Not happy with my rock, aquascaping pictures?

[twilliard]

Well I have a nice 120G tank ready for all my coral but I really hate the rock I have in it. No matter what I do I cant get the rock to look attractive. I am after some ideas on what to do with it. Is there an area here that a person can goto to get some ideas?

Thanks all
Todd

 

[Krish]

Any photos of what you are working with or what you have setup now in terms of aquascaping?

 

[twilliard]

Sure thing, I will get some up ASAP

ok here it is.

(you would have to excuse the algae) This tank I got from a lady and has been running now for 2 weeks so I am letting the algae suck up all it can.

To me the rock just doesnt work.

 

[twilliard]

posted a picture. I have to add also thanks to Joes Juice I am now aptasia free!!!!

 

[Elmo18]

Here are some tips....

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2004/tips.htm

Best,
Ilham

 

[Krish]

Well, for me the best way to start is with a visualization of what you want the outcome to look like...Sort of like a plan. If you go in with no idea, it usually ends in frustration. Maybe look at different setups to give you some insight and even print a pic to go by. I know with Mojo's setup, he used zip ties to make his structures and some people drill their rocks and use acrylic rods...I just stack. It works for me and I like it Not the best way because things can easily fall, but so far so good. I wanted basically 2 rockpiles so I went for it. If you've never seen my tank just click on my photo gallery to see a pic. I wish you luck

 

[Jiddy]

Todd i agree, your rockwork isnt visualy appealing. I dont think mine is to. I blame PS for sending me small rock chunks, but its my fault as well. I think someone should start a career in aquascaping around the country, they would have to do my tank for free since it was my idea

 

[MCary]

If you plan to make this a reef tank you should design your rocks for placement of corals. In the picture you have bascially built a rock wall. For placing corals you need to tier the setup. Make shelves etc. Then as you place corals the corals become the aquascaping and the rocks are mostly hidden in the background. Now if your setup is going to be FOWLR then your going to have a pile of rocks. For my tastes, a pile of rocks is a pile of rocks. Not too much difference between a good pile and a bad one.

Mike

 

[alison]

It's best for a beginner to start with is a half-moon shape with the highest point in the middle. Maybe you should buy one or two more larger rocks and dump a couple small ones. This would allow you to stack them better with more shelves for coral growth and holes for hiding places for fish. Think about the coral you want to have as well; they have certain depth requirements. The coral that needs the most/strongest light should go at the top. You might also employ some shrimp to keep your rock looking cleaner.

 

[reedman]

Like others have said, you can use zip ties, acrylic rod & a drill, epoxy, and creative stacking.

I find it much easier to either find a picture of what I think I want or sketch it out on paper then work from there. If you just start stacking it's difficult to get anything out of it.

Additionally, remember you want an open structure so water can flow thru. This is increasingly more difficult to accomplish with smaller rocks. I think Alison is dead on in suggesting getting a couple of larger rocks to establish a shape to work from. It costs a bit more to cherry pick rock out of the stores, but it is the best way to ensure you get an interesting shape to your aquascape.

Final thought is that if you are sticking with the smaller rock pieces you can use PVC to create a "rack" to stack the rock on. This makes better use of the rock you have and allows for an open structure. You need to plan this well to ensure all the PVC is hidden by your rock and the structure looks natural and not man-made.

 

[NaH2O]

For aquascaping, I like to look at many different tanks, and see what I like and what I don't like. Then, I try to visualize what I want the tank to look like, and work with the rock I have. Breaking pieces of rock to create shapes I need, using zip ties also works to make shelves or overhangs. Drilling holes and inserting acrylic rods is another option to hold rocks together that normally wouldn't stack.

 

[Blazer88]

I agree with the above posts. I re-aquascaped my tank using PVC pipe to make this interesting "tower" in my tank. The tower is hollow inside and allows for plenty of flow with a good sized cave at the bottom. I then used flat pieces to make some areas to place my frags on. PVC and zipties are your friends' It has made a huge difference in my flow as well as making the tank more interesting and visually appealing.

Before:

After:

 

[Blazer88]

Side shot as well;

 

[spongebob lover]

Well if i was you, I'd check around some threads some threads (members show case forum) and see something that you might like and would like to kind of copy.
what sometimes also help is by drawing on a piece of paper some sort of style/design you might like and try copying it .

 

[Scooterman]

That is neat Blazer88, really nice rock work, I'm impressed but not so clear as to how you have your rocks just hanging like that & i can't see the pvc pipe lol that is cool!

 

[Krish]

Here's a photo of mine I took when I added my closed loop. I wanted two seperate rock structures so I went for it. This is how it turned out and all the rocks are just stacked

 

[spongebob lover]

well since Krish is showing his awesome work, i'll show my crappy one .

i just recently re aquascaped because of an algae problem and i wish i could show you the pictures but my camera doesn't work

 

[Krish]

Way to go Gabbs! Did you use tie straps??

 

[spongebob lover]

tie straps?
They're just hanging for their dear life in there, just like yours .

 

[mattseattle]

i'm thinking of using acrylic rods for my rock work. how do you use ties?