2 hours later.....

Lbannie · Mar 9, 2020

Getting my 90 gallon ready!! This is about 90 pounds of rock. I got 10 pounds of shelf rock which is cool, but stands out like a sore thumb. I tried to make a lot of places for coral and places for fish to swim through. Nothing is glued. Super solid though.
what do you think???

Retro Reefer · Mar 9, 2020

Looks good to me! Once rock is covered in corals and coralline you won’t notice the shelf rock at all.

Lbannie · Mar 9, 2020

Retro Reefer said:
Looks good to me! Once rock is covered in corals and coralline you won’t notice the shelf rock at all.

Thanks! It’s hard to see from pic, but there’s quite a few ledges and dimension
My fingers feel like sandpaper!

Sailfin11 · Mar 9, 2020

I wouldn't reccomend leaning the rock against the back glass because you won't have any access behind it. Maybe bring it out a few inches so there is enough space for a algae scraper and for fish to swim through. Other than that, you could split it into two stacks which may give it more character and options for coral placement.

Johniejumbo · Mar 9, 2020

I like it how it is myself. You may get some accumulation of detritus back in the rocks but that can be flushed out with a power head every now and then.

siggy · Mar 9, 2020

Retro Reefer said:
Looks good to me! Once rock is covered in corals and coralline you won’t notice the shelf rock at all.

Hey have you checked out the Aquascape forum? Lots of good ideas.
edit: OOps!

Lbannie · Mar 9, 2020

Sailfin11 said:
I wouldn't reccomend leaning the rock against the back glass because you won't have any access behind it. Maybe bring it out a few inches so there is enough space for a algae scraper and for fish to swim through. Other than that, you could split it into two stacks which may give it more character and options for coral placement.

It’s not touching any glass at all. I was thinking about 2 stacks.....hmmm. I’ll have to keep staring at it!

Lbannie · Mar 9, 2020

Johniejumbo said:
I like it how it is myself. You may get some accumulation of detritus back in the rocks but that can be flushed out with a power head every now and then.

Thanks! I left enough room to stick my hand behind the rocks. I wish the rocks weren’t such an ugly white....I guess in time they’ll look nice!

YankeeTankee · Mar 9, 2020

Coming along nicely, if it were me I'd open it up in the middle, allow for more flow and viewing depth.

Lbannie · Mar 10, 2020

YankeeTankee said:
Coming along nicely, if it were me I'd open it up in the middle, allow for more flow and viewing depth.

I’ve been thinking about that. I have a thing about things being symmetrical so that might be hard. Gotta look at more pics

Hallowhead · Mar 10, 2020

Sailfin11 said:
I wouldn't reccomend leaning the rock against the back glass because you won't have any access behind it. Maybe bring it out a few inches so there is enough space for a algae scraper and for fish to swim through. Other than that, you could split it into two stacks which may give it more character and options for coral placement.

Ive learned this first hand from my brother - not only can the fish not really swim behind it but you can't clean back there at all = load of detritus build up

JumboShrimp · Mar 10, 2020

Will you have a sump? If so, you might actually want to put about 1/4 of that rock down there to still hold your bacteria (maybe the smaller pieces) while opening up the scape a bit more; it looks pretty tightly packed to me. Just a thought. But enjoy and have fun!

Mhart032 · Mar 10, 2020

Best to remember the rules of thirds, it will make your reef more pleasing to the eye, I also agree you need more room between the back glass and scape, flow is a factor here as well as detrus leads to phosphates, phosphates to green hair algae. Id use less rock and my goal would be to keep as much off the sandbed as possible to make sure you can get flow through the scape.

Mhart032 · Mar 10, 2020

Just an FYI if you don't love it now.. you will hate it in 5 months.. there is a good article in coral magazine roughly 6 months ago on aquascaping very informative and talks about flow and what's pleasing to the eye specifically with the rule of thirds.

Lbannie · Mar 10, 2020

Mhart032 said:
Just an FYI if you don't love it now.. you will hate it in 5 months.. there is a good article in coral magazine roughly 6 months ago on aquascaping very informative and talks about flow and what's pleasing to the eye specifically with the rule of thirds.

I’m still dwelling on it. Lol. Might have a do over pic coming. Can’t get past some of the shelf pieces

nkyreef · Mar 10, 2020

Aquascaping is fun. I tried to create depth with smaller rock in front and larger built up behind it while trying to build arches. Instead of trying symmetrical stacks maybe try two sections with a 1/3 of the rock on one side and 2/3 on the other?

vetteguy53081 · Mar 10, 2020

That works. Just make sure you have room for water to circulate through the structure

Lbannie · Mar 10, 2020

nkyreef said:
Aquascaping is fun. I tried to create depth with smaller rock in front and larger built up behind it while trying to build arches. Instead of trying symmetrical stacks maybe try two sections with a 1/3 of the rock on one side and 2/3 on the other?

Do you “glue” the rocks together? I just have mine fitted together.
my overflow is not in the center either so that’s a bit hard to get around

JoshO · Mar 10, 2020

Lbannie said:
Do you “glue” the rocks together? I just have mine fitted together.
my overflow is not in the center either so that’s a bit hard to get around

I've seen some people drill rocks and use acrylic rods to secure them together for a lot of stability. Just bear in mind that fitting rocks together could become an issue if knocked while cleaning or placing corals. A rockfall onto a loaded pane of glass could cause a blowout if there is enough weight.
That being said having them fitted together allows for you to change things about in the future!

Lbannie · Mar 10, 2020

JoshO said:
I've seen some people drill rocks and use acrylic rods to secure them together for a lot of stability. Just bear in mind that fitting rocks together could become an issue if knocked while cleaning or placing corals. A rockfall onto a loaded pane of glass could cause a blowout if there is enough weight.
That being said having them fitted together allows for you to change things about in the future!

I was thinking about that since my “wall” is kinda high. I’m paranoid enough with the overflow! I’ve never had one, or a sump, in my previous tanks. I’ll probably be a nervous wreck for a while when the water goes in!!
I have visions in my head of how I want things, but getting them to work out is another story!