Rockwork 101---folding space: for new hobbyists.

[Sk8r]

1. You can superglue a couple of small rocks together to make a nicer one, but don't glue ALL your rockwork together. There are instances in which you need to move a rock.
PS: don't glue the pipe in your downflow, either. Who cares if it leaks---and there may come a time you need to pull a pipe or change a bulkhead connector without emptying the tank.
2. put the rock down before sand. SOme of us, myself included, put down eggcrate lighting grid to keep the rocks steady---you don't want one rolling into the glass. You need undersand workers to keep this arrangement clean: nassarius, fighting conch, etc.
3. try to have as many caves and holes as possible. And an occasional vertical is not a bad thing. It makes a kind of barrier in the tank.
Zoos have discovered the merits of 'folding space' in a cage: if you supply forest, and paths, and things to climb, the animals no longer pace the bars back and forth, back and forth. They go off and do things, and are, one can imagine, mentally healthier. This somewhat works with fish. If there are places to explore and forage, and go-rounds (circular paths) that can confuse or break up a chase, these keep your fish busy, and also break up territories into smaller pieces (out of sight, out of mind.)
4. If you want corals, think about places in the rockwork you can tuck a frag plug, or where you can, by lifting one rock, shove a branch in and pin it down. Corals like to be certain distances from the light, and you may have to move them more than once to figure out where the sweet spot is with your particular lights. Also figure what your light can reach, how far down, and where the good depth will be for particular corals you're interested in.
5. There's no 'right way' and 'wrong way' to do rockwork, but DO try to arrange an 'open' structure where cleansing current can run through and move out gunk. One thing us land-dwellers forget is that currents and water streams are themselves features, and fairly lasting features, of the tanks. If you can manage a wavemaker of some type and get a variable flow, this also prevents boredom, ime, and gets fish to move about. Fish follow currents, ride them, play in them, and generally treat them as furniture. They may change, but they're a comfort feature in the tank.