Aquascaping-___-

[Point ohh Eight]

I can't figure out how to make my tank look good
Everything I try looks like a clump of rocks. I need some ideas and tips on how to make my tank look better. I have a 100 gallon tank.
This is so frustrating

[unhandleable]

Take a few towels, lay out all your rocks. Draw out an idea with pencil and paper, then try to go about doing your drawing in your tank. It may take a few tries but that's what worked for me.

[W8lifts]

Drill the rock and insert rods to amke rock sculptures

[scarface70706]

use ecotechs glue

[Point ohh Eight]

The problem is, is that I have a truvu tank so it's really wide on the outsides and narrow in the middle and I want most of my rock in the middle. I either want to do a hill like thing on the left that goes across the tank and fades into the sand on the right or I wanna make a mountain in the middle and have sands on the left and right with nems on them. I don't know what to do lol I'm stuck

[W8lifts]

Thats sounds like a clump of rock in the middle of your tank

[Point ohh Eight]

I have a lot of caves in the middle but idk if I should spread it out of put 2 islands on either side and make "mountain" steeper on one side and add a cave in the middle

[W8lifts]

I am always a big fan of two Islands but it is your call.

[Point ohh Eight]

Thank you! I will try the two islands and hopefully I'll see you around sometime

[TjwBlake]

Also if you decide to go with the single mountain.. try making it more asymetrical..

make one side look like a sheer cliff or if you have te right rocks add a ledge, with the other side sloping gentlely away.. also offset it in the tank.. more to one side or the other.

[TheHun]

The Golden Ratio

Working with the rule of thirds, or ‘The Golden Ratio’
The Golden Ratio was realised by the ancient Greeks and has been used in all art forms for thousands of years. It provides a guide to achieve the perfect balance within a work of art, or any endeavour that involves placing objects in a space.

How to use it
Imagine that there are four lines (two horizontal and two vertical) running through your tank, splitting it into nine equal sections. Wherever the lines cross is a golden focus point for your aquascape, and marks where you should consider positioning prominent features like main stones, wood shapes or bold/red plant species. The same process can be done when considering planning the height of plants and hard-scape; place the focal points at 1/3 or 2/3 of the height of the tank, and remember to consider the height that your plants will grow to. You can use it to plan the overall scape of your tank, for example you can choose to have 1/3 planted and 2/3 negative space, or vice versa. There are almost an infinite number of combinations to play with, and all can help you achieve stunning results.

Good luck!

[Johnny351]

I'll be doing the same today. I've got 6 buckets full of rock and a head full of ideas. I've got a huge piece of cardboard that I'm going to tape out the dimensions of the tank and just start building. Much easier than leaning over the tank scratching it all up. Im leaning toward the two island look myself. GOOD LUCK

[spieszak]

Try the "grass is greener" approach... set it up, take a picture, and look at the picture hours later (the picture, not the tank or you'll be tempted to move that one rock just a few inches).. what you'll notice (or I always have) is that its proximity that seems to cause problems. Hours later when you look at the picture, (works even better when you imagine its someone else's tank not yours, hence the "grass is greener approach"), well I'm always surprised how much more I like it when I give it some time and distance.

[treetopflyn]

I tried and tied and tried and tried and tried and finally came up with a design I love. It has multiple arches, only touches the glass in 1 spot, doesn't touch the back at all and only touches the sand in 4 small areas.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4z_o70RrvPs/Tr20PwKG8QI/AAAAAAAAGnc/gvqFvE450nY/s640/photo.JPG

[Tethered_Limbs]

^^ that looks awesome

[Point ohh Eight]

Well I will be aquascaping my tank today and I will try to keep you guys posted. Thanks for all the advice

[Point ohh Eight]

I think I'm gonna shoot for a island in the middle with arcs coming in from both sides of the tank

[ReefHoboBum]

less is more. keep lots of open areas or holes for the water to flow through.

[sponger0]

Caves are good as they give hiding spaces for all your critters and fish. I think an aquascape that isnt symmetrical works best. It doesnt look planned

[sponger0]

Also here are my 2 scapes give you and idea

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e209/sponginpunk/Biocube/IMG_3007.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e209/sponginpunk/40%20Breeder/IMG_3603-1.jpg

You can google aquascapes and get tons of ideas.

[davocean]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1807317&highlight=show+me+your+pillars

[Point ohh Eight]

I like arcs and islands a lot now it's just up to choosing which one to follow through with

[Reefing Newbie]

I will be keeping an eye on this thread because I will be getting my 125 back together in a couple of weeks. That means aquascaping. Thankfully I have some dry rock, but I have 175# of LR... This will be fun. Great looking aquascape pictures posted above.

[W8lifts]

Drilled and inserted rods for the rockscape, but I am still playing with it

[Reefaddict24]

You're lucky you got an open tank. I have a 400g with a dead center overflow with 360 degree view. I basically got no space for rock scape one both ends of my tank and very limited space on the sides of the tank.

[Reefaddict24]

I tried to re aquascape my tank many times but i always ended up with a lot of rocks covering my overflow and fewer rocks on the sides making an island. For some reason the more i change it up the more it looks the same!

[Reefaddict24]

I soon gave up and realized this. Its not how your rocks look, its how your corals would look once covering the rocks. Majority of the mature tanks you see on here only shows corals and you barely see the rock work underneath. Depending on what kind of corals you would keep in your tank determines what scape is best. I wanted an all sps tank and soon realized with the minimalist look i wouldn't be able to have much variety of sps because of the limited amount of surface space for the corals to encrust and its only about time until the corals grow so big until they start touching and fighting.

Hope this helps.

[Point ohh Eight]

I will be drilling live rock here soon and sticking rods thru it

[W8lifts]

Go to home depot and get the reflector lights that you stick in the yard..It is very cheap and it works for your rock

[Point ohh Eight]

Yes that did help. You finally got me thinking... I need more surface space so I can put more corals down without them touching and fighting over territory. Thank you!

[Reefaddict24]

Yes that did help. You finally got me thinking... I need more surface space so I can put more corals down without them touching and fighting over territory. Thank you!

Glad it helped!

[jdm01]

it took a fair amount of time, trying and research, not to mention encouragement from some here on RC, but here is what my rock work looks like after 3 weeks. i think I will stick with this. There are a couple of caves, shelfs, etc...

<a href="http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j107/jdm01/65%20Gallon%20Reef%20Tank%20Build/65G%20Tank/?action=view&amp;current=TankCloseUp3Weeks.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j107/jdm01/65%20Gallon%20Reef%20Tank%20Build/65G%20Tank/TankCloseUp3Weeks.jpg" border="0" alt="Tank Week 3"></a>