleast a gallon of water more in right now, so cant be much more than 3 ish gallons of rock

 

[ilikefish69]

Currently using premixed saltwater from Aquaforest so that should be all good. The rocks are resting on the glass bottom of the tank and the sand layer is about half an inch, should it be deeper?

Sand depth is all up to you the rocks being under the sand is I believe for stability

 

[Danielsj]

There is no such thing as too much rock. If corals can fit and the fish have space to swim, you are good to go. The amount you have looks about right to me.

Thats good to hear, the fish would also be babies in the start so they wouldnt need as much space initially. And by the time they are all grown up, i would probably have a bigger tank ready anyways because i wont be able to stop now that i have started.

 

[Arricefe]

Bust them up into smaller pieces. Look up negative space aquascape, you might like it.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I agree with busting the rocks, you can make more caves, and make it more natural looking.

 

[fishface NJ]

I would break up the boulders. But it's your tank and you have to like what you are looking at

 

[SlugSnorter]

Currently using premixed saltwater from Aquaforest so that should be all good. The rocks are resting on the glass bottom of the tank and the sand layer is about half an inch, should it be deeper?

what animals will you have?

 

[Danielsj]

what animals will you have?

I would like some corals and maybe a pair of clownfish ideally

 

[Danielsj]

So i looked at some of those negative aquascapes and realised i could do better than what i had done. I ended up pulling out the rocks breaking them up, and know i have come up with this little piece. What do you guys thing?

 

[Arricefe]

So i looked at some of those negative aquascapes and realised i could do better than what i had done. I ended up pulling out the rocks breaking them up, and know i have come up with this little piece. What do you guys thing?

Way better!

 

[Danielsj]

Way better!

Yea you guys where completely right, this opens the tank up much more. Feels way more interesting to look at