i hate my aquascaping

[rabadanmarco]

it would be great if someone could help me aquascape my aquarium.

its a 55 gal ...seems that everytime i try fixing it it gets worse

PLEASE HELP

[Shu]

Do you mean adjusting your rock? If so I am having this issue also. I believe I have 2 much rock in mine.

[rabadanmarco]

well the arrangmnent in general. when i see all these flourlishing aquariums online i notice they have very eye drawing aquascaping. and when i try it its like "it looks okay i guess"

[CoryDude]

I feel you Marco. I move one rock, then another, and before I know it I've got a big boring pile of rocks sitting in the middle of the tank.

Can you pull all the pieces out, lay them on the floor, and group them into similar pieces? Seeing all that you have to work with before assembling them in your tank has helped me in the past, but is not always feasible.

[rabadanmarco]

yea i guess ill try that. its alot harder working in tank. does anyone know of anything where you can stick the rocks together. like a reef glue or somthin

[Shu]

I would not glue. The reason is for expansion. Say you get a coral down the road the placement won't work out because its glued. This is just my opinion though.

[rabadanmarco]

ahhh good reason. anyways if anyone else has any pointers or who would like to help me let me know

[JoshOdphi]

yea...im the same way...seems like it try a million times to get it to look "okay"...

[4fun]

Yea i hate this too. If for some reason i need to move a rock from the bottom, I got to move 7-10 other rocks. Then to remember how they all went,just to look good, just drives me nuts. 116 lbs rock

[Big_Pun]

i think everyone has trouble scaping, i just stacked according to what parts of the rock i like facing out and what locks in place safley without being unstable, most of the time when i dont try to hard is when it looks nice

[allan]

Yeah, I just kind of get an idea from someone elses tank and follow loosely. When I saw Ace's (Hobogato) pillers running the length of his tank I realized that I wanted something like that. Then it's just move, stack, move some more, restack and get everything into position that is moderately pleasing.

Then I saw that setup on RC with the huge cave and I really liked that so I followed the example while trying to incorporate the pillers that I got from Ace. So now I have a large cave with a mountain (looks like) over it and two piller like cliffs that stretch out from the main body to give me a valley in the front. Then a series of caves on the left, and another enclosed valley on the right.

Then I saw Glespie's tank... well, you get the picture.

I guess what I'm saying is buy frags from everyone so you have an excuse to see their tank and mimic the things you like, and forget the ones you don't. I think you'll probably find something cool with each tank you visit.

As far as glueing the frags... I like to do this so they don't get knocked off. Frustrating for me to come home after work to find my prized acans upside down on the sand bed because my emerald crab had to get his work out on. By the time you really have to move them and they are attached, well, isn't that what fragging is all about?

[kkiel02]

Also if you plan to get sand sifters or burrowers make sure your rock is placed before the sand so they cannot knock over your rocks. I do this just to be safe anyway. The hardest part for me is to find rocks that sit flat for a good foundation. After that I just interlock them to create caves. I went more of the two pillar approach for a couple reasons but try to create areas where deadspots are less likely. I'm gonna post up my aquascaping tonight under my build tread. I also left areas where I can add on if needed.

[RayAllen]

Ive never had problems aquarscaping, ive usually always gotten compliments so I guess im good at it, lol. With that said I do have more of an artistic brain so it comes in handy.

I will say this though. If you have it away you like it leave it alone because as soon as you move 1 rock it alls goes down hill from there and you might as well reaquascape the entire tank.

[snfkotara]

I too have arranged and rearrange my tank and still have not been thrilled with the look. So right now I only have 2 big rocks and all the others in a tub with a koralia to keep everything alive. I wish someone wanted to come over and play with these rocks and make it look awesome at that point I would want to putty them together. So if anyone just in joys do aquascaping and you want to come over and fix mine I always give frags to my visitors.

[Kristy]

I like aquascaping too, Ray! It's probably the only thing about reefkeeping that I'd consider myself to be "above average" at. For me it is a lot like arranging furniture - a creative challenge and one that is good to shake things up from time to time.

The only tip that I would offer is that it really makes a difference to have some different sizes and shapes of rocks. If all your rocks are the size of a cantalope and round, you have almost no choice but to end up with a big pile of rocks style of scape. I have helped a couple of people with their rockwork, and it is really frustrating if they are all very similar.

