moving live rock once set-up?

[Octoberfest]

My tank has been set-up now for about 3 months and now I can look back and say I wish I would have done some things different.

Well one of them is the rock placement. I would like to move around the live rock into a different arrangement. Right now it's pretty much a pile in the center of the tank from the front glass to the back, fish can't really even swim in front of it without having to bob and weave.

So my question is besides possibly hurting some of the livestock in the tank from dropping/shifting rock is there anything that negative that can come out of moving the rock around?

[artful-dodger]

Not really, as long as it doesn't dry out. You will probably stir up a bunch of junk from the substrate--fine sand if you're using a sand bottom or general detritus (you remember him from Gettysburg?) if you have a coarse substrate.

Time it along with a water change if you can. That will give you buckets of salt water to hold pieces while you place others.

[Octoberfest]

yeah I wouldn't let it get dry, it would be wet except for the transfer from the tank to another container. I might even try to move it all to one side and then work from there, maybe never taking it out of the tank. I have 150lbs of sand mixed with 50lbs of crushed coral for looks only (yeah most don't like it but I do).

[bheron]

turn off all pumps!!! otherwise you'll kick up a bunch of junk into the water column. that, actually, can be a good thing. but me, personally, would turn off the pumps.