aquascape help please

[jgs107]

ok guys and girls...ive had my 180 set up for a good couple of months now and all my corals are doing well but im just trying to figure out how i want to aquascape the rockwork.theres just something to it that i dont like.maybe if i can get some of your ideas on to what i should do i could get it to where i like it.anyways heres a pic of the tank now.its kind of a bad pic but the rock is pushed to the back wall and goes up all the way.maybe if i moved it out and made some islands it wouldnt look too bad.

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l37/jgs107/m.jpg

http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l37/jgs107/DSCF2514.jpg

[TTrout]

Here is what I am conceptualizing for my soon to be 180...maybe it will work for you as well...

http://www.thecadesusa.com/travis/images/rock.gif

[nyvp]

I like the three mountain look, I have the same thing.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h310/nyvp/CIMG8244_edited.jpg

[jgs107]

what do you think the best way to have these rocks stacked.i dont want to worry about them falling down.

NYVP....i wish i had your tank so bad...looks incredible

[TTrout]

you might try dry testing your aquascaping outside the tank. Then once you have it like you want it, drill holes in each of the touching peices and then epoxy acrylic rods in them so they don't move. You may or may not need the epoxy depending on placement of the rock; incase you want to take it apart later.

[jgs107]

yea thats a good idea...the more i look at my tank i am happy that the rock is in the back only to give my fish the optimal amount of room to swim.im planning on having a good number of tangs in here so i want them to be able to swim freely

[bcordill]

I have 190 and went for a two mountain look. My tank is 28 in wide and the rooks do not touch the back of the tank. Like what TTrout is proposing minus one mountain.
http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t168/bcordill/Tank0826.jpg

Also when I upgraded from the previous 125 I did not add anymore rock to the new tank.

Good Luck

[ReefingBuddha]

I think two mounds at either end with a significatly protruding ledge on one reaching towards the other would look really nice. This would allow a canyon effect and the ledge is always fun for fish swimming and coral placement. You can put low light corals underneath and create a nice natural look. Good luck... love aquascaping.

[jgs107]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10760498#post10760498 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by thirschmann
I think two mounds at either end with a significatly protruding ledge on one reaching towards the other would look really nice. This would allow a canyon effect and the ledge is always fun for fish swimming and coral placement. You can put low light corals underneath and create a nice natural look. Good luck... love aquascaping.

i really like that idea...problem is i do have a good number of flat pieces but not too many large boulders to build this up.lots of smaller pieces and a few large.might look into that though.

[i2ik]

Here's a blog of Edward's website which may be very useful for you. I go everyday on it to read and look at the pictures. Very interesting and helpful!

http://invincible569.squarespace.com/

[invincible569]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10761524#post10761524 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by i2ik
Here's a blog of Edward's website which may be very useful for you. I go everyday on it to read and look at the pictures. Very interesting and helpful!

http://invincible569.squarespace.com/

Thanks Richard! Your tank is an inspiration too!

jgs, the idea to making your aquascape look good is to make it flow right. Dont put boulders on boulders. It all has to blend in. Look at some natural reed pictures and use that as a guideline. Try to use the Golden Ratio to create that focal point in which I talk about in my blog several pages back (in journal).

[reef / aholic]

Doing an aquascape is like painting a picture. There are a couple of things to consider when doing an aquascape.

What type of reef system are you going to do "reef wall, reef flat or patch reef"?

Personal I like to build a reef system which occupies no more than about 25% to 50% of the actual volume of the aquarium. This restriction equates to a reef system which can be most of the length of the aquarium but it shouldn’t be more than half as high and half a wide as the dimensions of the aquarium. Also I like to leave space around the front, back and sides of the reef system, kind of like a race track. Also when placing coral within your reef system, place large coral on the outer rim of the reef system and smaller coral along the interior space of the reef system.

I hope this helps because we do not need any more ROCKS IN THE BOX SETUP!!!

[dsandfort]

I'm trying out some tower effects and like the result so far. Excuse the temporary plumbing. The fish love to run the various canyons.

http://www.bernardino.colostate.edu/drs/images/wood tank/pts1.jpg

[WDLV]

Here's a thread I did on sculpting baserock into larger structures of your own design. they allow for more water flow, less dead spaces and less liverock to cover a much larger area. They are also very stable.
http://www.cmas-md.org/forums/showthread.php?t=51018
This may be of some use to you. My current reef is built partially with these as the main support structure. Here's a shot of it when it was first set up.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/210%20Gallon/12-20-05.jpg

And a more recent pic.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/210%20Gallon/Tankshots3-22-07001.jpg

Once it's covered in coral, you really won't care anymore anyway.
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/9-2007/DSC00047.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/9-2007/DSC00001.jpg

Happy reefing!

[mile sq. reefer]

Nice, where did you get the Latezonatus clown from?

[WDLV]

In case you can't access the link....
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/ReefSculpture001.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/ReefSculpture003.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e92/walterlaroque/ReefSculpture002.jpg
One of the problems that reef tanks frequently encounter is the rise of detritus buildup. One way that I’ve come up with to combat this problem is by creating an open sculpture. By using concepts that were partially inspired by GARF and partially inspired by frustration I built my first sculpture about two years ago.
GARF uses “Aragocrete” to create realistic looking reef baserock that can be in the form of tables, arches, and caves. Because I had a major problem with Aptasia, and because I was faced with the prospect of moving 2000 miles back from TX to MD I dried out all of my liverock. Once I arrived in MD and started setting up my tanks I realized that I had a lot of base rock and very little money to buy new liverock. I also realized that I’d always had an aversion to leaning liverock against the back glass. For one, the glass is impossible to clean with rock leaning on it. There is also a problem with detritus forming in places that are impossible to access. Finally if you try to shove a siphon tube through the rockwork, you run the risk of knocking over the reef.
The solution was to use arch shaped pieces of baserock to create a multilayered structure that could be set into the center of the tank. The largest pieces made up the bottom layer. Medium sized pieces made up the middle layer and the smallest pieces were placed at the top. Instead of stacking the pieces like bricks I put arches down in a circular pattern with a center brace for support and loosely followed suit with the top two layers. All of the intersections were cemented with “Aragocrete” For this I used one part white Portland cement, and three parts oolite (Southdown) and aragonite.
The first sculpture was placed in my 58 gallon tank. For weight reasons I would not recommend exceeding this size. I’m currently using three smaller sculptures in my 125. The only problems that I’ve had with this concept was the weight. I’d estimate that it weighs 60-70 Lbs. I’m a healthy young guy, so for me to move this is not too bad. For others, you might want some help or just make the sculpture smaller. The other down side is that it takes a while to seed the baserock. I used GARF Grunge or crushed liverock to seed the tank. In my opinion the pros far outweigh the cons. This technique provides improved water flow over the traditional reef tank, greater stability and provides access to all parts of the bottom substrate from all angles.
I realize that this way is not the only way or necessarily the best way, but it is one way. I hope someone out there benefits from my trials and tribulations.

[WDLV]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10774671#post10774671 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mile sq. reefer
Nice, where did you get the Latezonatus clown from?

Heh Heh. Good eye.... Blue Zoo Aquatics.