# New Tank...Rock Layout Help



## DoLce N BeLLa (Jul 8, 2007)

Hey there-

I just bought a 56 gallon tank that has more height than length (VERY roughly, probably 40''x20''x22) The last tank I had was not set up nicely in terms of the rocks. 

How do you set up a reef tank to have the caves and multi-layers? The new tank is reef ready, so any pieces that can't be used for construction will just be put in the bottom tank.

I really love the layer effect with all the holes and such. 

Ideas? 

Thanks!


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## Gump (Oct 26, 2006)

I've always used the rule that you should put your rocks down before your sand so the rocks are sitting on the glass. So if you have any digging fish they can't get under the rocks and possibly crush themselves or knock over rocks by making them unbalanced. This can be very important when your stacking rocks up to 2' from the bottom of the tank.

As for how to get the rocks to stay and make caves? You could use pvc pipe and make a frame and stack the rocks up that way. Using this method you use less rocks and give more "under rock" space for fish to swim in and out. Or you could just stack rocks on top of one another till you get the desired shapes. Some people use aquarium putty to bond the rocks together but I always just worked mine in till they were sturdy.


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