My tank only has a little over 100#, makes it easier to get that open look. I don't have any in my sump, but it can't hurt.

I'd argue against putting rocks in the sump. They just become detritus traps down there unless you add a bunch of powerheads. And really, why?

I'd tend to agree, but most people do it, and I'm tired of arguing anything about rocks :) Like I said, no rocks in my sump. Well, one little one, it's for the crab to hang in :)

if you have the room for it, wouldnt it allow for a heavier bioload? heavier feedings?

Shao, I think if you have a sand bed, that provides more than enough extra surface area for bacteria. I have a fairly high load and feed heavily, and only run about 1/2 pound of rock per gallon. If no sand, then extra rock may allow heavier stocking, but I would suggest that it would need cleaning every now and then..

This is my first sump set up, I've heard the argument of rock in the sump and detritus build up in the past. I do have a bit that I try and clean out with water changes, but find the filter socks do help with this. I also have some lr in there already, smaller pieces that I couldn't make work in the dt. I have an 86 gl sump so loads of room.

I've treated the tank with chemiclean for cyano and lights are now off for 3 days. Once the cyano clears I'm going to rearrange the rocks, likely power heads as well. when I change out the water this weekend, it'll go in bins so I can pull the rocks out to work in the tank.

The way I initially laid out the rocks was to cover up the corner overflows and tried to have an open scape in the middle, but I love the islands so am going to work towards that look.

We're all waiting for the pics :)

Once it's done I will post!:biggrin:

Can't wait to see what you come up with! I know how frustrating it is now! it took me 4 days to get it right.

When I originally did my 90g aquascaping I had more LR than I needed, but I didn't want to waste it so I stuffed it all in and it looked OK but I was never happy with it. I finally decided to bite the bullet and remove pieces (and not worry about hiding my corner overflow) and the more I took out the better it looked. I ended up with a couple islands and arches and the open space really made it look more natural and allowed for better flow. I admit I did use acyrlic rod and zip ties to hold some pieces together because I didn't have some larger pieces to span some areas to my liking. Sorry no pics as I rarely photograph my tanks. I think I've posted one tank shot since I came to Canreef and only have taken about 3 since I started into SW. This nano contest is going to be a bit strange for me!