1) Stacking rock and 2) Glass tops

[alan mcilvried]

Interested in what you guys do with your aquariums.

 

1) Who stacks rock against the back wall of the aquarium and who doesn't?

 

2) Glass tops on or off under a canopy? Do they affect light transmission significantly? Salt creep issues?

 

Curious

 

Thanks

Alan

[jason the filter freak]

I stack rock against my back wall, though it's a smaller tank 55 gallon with a lot of LR. Glass tops are typically a bad idea... 1 they inhibit light transmission esspecially with miniral./salt build up. 2 they inhibit gas exchange which is bad for the obvious reason, as well as it tend to trap heat in your tank

[fab]

Glass tops...

Glass tops are a necessary structural component of large glass tanks.

Large glass tanks use glass tops to reinforce the tank structure.

So if a tank is large enough and has a structural glass top you don't have a choice.

Yes, glass diminishes the PAR and PUR values of your lamps ability to light the objects in your tank.

Sanjay Joshi publishes excellent articles on lighting issues in the Advanced Aquarist. My recollection is that he has published an article or two on this very subject of glass tops and light transmission. Research his articles to learn about lighting from a competent and knowledgeable source.

 

Stacking against back of tank... There are a lot of advantages to avoid stacking live rock all the way to the back wall of a reef tank, but everyone can't do that. Again, thought, it boils down to a matter of tank size. It also is a personal preference thing. If you have deep tank with only 12-18" of tank space, front-to-back, you may be forced to stack to the back. You need to have space in the front for fish to parade around. If you have over 24" to work with you have a better shot at expressing your personal preferences in reef design. I personally believe that the front-to-back dimension is the most important dimension to consider when choosing a tank for a reef. When you get up to 36-48" front-to-back size you probably shouldn't stack to the back.

 

fab

[lanman]

Interested in what you guys do with your aquariums.

 

1) Who stacks rock against the back wall of the aquarium and who doesn't?

 

2) Glass tops on or off under a canopy? Do they affect light transmission significantly? Salt creep issues?

 

Curious

 

Thanks

Alan

 

Like Fab said - my 45-gallon tank is only 12" from front to back. Some of my rocks are 8" from front to back. I didn't have much choice. I am switching it all into a 58-gallon tank, and one of the main reasons is front-back space. 18" will seem like a lot of real-estate! I'm hoping I can stack well enough not to touch the back, and if I do - only in a few places.

 

bob

[SDBDRZ]

1. Nope, not stacked against the back. I have a standard 180 and wanted to ensure flow behind the rock structure.

 

2. No glass tops, no canopy. My lighting hangs from the ceiling.