Need advice on whether or not to redo rockwork

[MrKris]

Hello,

It's been roughly 2 or 3 years since I've had this tank. Nothing big has happened in it besides for the occasional decluttering of sand from filters. I haven't done much moving of the rockwork and everything seems to be secure to some degree. There are however, one cluster of rocks that are "wiggly" and feels like it could fall if I were to put pressure on it - it's been like that for a year or more and hasn't fallen yet. Now my question now is whether I want to rescape everything in my tank. I understand this could pose as a huge stress factor on the inhabitants and corals, thus I would like to consult the advice of professional reefers for their opinion of the matter. I will start by putting some reasons why I would like to rearrange the rock work and then some cons afterwards.

Reason:
-Detritus build up in some areas (I have bought more power heads, but that doesn't solve the issue)
-Some parts of the rockwork are becoming less secure/balanced. I fear potential falling/collapsing and generally it doesn't feel sturdy when I move something on it. (The bridge section which you will see in the picture. A part of the rock had already fallen off the plank that is across the two and the plank is sort of supporting both the sides that are holding it up - it's pretty funny.)
-I have lots of spare time and would like to see something new; the current scaping doesn't look too appealing either because of repeated exposure or it is in fact "ugly" (beauty in the eye of the beholder, but I am willing to listen to opinions of the current aquascape)

Cons:
-Will have to prepare buckets of saltwater to clean off detritus build up on rocks
-Will have to separate rocks that have aiptasia on it to get it cleaned off before having it re-enter the system (will probably isolate and treat those pieces of rocks - currently 4-5 pieces of rock)
-The project is big and will require a lot of effort to redo and remake (could also hit hard on the wallet if it requires more rock which I don't really think it does)
-May not solve the detritus problem and instead create different areas of low flow (I am interested in building cave like structures)
-Separating the corals and moving them to a safe area while I move them (the most problematic issue would be removing the corals that I epoxyed onto the rocks imo)
-Potentially creating a new cycle with the new stir up (would probably slowly take it out initially, the replacing of the rocks should be fine - note not killing rocks, but cleaning them)
-Potentially killing stuff in the sandbed and corals if the moving was not well planned
-Extremely messy
-Would take weeks/months to finish


Currently this is all for my 220 gallon DT. I currently have a 5+ gallon cube that houses new corals before putting it into the DT. A 50 gallon tank that is used for mixing saltwater. A few potential baskets (20-30 gallon)/buckets(salt buckets) to put water in to clean the live rock. I should have all the material to sustain the corals if I were to move them - I could probably even just remove half of my rocks and put all the corals on 1 side of the tank while I work on rescaping.

Attached will be an old photo of the current setup, but it is generally how it looks like. I haven't changed the rockwork, the only differences are the corals and potential deterioration of the rocks.

Extremely old pic:
[IMG]http://i42.*******.com/v62jxw.jpg[/IMG]

Less old pic:
[IMG]http://i42.*******.com/2qiwj0x.jpg[/IMG]

Current pic:


Note:
1) The bridge that I was speaking of was on the left hand side of the picture.
2) Biggest issue would be the rbta and moving that....


Thanks. Hopefully you can help me with this issue!

[phillrodrigo]

I would decide your answer soon. The more you put into it the harder its gonna be. I wanted to do mine but I have lots of corals glued to rocks so I think I may leave it. I take a power head and blow all tbe sand from the back to the front so I can clean it all.

[Pife]

I changed mine around and it really made a difference with how much I liked my tank. I think it was a good change for myself. I did half and then in another week did the other half.

[Laddy]

Go for it, sometimes its good to change things up. It keeps our interest alive.

[ca1ore]

You are the only one who has to be happy with the design of you rockwork (as long as it's stable). Personally I dislike most of the aquascapes I see here on RC because they always seem either too cluttered (generally my tank's problem) or unnatural. I particularly dislike this tendency to have 'arches' or 'bridges'. I also think good design takes advantage of open space (google the Golden Ratio of design).

[Salty Dog24]

i just recently redid mine, and i have corals glued to rock also. Just have to put some thought into the step by step process. I am much happier with the changes i made. See the thread TIPS and TRICKS for Aquascaping, lots of inspirational pics in that thread.

[Crna]

I recently redid mine, and it is stressful with coral on the rock to coordinate. We tried to go into it with a plan in place, and having too people did help. That said, it's the closest my wife and I have come to arguing during a project!
I'm truly annoyed now though, we have a eunicid worm in a rock on the very bottom of the scape. I'm going to have to take down the whole thing again. And you know it never goes back together the same way!

[MrKris]

Thank you for all the answers.

I have pretty much bought all my corals for a long time. Another potential issue that I may have is putting corals back in spots they "like". Also, for rockwork against the glass, i usually kept mine in the middle to avoid it touching the glass so my scraper could easily clean it, i'm thinking of changing this up, do you think this would be a smart idea?

Here is the most recent pic, excuse the algae :P
[IMG]http://i42.*******.com/mrqxr9.jpg[/IMG]

[ca1ore]

Looks nice, particularly the elegance. Mine .....



Used the rule of thirds, and tried to keep plenty of open space (easy to do in a 7 ft tank)

[MrKris]

Ya I wanted to part the middle down to give some space the plate coral on the far left keeps trying to move but its too fat to go anywhere lol.

Have you had any issues stacking your rock against the back?



I had planned to make an elegance grass like thing in the front, but I ran out of space so I had to move some elegances elsewhere.

The front ones seems to be deteriorating though, or rather it doesnt look as majestic as it did before; the one on the right is receding while the one on the left is just puffed up weird.

I was thinking that if I was going to move everything around I'd section everything off; like hammers in 1 place, zoanthids in another, and etc. To make each spot catered to the group.

[ca1ore]

Originally Posted by MrKris

Have you had any issues stacking your rock against the back?

If you mean on the right end of my picture, I actually ziptied some flat pieces of rock to the overflow cover. No way it was going to just rest there.



A better picture where you can see the zipties.

[MrKris]

Oh... Hmm..