Any tips on aquascape

[YoungReefer10g]

So I have just made somewhat of what I’m looking to do for my aquascape. I made a template of my tank including the overflows on my garage floor. This is the exact measurements so I will be able to see everything. Here are some photos of what I’ve made.

 

[YoungReefer10g]

Sorry for all the posts and if any of my questions seem dumb. I’m working on the build thread and I will post all of my questions there.

 

[Primereddime]

She up really similar to my 55 I like it as soon as I get this redslime under control ill post a picture

Sent from my SM-A315G using Tapatalk

 

[york1]

Go with what you like. It looks good to me. Keep asking any question that comes up. Thats how you learn

 

[Adam]

Do you know what your planning to keep coralwise? Knowing that has a big impact on how you want to plan the scape out. The fish do to some extent too.

So what direction do plan on going?

 

[YoungReefer10g]

Do you know what your planning to keep coralwise? Knowing that has a big impact on how you want to plan the scape out. The fish do to some extent too.

So what direction do plan on going?

I’m a sucker for LPS and softies. Obviously will have a few sps

 

[YoungReefer10g]

Do you know what your planning to keep coralwise? Knowing that has a big impact on how you want to plan the scape out. The fish do to some extent too.

So what direction do plan on going?

Fish wise I haven’t fully decided yet

 

[Adam]

That looks like a good scape for that plan. The one area I think you should work on is the sides. It's not a good idea to have any rock with 4" of the glass, 5 or 6" would be even better. There are several reasons for this.

Other than water flow, these are in no particular order, flow is real important. Flow, cleaning the glass, dead zones, access to anything that falls or dies. Did I say flow

 

[popsbjd]

Ultimately, your scape should be what you like. Personally, this thread from r2r really helped me when I started thinking of aquascaping instead of just a rock wall reef. I think its worth a read.

Tips and Tricks on Creating Amazing Aquascapes

Being a artist for fun and profession, I see things different than most people. I decided to create a article about composition, balance, color, and depth within your reef aquarium. I really hope this can help some of you out to create your dream...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[timeconsumer]

With how vertical your scape is I think you're going to run into issues with coral placement options down the line. A vertical rock face can be difficult to work with as the corals above will shade the corals below.

 

[Adam]

I also don't want to discourage you either or steer you away from what you like.

I've read so much and watched countless videos. I thought I liked the scape I did in my first tank. While I liked the look of it it didn't mix well with the amount of the sps I wanted to keep. I was aiming for a mixed reef from the beginning but it just didn't have enough shelfs or ledges for mounting. Funny how the three island direction I did would have been great for a LPS softy dominant tank.

The one thing I'll add to what I said above is you don't need a massive amount of rock in the display. Some can be put in the sump or even place media blocks down there.

 

[Dmitri]

Bare bottom or will you have sand?

 

[YoungReefer10g]

Bare bottom or will you have sand?

Sand.

I also don't want to discourage you either or steer you away from what you like.

I've read so much and watched countless videos. I thought I liked the scape I did in my first tank. While I liked the look of it it didn't mix well with the amount of the sps I wanted to keep. I was aiming for a mixed reef from the beginning but it just didn't have enough shelfs or ledges for mounting. Funny how the three island direction I did would have been great for a LPS softy dominant tank.

The one thing I'll add to what I said above is you don't need a massive amount of rock in the display. Some can be put in the sump or even place media blocks down there.

Yeah, I am planning on putting a Brightwell brick down there. While I dont plan on adding that much SPS I have seen some nice SPS pieces so maybe down the line.

 

[YoungReefer10g]

With how vertical your scape is I think you're going to run into issues with coral placement options down the line. A vertical rock face can be difficult to work with as the corals above will shade the corals below.

Thats a good point.

 

[civics14]

I'm not a fan of one long chain or block of rocks. I'd break it up into 2-3 islands to create some visual empty space. Just my thoughts, but like others said, do what makes you happy. You have to look at it everyday.

 

[timeconsumer]

I want to elaborate on my thoughts about the issues of vertical faces. First of all I'd like to state that I think aquascaping in general is overrated for reef tanks as once everything is covered in coral you won't see your rocks anyway. I feel like some people design an aquascape just so it looks good in pictures in their empty tank.

With that in mind I do kind of like the big ol pile of rocks way of aquascaping. In agreement with civics above sometimes it can be nice to break it up into sections to have some more sand showing and also create more surface area between islands for coral placement. Just make sure when you do it that you are doing more gradual slopes up the front so that you have good places to mount corals without them getting shaded, but doing this and making sure it doesn't end up looking like a fruit stand can be challenging.

My main advice is don't overthink it and no matter how big the scape it never has to be permanent (until it's all covered in coral in 5 years), you can always move rocks around after you get everything started if you decide you need to create a custom spot for your new galaxea so it can't harm neighbors with its 8" angry noodles.

 

[Trizzino]

Good points made by others. My two tips.

1: Don’t have the rocks too close the glass that cleaning will be a pain. Think about when you have corals on those rocks.

2: don’t go too high to the waterline other wise it will be tough to have corals close the waterline.