Wanting to slim down aquascape..... Interfering with flow

[jayteerq]

Hey guys! I have a fairly new tank set up and although im very happy with the aesthetics of my rockwork, it is a little too bulky for my size tank. I have an AIO system that's 4 ft long and only 20" wide 20" high... It's pretty cramped in there tbh. But I've noticed it's really not allowing me to have proper flowing cycle throughout the tank. There's a lot of strong points and dead points. I'd like to slim down my rockwork both width and also height.. Im wondering if anyone here has ever done the same? It would definitely be a project because my corals are already glued on and it'd be a mission to get the anemone off. But I was thinking to get the rockwork out and quickly chisel down the width and height in order to have more space for water flow. Would anyone have any tips or guidance if I was to go through with this project? My tank is fairly new so I'd rather get it done now then later. I look at my tank everyday and the first thing I think of is "aghhh i wish my rockwork was slimmer" lol. So i'd like to fix this issue if possible but I'm also trying not to stress everything out too much. How long do you think I'll have with the rocks out of water until i start to lose beneficial bacteria?

 

[NeverlosT]

honestly I like your rockwork. It goes a bit high, but you have excellent negative space down below.

Are your rocks sitting one sand or all the way on the bottom? can they shuffle down any in the sand?

Is the flow issue that you cant turn the powerheads up without blowing the sand around?

 

[jayteerq]

honestly I like your rockwork. It goes a bit high, but you have excellent negative space down below.

Are your rocks sitting one sand or all the way on the bottom? can they shuffle down any in the sand?

Is the flow issue that you cant turn the powerheads up without blowing the sand around?

Thanks! I appreciate that! Yeah it is sitting on the bottom, i wish i could shorten it a bit but it's as low as it can get lol. I think the issue is that the flow cant reach all spots of the rock work so if i turn it all the way up, it'll be too strong in some areas and still dead in others.

 

[ChrisPchef]

I second liking your aquascape I think it looks great. As for removing rocks and how long the bacteria would remain on them, I think a few minutes won’t hurt. Live rock used to be shipped in wet newspaper over night. I’ve removed some of my rocks to chisel down with a hammer before and had no issues. Although my tank is much smaller, with less rock to work with.
Have you considered another powerhead? What are your end goals for the tank as in SPS dominant, softies, mixed reef etc? Depending on your goal a variety of flow may not be bad.

 

[jayteerq]

I second liking your aquascape I think it looks great. As for removing rocks and how long the bacteria would remain on them, I think a few minutes won’t hurt. Live rock used to be shipped in wet newspaper over night. I’ve removed some of my rocks to chisel down with a hammer before and had no issues. Although my tank is much smaller, with less rock to work with.
Have you considered another powerhead? What are your end goals for the tank as in SPS dominant, softies, mixed reef etc? Depending on your goal a variety of flow may not be bad.

Thank you! That's awesome to hear that someone has had success chiseling down their rocks lol. I did consider another powerhead but would like to avoid that as long as possible because i'd prefer the extra glass space. My end goal is LPS/Softy dominated with some sps testing if possible lol. Im still new to the hobby so the closest thing i have to sps right now is birds nest and it's doing well but havent touched any acros yet.

 

[NeverlosT]

One option might be powerheads on the back wall facing forward like an MP10 or two. Those would not block your viewing panels and would add to flow in the tank quite a bit.

Id honestly do that way before pulling all happy coral off of rocks and removing rock.

 

[jayteerq]

One option might be powerheads on the back wall facing forward like an MP10 or two. Those would not block your viewing panels and would add to flow in the tank quite a bit.

Id honestly do that way before pulling all happy coral off of rocks and removing rock.

I really wanted to do this but I have an AIO system so my sump is essentially the back wall lol. Maybe some Nero 3’s since the backside can get wet but I’m OCD about hiding wires haha

 

[Elchapin07]

Hey guys! I have a fairly new tank set up and although im very happy with the aesthetics of my rockwork, it is a little too bulky for my size tank. I have an AIO system that's 4 ft long and only 20" wide 20" high... It's pretty cramped in there tbh. But I've noticed it's really not allowing me to have proper flowing cycle throughout the tank. There's a lot of strong points and dead points. I'd like to slim down my rockwork both width and also height.. Im wondering if anyone here has ever done the same? It would definitely be a project because my corals are already glued on and it'd be a mission to get the anemone off. But I was thinking to get the rockwork out and quickly chisel down the width and height in order to have more space for water flow. Would anyone have any tips or guidance if I was to go through with this project? My tank is fairly new so I'd rather get it done now then later. I look at my tank everyday and the first thing I think of is "aghhh i wish my rockwork was slimmer" lol. So i'd like to fix this issue if possible but I'm also trying not to stress everything out too much. How long do you think I'll have with the rocks out of water until i start to lose beneficial bacteria?View attachment 207229

How did you keep your rocks together ?

 

[jayteerq]

How did you keep your rocks together ?

Stupid cement unfortunately lol. Everything’s held together for life

 

[NeverlosT]

can tunze magnets get wet i wonder? Or could try a wave box?

 

[TPhan]

I really wanted to do this but I have an AIO system so my sump is essentially the back wall lol. Maybe some Nero 3’s since the backside can get wet but I’m OCD about hiding wires haha

There are power heads with strong locking suction cups. Ive also seen people waterproof the dry side magnet with a couple layers of epoxy to place in the rear chamber. If u have your mind set on rescaping I would divide the whole scape into 3 or 4 sections and redo 1 section at a time. Have a bucket/tub of aquarium water and an optional spray bottle to keep the rocks wet the entire time.

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

You can put magnets in thickish ziplock bags and they should be fine

 

[TPhan]

can tunze magnets get wet i wonder? Or could try a wave box?

The wet side magnets for my icecap gyres are completely expose. When I first noticed that I thought something was not right, after further research I found out that out of the box all their magnets are that way. They dont rust like certain magnets do when exposed to water. I have been using them for almost a year. Cleaned them monthly and they look exactly the same like the first day. I dont know if the dry side magnets are the same as the wet side though they look identical.

 

[NeverlosT]

You could always plasti-dip the dry side magnet too