stacking live rock

When stacking live rock should you try to stack toward back of tank or leave equal space in front and back.

 

its up to you i try to stack towards the back so fish are more likely to swim in front then swim in the back. also when putting lr in the tank leave 3 inches of space between it and the sides of the tank(so you can clean the glass). any way you stack the fish will find some way to hide in it.

 

There are two things to make sure of when your stacking live rock. One is to make sure it is very stable. The other is to make sure it is away from the glass so you can clean it and because if there is one small spot of rock touching the glass and a lot of pressure it can crack the glass. Also, if you ever want a sand goby, stack the live rock and then add the sand. If you put the rock on top of the sand, the goby will burrow under the rock and collapse the whole structure, killing him and everything else in its way.

 

Stacking rock is an art form!!!
Good points made by above reefers...
Just to add to what they mentioned, placement of rock should be made strategically to avoid as many dead spots as possible within the pelagic and benthic areas of your tank. Water flow and detritus/uneaten food collection go hand in hand. By refraining from creating a rock wall along the back of your tank, in essence, will allow you to more closely mimic that of natural reefs. Creating caves and breaks in the rock work not only allows for fish to hide, provide areas for fish to swim, but more importantly provides better water flow! This carries food and oxygen transfer to living animals living on and in your live rock. Detritus accumulation is also limited!
Advection and diffusion can also be reduced by minimizing the amount of live rock that is situated on top of your substrate. This can be addressed by using egg crate or pvc piping and wire ties to create a shelf, so to speak, that you can then place you rock on top of the decrease the amount of detritus and uneaten foods from accumulating under your rock in the interface of substrate and water of the benthic part of your tank.

 

Tom, you always make me take out a dictionary when I ready your posts, LOL.

 

Cool! Then it was money well spent in purchasing the dictionary, neighbor!!! ahahahaaha...