aquascaping

[Kyle9021]

I really want my aquascape to look better than it does. Does anyone have any good articicles or ideas on this subject. Thanks!

 

[TJL]

Hey Kyle

Have you ever looked at "Ultimate Reef Aquariums" by Michael Paletta there are some great examples as well as pics of some incredible reef aquaria. I am building a new reef tank now and will be utilizing pvc piping to elevate the aquascape and will post pics of my project soon.

Todd ( new member in Everett WA)

 

[stalefish]

My artsy friend helped me with mine. She had three main suggestions.

1. Visually, odd is better than even. So three rock piles is better than 2.

2. Vary the height and depth so it's not just straight across. Again, 3 peaks is better than 2 - all should be noticeably different heights.

3. Try to use the golden ratio. Here's a quick write-up I came across:

http://www.spsholic.com/entry/The-Golden-Ratio-of-Aquascaping

-Don

 

[OCDreefer]

Hey Kyle I am a bit OCD so I have mulled over the aquascape idea a ton. What size tank do you have? Are you hiding any equipment? Do you have rock already? What kind of corals are you planning on keeping? Lets see a pic of what you got. One thing you MUST do is get it right and then leave it alone.... letting the corals be.

 

[akunochi]

Here's mine

 

[cross]

Here's mine

thats an awsome aquascape you got there, but i think he has a 10gl nano. here is mine kyle. and this is my 10gl nano.

 

[akunochi]

LOL Oh my bad. Here is an overall of my large tank, some close ups of how you can stack rock to be stable but still get high, also two shots of my Nano. Of course what works with my tank and rock won't work for yours, but hopefully give you and idea.

Look at your rock like a jig saw puzzle. They all click together.

Updated aquascape on the 180

Close Ups of rock work

Nano

 

[cross]

looks good.

 

[Chichas01]

I got ideas for my aquascaping by looking at pics of Japanese reef tanks. You can just google it and get lots of hits.

 

[Kyle9021]

Yeah I have a ten gallon nano tank but those pictures are amazing. I'll def look into the two
resources recommended. I'll try to get some pictures up soon. I just need to find my digital camera...lol.

Cross your tank looks awesome! I really like that aquascape. I have already purchased a lot of the rocks...now it's just trying to figure out how to arrange them.

How do you guys get your rocks to stick together? The pvc pipe idea sounds interesting. Thanks for the input.

oh yeah I have zoas, a couple mushrooms, a hammer coral, a digi monti (thanks cross!) and a couple other odds and ends.

 

[akunochi]

I examined each piece like a jigsaw puzzle and stacked carefully. Look at two little fishies underwater epoxy though. It is coraline colored

 

[Kyle9021]

hmm...never heard of that stuff. Thanks! You have amazing skills at the whole jig saw thing I'd say

 

[akunochi]

LOL thanks, but I've knocked it over a time or two LOL

 

[cross]

Yeah I have a ten gallon nano tank but those pictures are amazing. I'll def look into the two
resources recommended. I'll try to get some pictures up soon. I just need to find my digital camera...lol.

Cross your tank looks awesome! I really like that aquascape. I have already purchased a lot of the rocks...now it's just trying to figure out how to arrange them.

How do you guys get your rocks to stick together? The pvc pipe idea sounds interesting. Thanks for the input.

oh yeah I have zoas, a couple mushrooms, a hammer coral, a digi monti (thanks cross!) and a couple other odds and ends.

thank you, i just stacked mine. and you are welcome.

 

[alki]

Man that is one earthquake from coming down. Hopefully a rock wont go through your glass!

 

[Krish]

Aquascaping...FUN FUN FUN!! Anyone who knows me knows I have a touch of OCD (well maybe a bit more than a touch ) I remember spending about 7 hours straight with only food and bathroom breaks aquascaping one of my tanks...Just couldn't get it right . I figured out the hard way that you can't try to make one side of the tank a mirror image of the other side. For one, it isn't realistic and two, you'd never find all the exact same pieces of rock. Best piece of advice I could give would be to either look at someones elses tank as a basis for your aquascaping or visualize what you want your tank to look like and try make it a reality. With a 10 gal you don't have too much space to work with so a single rock pile may be the way to go. If you are planning on adding corals, then they will make up for quite a bit of your final look and the rock work wouldn't be as important as someone who doesn't plan on corals and just want live rock.

Here is an example of what I mean...


My 75gal that was only a FOWLR so aquascaping was VERY important to me






My 38 gal was a small reef (well mostly tall gorgonians) so rockwork wasn't as important as I allowed the corals to make up for the final look









And my 24gal Aquapod with just 3 pieces of liverock in it







Hope it helps some!!

 

[cross]

Man that is one earthquake from coming down. Hopefully a rock wont go through your glass!

ah, it aint going any where.

 

[Kyle9021]

krish that is an amazing aquascape. Thanks for showing me! I'm thinking about doing one pile. I actually have to take apart my tank tomorrow so when I get home I get to re aquascape everything. One question...I'm seriously considering barebottom like your tank is. How do you like it?

 

[Krish]

krish that is an amazing aquascape. Thanks for showing me! I'm thinking about doing one pile. I actually have to take apart my tank tomorrow so when I get home I get to re aquascape everything. One question...I'm seriously considering barebottom like your tank is. How do you like it?

Once I went bare bottom I never went back! I use to have about 105x turnover rate in one of my tanks so sand would never stay put anyways IMO, it is much easier to keep the tank clean with a bare bottom tank...Nothing gets lost in the sand to rott. I love it!

 

[Kyle9021]

good point!