Aquascaping Poll - Rock against glass or not...

[jbrunken]

I'm about to more than double the ammount of Rock in my tank and I've heard different opinions on how a tank should be aquascaped...

Up until now I've tried to keep my rock formations in the middle of the tank with 3 or so inches of room between the rock and glass to make sure there are no stagnate areas.

With the quanity of rock I will will ultimately be adding, I'm wondering if I can realistically stay away from the glass. What I'd really like to do is have large rock structures on the back of each side of the tank and have a smaller island of rock in the middle.

So... I pose this question. How do you handle aquascaping rock?

 

[tibbs2]

Leave plenty of space between the rock and glass. It allows better circulation and water movement which helps keep detritus suspended in the water column.

 

[jbrunken]

I've noticed at SoM that most of the display tanks (at least the ones with lots of rock) have the rock stacked up against the glass.

 

[tibbs2]

I think the ideal situation would be to have space between the rock and glass but there are many people with nice tanks who have their rock stacked against the glass and don't seem to have a problem.

 

[leeweber85]

If you have room, keep it off the glass so it's easier to keep the glass clean. I always hate myself when I put it against the glass.

 

[rc1214b]

I think you should do what is pleasing to your eye. I don't think rock touching glass has a whole lot to do with the overall aquascape anyway. I do try to leave enough room between the rock and glass on the front and sides for a mag cleaner to fit through, somtimes though it didn't work out that way and I still was happy with the look.
IMO a big pile of rocks in the middle of the tank that is far away from the glass isn't going to keep things any cleaner than a rockscape that has gaps,holes, and better placement but touches the glass here and there.