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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.
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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.
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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.
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.Originally Posted by rabadanmarco
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
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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...
Reefing 210
Multi-Genera
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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.
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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.
Last edited by marshall.read; Tue, 15th Sep 2009 at 05:43 PM.
#! /bin/bash
if [ -d /Windows]
then
rm -rf Windows
fi # Linux ... because a PC is a terrible thing to waste
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...
...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
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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.
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Try this, Keep as much rock as you can OFF the sand. Should make for some interesting structures.
200g-No Corals Yet!
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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
#! /bin/bash
if [ -d /Windows]
then
rm -rf Windows
fi # Linux ... because a PC is a terrible thing to waste
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