Official Moronic Question Thread....( O.M.Q.T.)

pokerfish

pokerfish

daily puffer
Hi all, I'm a newbie (to the forum and to salt tanks) and am enjoying all the info here and want to give something back. Seeing that I have no experience, or expertise, I can only contribute what I do best...ask a lot of really moronic questions. My thought is that maybe there are some other idiots like me,only ones that are too afraid to ask the really dumb stuff...so here goes

1) when starting a tank and adding live rock....should you leave space behind your structure? Enough for swimming room? Or do you use back of tank to help support structure? You are just stacking live rock right? Or is there more to it?
See,told ya I was stupid!
 
Not at all a dumb question :) I have yet to have my reef set up but in my freshwater tanks I always left room behind the rocks. This gave the fish more swimming options. Also I think having a free standing structure adds a more natural appearance then a wall.
 
True, but when I look at pictures of some of these reef tanks, there is a lot of rock in them...unless they are glueing them together, seems like there might be a stability problem. Also, fish behind rocks doesn't seem visually satisfying...I once saw Springsteen from behind the stage, just wasn't as good....:censored: I'm OLD !
 
pokerfish said:
True, but when I look at pictures of some of these reef tanks, there is a lot of rock in them...unless they are glueing them together, seems like there might be a stability problem. Also, fish behind rocks doesn't seem visually satisfying...I once saw Springsteen from behind the stage, just wasn't as good....:censored: I'm OLD !
Click to expand...

lol. Depending on how good your aquascaping is you can have an incredibly stable rock formation. The one in my Frontosa tank survived a tremor we had in Toronto last year and looking at it youd say it would for sure fall. The visually appealing part of this fish is true however I always found that if a fish gets chased into a rock, its better for him to get away then smash his face off the glass lol
 
My rock is stacked in a way that the fish can get behind it (which makes them more comfortable because it gives them hiding places) but it is also leaned against the glass in some areas.
 
That makes sense..probably want to leave more room in front for viewing but leave some space for hiding...btw Explicit... a tremor in toronto? Was that when the Maple Leafs traded Daryll Sittler? :censored: I really am old!
 
My tank is two feet wide... The bottom layer of rock starts (at the closest) two inches away from the front of the glass and gradually slopes up. I'd snap you a picture, but my trigger is currently having fun stirring up my sand. :grumble:
 
I see...I am Italian so stacking rock (like bricks) should be a natural thing, we are also good with dropping cement in water...thanks for the advice...do u have any tank photos posted here?
 
I also have all my rocks stacked up on the rear glass, but there must be space behind there for the fish to hide and also for water flow...you don't want the water to become stagnant behind there. I have over 100lbs of live rock in my 29gal...check out the pics I posted in my thread below.
 
Ok...so we covered rock stacking...time for moronic question number two...

2) Do corals count against your bioload like fish do? I see photos of tanks with jungles of corals, I know they are alive, so are they less a burden than fish? Is there a formula? Do they spread and have to be reduced? Do I answer when my wife asks if she looks fat in those jeans? OK I'm rambling...scratch the last one...:D
 
Last edited:
pokerfish said:
Ok...so we covered rock stacking...time for moronic question number two...

2) Do corals count against your bioload like fish do? I see photos of tanks with jungles of corals, I know they are alive, so are they less a burden than fish? Is there a formula? Do they spread and have to be reduced?
Click to expand...

Nope.
Yep.
Nope.
Yep.

:)
 
I appreciate your efficient answers...so, to be clear, I can have all the corals I want so long as they are compatible and have enough physical space...I can still have the same amount of 'fish, with or without corals? :shock:
 
Many corals will sting each other if they start touching and invading each others' space, so when you place corals, you have to think about their compatibility and give them room to grow. Most corals are pretty slow growing though, so you don't have to worry about it right away, and most corals are easy to frag if they grow outgrow their space.
 
Thats good to hear...I was told different....or maybe the guy was talkin about inverts...I burned a lot of brain cells in the 80's and get distracted by shiny things and such...thanks for the answers...I'm full of more dumb questions but I gotta focus on a poker tourney, I'm chewing gum and am I horrible multi tasker..You guys rock! Even you half sicilians!
 

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