Reef Tank Aquascaping

[That Reef Guy]

Hello everyone. This is my first post, so please bare with me if you think I've done something wrong. I have a 50 gallon reef tank that I recently started adding coral to and had to move some rocks around to better fit them. I'm running 2 Hydor Evolution 850, an Aquamaxx HOB 1.5, and a cheap Aqueon 50 HOB filter. I don't have the space for a sump or refugium , but one day that will change. With the placement of the rocks the way I have them now, is that going to create some gnarly dead spots? Forgive me for the lighting as I just switched over to 2 AI Prime HD's and have not yet built a canopy to properly mount them (the tank I have does not allow for mounting using brackets). I thought it would be good since I have 1 Longfin Fairy Wrasse and would like to add either a Lineatus Fairy or Orange-back Fairy at some point. I know they need plenty of nooks and crannies to hide in, but I want to make sure this isn't overdoing it.

Current Aquascape Video

I apologize for how dark it is. The lights were just starting to ramp up and they're in acclimation setting right now.

Current Stock:
2 Snowflake Clowns (1 black and white, one orange and white)
1 Molly Miller Blenny
1 Firefish
1 Longfin Fairy
(soon to be) 1 Lineatus or Orange-back Fairy

I will not be adding more to the tank in hopes to not overstock it.

I look forward to all of the helpful criticism.

 

[RioReefr]

This is my opinion:

1) I think you should have at least 1" clearance on all sides (including the backwall). You will want to get your siphon hose into those spots to clean-up the detritus off the sand. Also, inevitably something (CUC, fish, whatever) will get too ambitious and get themself stuck/wedged and perish. So it will suck to have to breakdown your tank to get that rotting matter out.

2) Another observation is in the middle of your tank, you don't seem to have openings on the bottom. Personally, on the bottom of the tank you should have as many escape routes for your fish. As your tank matures, you will notice how more territorial and more aggressive your fish will get. All fish and corals are just going to get bigger with time, so I think you should more passageways in between your rocks.

 

[That Reef Guy]

I'm likely going to remove the rock from the back right corner. Right now it's just causing a dead spot for food. There are some small opening in the middle of the tank that are hard to see. Is there a coral I could put in the space in the middle that would give the fish somewhere to hide under?

 

[That Reef Guy]

I'm also going to take a better video highlighting where the passageways are. The video I uploaded earlier was pretty bad.

 

[SC Reefaholic]

Its personal preference but I like to have an inch or two between glass and any rock so that you can get good flow around d tank without any obstruction. Dead spots cause accumulation of bad stuff.

 

[That Reef Guy]

Here's a better video of the tank. New Setup I moved some of the rock around and fragged the candy cane, but might wind up moving the rock out of the tank and putting a colored flavite in the middle instead. The rock would be good in my qt tank. I'm definitely going to remove the rock in the back right corner. It just doesn't work well there.

 

[That Reef Guy]

I'm also going to move the hammer onto the rock below the one it's currently on and move that out of the tank. It'll make a good space for new fish trying to hide from me.

 

[That Reef Guy]

Several times I said mono on that last video, but I was referring to montipora.