Then when fitting the rocks together, I try to leave as many/much interesting spaces between the rocks as I can and I rotate them until they fit together securely, very much like trying pieces of a puzzle. I don't use glue (except gluing coral frags, that's different) but instead count on finding a good fit to lock the rocks together.

I also agree with Allan, that looking at other people's tanks is always a good way to get all sorts of ideas, rockwork included.

[RayAllen]

I like aquascaping too, Ray! It's probably the only thing about reefkeeping that I'd consider myself to be "above average" at. For me it is a lot like arranging furniture - a creative challenge and one that is good to shake things up from time to time.

The only tip that I would offer is that it really makes a difference to have some different sizes and shapes of rocks. If all your rocks are the size of a cantalope and round, you have almost no choice but to end up with a big pile of rocks style of scape. I have helped a couple of people with their rockwork, and it is really frustrating if they are all very similar.

Then when fitting the rocks together, I try to leave as many/much interesting spaces between the rocks as I can and I rotate them until they fit together securely, very much like trying pieces of a puzzle. I don't use glue (except gluing coral frags, that's different) but instead count on finding a good fit to lock the rocks together.

I also agree with Allan, that looking at other people's tanks is always a good way to get all sorts of ideas, rockwork included.

LOL, Kristy I move the furniture around all the time. Drives Nikki nuts, but I cant help it.

[RayAllen]

Heres a article on Aquascaping that may be of interest

http://www.reefbuilders.com/2008/06/07/simple-and-effective-guide-on-reef-aquascaping/

[ballardjr2000]

+1 to stangchris, i just try to find what fits in what hole, or locks in place to make it sturdy, but i know what you mean about looks ok, i am looking to re do my entire rock work in my 90g, cause i am just like eh with it and i have corals growing so this should be instresting.

[rabadanmarco]

maybe a meeting on aquascaping is at hand

[ballardjr2000]

would be nice LOL too bad i am 2hrs from SA.

[vman181]

I got lucky with the new rock I just got two weekends ago. It took me two times to get it where I like it. But as everyone else said I just move them around til I feel it looks good. The last set up I had I didn't care for it to much. All that rock is now in a tub in the garage. That and I had algae all over it and it was time to re-cure it.

[Kyle46N]

Making your own rock helps. It requires some patience waiting for the rock to cure and leach out the alkalinity, but you can make some great shapes.

[cbianco]

Advice...Look at as many pictures of tanks as you can. Get an idea of what you want. Have an abundance of rock to create your 'scape.


does anyone know of anything where you can stick the rocks together. like a reef glue or somthin

-Super Glue
-Plastic rods placed in drilled rocks (plastic hangers cut)
-2 part epoxy
-Expanding foam (Great Stuff)
-Well chewed bubble gum (For real!)
-Plastic zip ties
-Fishing line
-Encrusting corals (star polyps)



I used expanding foam on my rock structure. (Click my signature to see pictures.) I glue my corals straight to the rock structure. Corals don't grow on "plugs" on the reef.

Many people are not happy with their aquariums look. Remember, if the corals are not grown in, you don't really know how your final product will look!

To quote someone who says things that deserve to be quoted, LOL...

Anyone can build a reef in a day, it takes an expert to grow a reef.

Your aquarium is an ever evolving/growing organism. Accept that fact.

Good luck, take pictures.

Christopher :)

[allan]

To quote someone who says things that deserve to be quoted, LOL...

Anyone can build a reef in a day, it takes an expert to grow a reef.



That's it right there. I lament the fact that my tank is still in its infancy, especially when you see tanks that have the huge grow out. Ping gave me some advice the other day.
"you have enough corals, now you have to wait a year and let it grow"

Let it grow...

[stoneroller]

Mucho!

Looking at rockscapes in pico/nano tanks is helpful because those aquarists need to be artists as well to ensure the scale is right for such small tanks.

[marshall.read]

rock doesn't get as much attention as it should, since it plays such a huge role in setting apart average tanks from exceptional tanks. That being said, the best time to decide what aquascape will look the best is not when you're staring into your tank looking at a pile of rocks. Have a good idea as to what kind of look you want before you buy your rock, and be as selective in your choices as possible. Buy a rock not only because it looks amazing, but because you already have a good idea where it can go and how you can use it. I have rock from several stores in San Antonio as well as Austin. I always make a point of checking out a stores live rock when I visit, sometimes I'd rather spend money on a nice rock that will really work for my tank than buying more coral.

