How high does your rockwork go?

Raibaru · 10/14/2008, 01:25 PM

I'm redoing some aquascaping to give me more room for coral closer to the light in my new fish tank. However, I don't know how tall SPS coral can sometimes get, or if they'll bleach to close to the surface and such.

Tank is 24" tall, should I make sure my rock work stays about 4" below the water surface? or more like 6"?

Michael · 10/14/2008, 01:27 PM

you will need to allow room for corals at the top to grow, id leave a bit of space, probably 6-8 ", so they can stretch out and grow properly, jmo

Tswifty · 10/14/2008, 01:28 PM

I like tall rockwork... Here's my 90g (24" tall tank)

Height required will depend on the coral, intensity of the lighting, and flow... as all of those can affect the shape/direction in which the coral grows.

Plus if it gets too close to the surface... just clip and frag it. Then you've got yourself some cash for new corals.

Michael · 10/14/2008, 01:32 PM

very nice swift, but that looks like its 6" under

Tswifty · 10/14/2008, 01:36 PM

Thanks Mike... that's a good estimate... the overflow is 5" deep, so you're about dead on.

I'm not too worried about the corals growing to the point where it will cause problems. I keep most of my Stags/Branching guys lower in the tank. The top of the tank holds mainly millepora's so I'm not really worried about them getting too tall.

Plus this reef will more than likely be a bonsai type reef as it matures, and I intend to keep everything trimmed in smaller colonies to keep the open space look.

spw4949 · 10/14/2008, 01:50 PM

Mine varies,I built mine almost like a pyramid,that way I have multiple heights and can put different corals in different spots.

Myrddraal · 10/14/2008, 03:21 PM

I like your rock work Tswifty, it looks a lot like how I set mine up. Please excuse the dirty glass, this was after lights-out one night and I didn't want to disturb the tank too much.

Left:

End:

Right:

Raibaru · 10/14/2008, 03:40 PM

Yea, seems like most people have a good 6-8" of space between the top most rocks and the water level. My current rock work in my tank only goes up 8" in a 21" tank and I've been very limited in what I could so I wanted to correct this.

But I figured I'd need more then 4" of space even if I kept the branching stuff mid tank and kept only the tabling stuff in the upper.

10/14/2008, 01:25 PM	#1
Raibaru Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 979	How high does your rockwork go? I'm redoing some aquascaping to give me more room for coral closer to the light in my new fish tank. However, I don't know how tall SPS coral can sometimes get, or if they'll bleach to close to the surface and such. Tank is 24" tall, should I make sure my rock work stays about 4" below the water surface? or more like 6"?

10/14/2008, 01:27 PM	#2
Michael NTTH Rookie Help Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gloucester, England,UK Posts: 7,808 Blog Entries: 6	you will need to allow room for corals at the top to grow, id leave a bit of space, probably 6-8 ", so they can stretch out and grow properly, jmo __________________ Don't be afraid to ask questions, we in the new to the hobby are here to help you [For My Tank Spec,Photo Album,Articles and website, click on my name] MY Very Kindest and Warmest Regards , MIKE Current Tank Info: I have a 92 gal Corner Tank, and way too many pieces of equipment to list really, (proud member of the reef central corner club)

10/14/2008, 01:28 PM	#3
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	I like tall rockwork... Here's my 90g (24" tall tank) Height required will depend on the coral, intensity of the lighting, and flow... as all of those can affect the shape/direction in which the coral grows. Plus if it gets too close to the surface... just clip and frag it. Then you've got yourself some cash for new corals. __________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

10/14/2008, 01:32 PM	#4
Michael NTTH Rookie Help Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gloucester, England,UK Posts: 7,808 Blog Entries: 6	very nice swift, but that looks like its 6" under __________________ Don't be afraid to ask questions, we in the new to the hobby are here to help you [For My Tank Spec,Photo Album,Articles and website, click on my name] MY Very Kindest and Warmest Regards , MIKE Current Tank Info: I have a 92 gal Corner Tank, and way too many pieces of equipment to list really, (proud member of the reef central corner club)

10/14/2008, 01:36 PM	#5
Tswifty Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PA Posts: 14,022	Thanks Mike... that's a good estimate... the overflow is 5" deep, so you're about dead on. I'm not too worried about the corals growing to the point where it will cause problems. I keep most of my Stags/Branching guys lower in the tank. The top of the tank holds mainly millepora's so I'm not really worried about them getting too tall. Plus this reef will more than likely be a bonsai type reef as it matures, and I intend to keep everything trimmed in smaller colonies to keep the open space look. __________________ "Enough light? Heck I could go barebottom and grow SPS in the stand!" - DiscoReefRover

10/14/2008, 01:50 PM	#6
spw4949 Registered Member. Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Albany, N.Y. Posts: 1,594	Mine varies,I built mine almost like a pyramid,that way I have multiple heights and can put different corals in different spots. __________________ Steve Current Tank Info: 46 gal bowfront, mixed reef, 2x250W current outer orbit w/4x39W T5 ,10 gal fuge....38 gallon aggressive FOWLR, 10 gallon sump.

10/14/2008, 03:21 PM	#7
Myrddraal Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Albuquerque, NM Posts: 431	I like your rock work Tswifty, it looks a lot like how I set mine up. Please excuse the dirty glass, this was after lights-out one night and I didn't want to disturb the tank too much. Left: End: Right: __________________ ~Jayson

10/14/2008, 03:40 PM	#8
Raibaru Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 979	Yea, seems like most people have a good 6-8" of space between the top most rocks and the water level. My current rock work in my tank only goes up 8" in a 21" tank and I've been very limited in what I could so I wanted to correct this. But I figured I'd need more then 4" of space even if I kept the branching stuff mid tank and kept only the tabling stuff in the upper.