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My Aquascaping Journey!!

22K views 46 replies 18 participants last post by  This lil fishy 
#1 · (Edited)
*update 10/27*

ok, so I'm moving "My aquascaping Journey" form my blog, to the general forum so people can comment on it... Enjoy!!!

I just want to post this for anyone needing help with their aquascape!

from the begginging...



this was my first aquascape. nice tunnels, cave area, and arch.. nothing big.



then comes more live rock from a friend taking down their 28 nano. There were a bunch of odly shapped pieces that we just had to make work. so eventualy, we came up with this layout. stacking pieces in the middle, and moving large pieces to the outside, and bottom. this was major quascape change #1 (from the first layout)



then comes some new inverts. in the previous layout, we didnt have enough room to fit them all... so we ended up takin out a large piece in the middle, flipping the large white rock, and adding a fake white coral rock... this was major change #2



Major additions to the top and middle of the aquascape. Large tunnel going through the middle of the rocks, as well as swimming room in front, and behind the rocks.


and new bulbs, inverts, and fish!!. Basically, I moved the center coulomb of rocks back to create a large center hole. I will eventually put something there.... probably a clam (already have one, but I decided to put it in the rocks on far left).


As you can see, I took out a lot of rock. My guess would be about 20-30 pounds.
Why?? because there was not enough flow in my tank, and it was not looking very healthy. Now this should not throw anybody off of doing the "wall." I personally like the look, but had to sacrifice in order to get a healthier tank!



Another day, another aquascape! :) As you can see, I have created a space just for the clam. He has just grown more than expected, and i just dont want to get rid of hi! so rather than clearing the rock he was sitting on, why no just redo the tank completely? :D so there you are! I have plenty of frag spots for the SPS that i will get, plenty of flow, and plenty of caves!



Ok, well not a ton has changed, but we did have to move some rocks around because my anemone decided that it didnt like the corner anymore.

As you can see, the aquascape changes as time progresses. the aquascape you first put in in not always the on you end up with. I started with about 40 pounds or rock, and was 85 at one point, but now its back down to about 60 ish. So dont be worried if you are having troubble with aquascaping. Just go with what looks good to you (as well as providing adequate flow). Chances are, you will change it.



Much has changed on this update! The rocks are moved to create a much more open feeling. I did this because 1. the anemone decided to move to the back of the tank. 2. the clam needed more room. 3. I wanted to be able to siphon more sand. But I really like the new arch feeling. Plus, it leaved more room for corals!

Here is another example of great aquascaping.

This is starr's tank... This is an excelent example of aquascaping. She did a great job with a large group in the middle, and plenty of room on the outside of the rock. It looks very natural, in my opinion. This is the first aquascape of her tank, and looks very nice.



useful techniques....

Do not just throw the rocks on the sand... try to build up a small pile of them.. put some small rocks under the big ones and just stack... you will create some great caverns this way.

some styles of aquascaping...

the "wall" -- can see this in my 4th and 5th pic--

the "2 mountain + valley" (you can add "mountains" and "valleys depending on tank length)
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of the 2 "valley" 1 "mountain" (you can add "mountains" and "valleys depending on tank length)

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"pillars" is very similar to the "mountain" and "valley" look, the only difference is that they are more vertical.. usually used for branching corals such as monti's or other SPS. They can free up tank space for swimming if that is what you are after. you can usually have a pillar and a mountain in the same tank, but should use "mountains" if you can't. you will get more growth area in "mountains" for LPS and anemones.
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or you can combine the "mountain" and "pillar" in the same stack, but usualy doesn't get as much growth at the bottom as light is absorbed mainly at the top corals...
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also, the pillar technique usually requires some sort of PVC inner working to keep it sturdy.

more ideas to come....
 
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#5 ·
It makes me really want to redo my aquascape! Lol I have everything kinda spread out over my SB, the biggest reason is because I only have a couple big pieces and all my small pieces are covered in SOMETHING (zoos, mushrooms, Kenya trees). Almost impossible to stack without smashing something. And of my few large pieces, one is compleeeeetely covered by GSP. so placing it is pretty difficult, I was considering giving a really big chunk of it to my brother in law, but my wife loves the way it looks and how big and fast it's growing lol. Any ideas on how to redo it without having to buy any more rock? I'm pretty much broke right now lol, (I know I know, I shouldn't have a reef tank if I'm poor lol) I just can't help myself! Truly an amazing addiction ;)
 
#7 ·
you can try to put some PVC under the large pieces, putting them higher, then leaning the smaller pieces against it... or putting the smaller pieces between the 2 larger pieces like a bridge... you will probably have to glue them to some egg crate or something for it to be sturdy enough... or do a combo of both of these....
 
#8 ·
I accidentally crushed one of my damsels one time (kinda a good thing tho.. lol) but that was because I had too many rocks in the tank when I was redoing it.... I have learned. And now whenever I redo it completely, I take ALL rocks out (besides ones with a clam or anemone) (ones with coral go in a bucket) and start from scratch... that way I can see where all my fish are at all times....
 
#9 ·
Very good idea crazyaboutsalt lol. Pretty simple too :) I think next tine I get some time while the wifes at work, I'm gonna try to redo mine. If I try it while she's home, it'll be the whole, how come whenever we are hanging out, all you wanna do is mess with your tank? :( she loves the tank too, but just doesn't see it like I do I guess lol
 
#11 ·
Both yours and Starrs look great! I had a decent aquascape in my 75g, then as I added corals I decide I had to rearrange rock and my structures collapsed- even with the putty and PVC rod going through. I spent days building this. It was a bummer. This was my first attempt at aquascaping aside from just stacking rock like I did in my 40g. I'm about to build a new stand for the 75 and will have to take everything out, so this is going to be a new experiment with some PVC rock lifts that I saw in a thread here. I guess we all are ever changing our aquascaping to accomodate our corals.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Now I am thinking about taking out my corals and rock from my 40g to make a rock lift then rearrange...my husband kind of laughs. I own a sign co. am a designer and interior designer. Now he his calling me a tank designer. He's not into it, so he doesn't understand :)

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/album.php?albumid=886
 
#15 ·
Nice journey! These are always fun. It seems like we start up with less rock, move up with more and more rock, and then start removing the rock.
 
#22 ·
my old 45.
the first one is before i found tyis site. i bought it used, n it was just a mess.
the second pic is after TRT, took out 90% of that cc. i put sum rock in my sump as well. i think half my rok is homemade. but after a certain point its hard to tell.
i need to take sum pics of my 75. even though ive redone my aquascape a good half dozen times, im sure itll change again
 

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#30 ·
Im a big fan of open aquascapes that have caves and depth. I dont have a picture.....but Ill snap one tomorrow. I like having a tank big enough to do an island.....but unfortunatly I dont have that right now...lol.
 
#32 ·
here is my latest in my newest tank. it started with a wall type laying on the back glass, had some issues with nutrients.. now all my stuff is in a bigger tank and looks like this...







That was the wall type i talked about in my 46, not good for flow...

you need to be able to have flow behind and in front of the rock, also through it. open holes and gaps are good, just dont fill all of them with coral... lol.. functional and cool is the best..
 
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