So once you got your cherry picked rocks, the question still remains how the heck do you stack it without it looking like a 'pile of rocks'. For those of us who aren't naturally artistic, the best advice I can give is to set up the rock work before you add the water. Working with the rock 'dry' is so much easier and faster. When you set up your aquascape have an idea where specific corals will go and make sure they will have a good orientation to the light, not just the front of the tank. If your tank is already running and you hate your aquascape, dedicate a saturday and drain it down and redo the aquascape. It will be a terribly frustrating, labor intensive day... but it may be worth it. If you leave 6 or so inches of water in the bottom you can leave your fish where they are, then just remove the coral and go to work. Its not fun, but in my experiance I prefer doing it this way once and being happy with the result.

Dangling over the side of the tank trying to see what your rocks look like, while your other arm is trying to move things around and keep things from falling/collapsing, and you're thinking "where the heck is that lionfish now???", not to mention that you can no longer see anything anyway because your water has become to cloudy... not my idea of a good time.

[cbianco]

...


...For those of us who aren't naturally artistic, the best advice I can give is to set up the rock work before you add the water. Working with the rock 'dry' is so much easier and faster.

My Finnex's aquascaping was done with dry rock outside of the tank. I cut a piece of cardboard that represented the bottom pane of glass and used it as my work mat. Dead/dry rock will become live over time if you use some seed pieces and good sand.

Dangling over the side of the tank trying to see what your rocks look like, while your other arm is trying to move things around and keep things from falling/collapsing, and you're thinking "where the heck is that lionfish now???", not to mention that you can no longer see anything anyway because your water has become to cloudy... not my idea of a good time.

I have past experience working in an established tank. Do it right, the first time and it makes life MUCH easier. There become a point where working with your (established) tank actually become detrimental to the tank.

+1 on your post Mr. Marshall :)

Christopher

[Crazyeyes]

Me personaly I like shelves so when I do it I'll place big rocks first and then got to smaller rock. This will give more of a depth look as well. Hope this helps.

[ErikH]

Try this, Keep as much rock as you can OFF the sand. Should make for some interesting structures.

[marshall.read]

very good point ScorpiNo, in addition to interesting, it also will help reduce the amount of the sand bed that will become stagnant from having rocks on it. What I have done is get some taller rocks with a relatively narrow footprint and space them apart a the proper distance to prop a nice 'shelf' rock across them.

** Buy some egg crate and lay down on the bottom of the tank to help distribute the weight of the rocks if you choose to support a large weight of rocks on a small footprint. this will help distribute the weight more evenly **

In general, know your budget... if you can't break the bank on your saltwater hobby, then adopt the ideaology 'less is more'. A small, well designed aquascape that is filled with coral will look better than a very large aquascape sparsely populated with coral. If you go with a smaller aquascape make sure to add lots of actively swimming fish as 'filler' to keep the aquarium visually interesting. I have found that a school of chromis is an inexpensive way to add lots of movement, and at the same time accent the size of the larger show fish.

reef keeping on a budget ... seems like that should be a logical fallacy

[ErikH]

Well, I say it because in my 75 I have quite a bit of rock. I also have 4 tangs. I have the rock seperated between display and sump, more in the display. I have ALOT of sandspace and my corals are all very close to the surface. I have no rock touching glass so the fish can swim all the way around the rock structure.

[vman181]

Well, I say it because in my 75 I have quite a bit of rock. I also have 4 tangs. I have the rock seperated between display and sump, more in the display. I have ALOT of sandspace and my corals are all very close to the surface. I have no rock touching glass so the fish can swim all the way around the rock structure.

Is there a picture of your tank on here we can go look at or could you put up a new one for us? This sounds "fishy" errr..... I mean interesting to see :)

[allan]

He has a lot of videos and pictures of his tank. You really have to see it in person to appreciate it, may even offer you a beer :). Kind of looks like a floating or hanging garden

[rabadanmarco]

** Buy some egg crate and lay down on the bottom of the tank to help distribute the weight of the rocks if you choose to support a large weight of rocks on a small footprint. this will help distribute the weight more evenly **




have lots of it so i will deffinatly try this

[rabadanmarco]

Used the egg crate under the sand to give it a little more stability and it worked alot better than just bare bottom

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a97/xhardcorex777x/IMG_2783-1.jpg