tank rebuild - any aquascaping suggestions?

[larrynyc]

hi all!

i'm new to the site and somewhat new to reef building ... i'm an experienced diver and i have always wanted to create a small replication of what i see down there right in the middle of my office to make work a little less dull ... so i got a 72G bow as a gift last year (and i don't really love the bow, but i'm kinda stuck with it for now) and i've been messing around with it for 6 months ... and i spent a lot of time aquascaping my rock formations to build a reef with a lot of "shelves" ... but now that i'm adding corals to it, i kinda feel like i didn't set it up correctly to begin with.

anyway, i'm also in the process of introducing a huge 8" anenome with a family of true percs and i want to get all the corals out for that anyway so they dont get mushed by the anenome while he tries to find a home ... so while the corals are out, i am thinking of re-scaping the rock ...

"why?" you might ask ... well, i kinda feel like while the rock formation is cool, i feel like it doesnt have enough slope to it and i feel like i will never be able to cover up all the exposed rock with corals ... i don't know if i'm over-thinking this, but i kinda think that i need either some validation or advice as to how to set up the rock

some things i'm hoping to do include:
- have the right side slope high up so some corals can be positioned in front of the filter
- leaving a sandy area on the left for feather dusters and clams
- and i'm hoping the anenome makes his home on left side

this can all change based on where the anenome desides to reside ... but i still think i need some advice ... a few pictures are included below with my tank as it is now

any advice on how / where to position corals would be appreciated as well

thanks in advance!!!

[gwen_o_lyn]

Welcome to TRT!
I think your tank looks nice. Some people drill the rocks and use acrylic rods to help with their aquascaping....

[whatevva]

First of all, Welcome to TRT! You'll never meet friendlier people.

I like the LR JUST like you have it. I have the Bow front and with the sides being only 12" it's tough to keep the rock from looking "stacked" I re-did mine 3 times before I was happy with it. I created several caves which gives it an openess feeling.(the shrimp love it). Maybe add a couple pieces of rock and make a cave that way. There's pictures at my tank spec post.

Again..WELCOME!!

[110galreef]

Welcome...Looks good. best bet for ideas is just to look at others layouts.

BTW my tank is in my office as well.

[Geoff]

Welcome to TRT!!



have you ever thought about turning the tank around so the bow is in the back and not in the front? makes for a more 3D look. it also keeps you from having to look through the curved glass. less headaches.

G~