Should I go higher on rock work?

[DogueDeBordeaux]

I will be doing a BB sps tank. It is a 300g DD.

 

[dan-in-gr]

I would add some more rock also depends on kind of fish you want to add, they do like hiding places at night and caves. Really love the stand you have, must also have lots of room underneath.

 

[DogueDeBordeaux]

Ok, I will add some fresh live rock to seed the rock I have. I want to stay away from the glass as much as possible to be able to clean/maintenance.
I plan to have chalices, and monti's on the open bottom.

Fish is going to be an after thought really. I want to maximize coral space first.

 

[64Ivy]

I wouldn't add too much more. I'm redoing what will be an SPS dominant tank and the tallest I went was about halfway up. Looks kinda sparse and silly right now but in a year or so it won't.

 

[naterealbig]

I wouldn't add too much more. I'm redoing what will be an SPS dominant tank and the tallest I went was about halfway up. Looks kinda sparse and silly right now but in a year or so it won't.

+1 on this. I have found that the photoperiod on my bb tanks has a greater effect on the coloration of my corals, so having the rock lower will help you two fold; it will give you greater flexibility when it comes to lighting, and will allow for more room for the coral to grow. In my 24" high bb tank, I only have 3 pieces of rock, and the tallest is a whopping 10". It does look VERY open right now, but once my frags grow to 5 or 6 inches, the "look" will be perfect.

I wouldn't add any more rock at all. Maybe a small piece to seed, although I have found that the tank will cycle almost just as fast without any seeding. Knowing without a doubt that I haven't added any unwanted pest macro algae, or coral predators is worth the extra week or two wait for me.

 

[DogueDeBordeaux]

I would add some more rock also depends on kind of fish you want to add, they do like hiding places at night and caves. Really love the stand you have, must also have lots of room underneath.

thanks here is a full shot. The doors are also in set flush with the trim. I still need to get the push latches.

 

[monique27]

I love your stand.

 

[t4zalews]

I would rearrange them to add more height and to minimize dead spots in the tank. If you go vertical you can incorporate more caves for flow to go through and fish as well. Especially with how big this tank is...there are very little hiding spots for fish and I'm guessing you're going to get tangs. Since you have time for planning, I'd take out the rocks and epoxy them together to make different shapes.

Adding height would also incorporate more surface rock area for attaching corals..right now you have a lot of rock space that is wasted for support reasons.

 

[wakeboardgeek]

i love your stand.

+1

 

[DogueDeBordeaux]

I like this better, and I still have enough room to add some fresh live rock to seed tank.
I make change it more, but I would like to keep the two islands. Thanks for the input.

 

[chessmanmark]

Very nice tank and stand. I think in order to answer your question you need to think about what your vision is for the tank. Do you have a wish list of corals? Have you researched how they "typically" grow. Where do you place the stags? Where do you place encrusting, bushy, plating corals, etc.

After some experience you start to rethink coral placement. With less experience you can generalize from looking at other tanks on here, or asking people who have nice tanks their placement strategy. Of course flow and lighting have a lot to do with it. High flow vs low flow areas in the same tank will give different results. Bright light versus dim light will also produce different results.

Placement of corals is an art. In order to build your foundation you have to visualize what is going to grow on top of it. There are plenty of TOTM articles to start your research.

 

[pimp2daizzo]

looks good wish i did something like that

 

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

very nice setup, thanks for sharing...

 

[acrolux]

I like the 2 islands better and don't think you need any more rocks