Aquascape Overhaul

Saluki2003 · Feb 17, 2023

My tank has be going for a little more than 2 years now and I’m really not happy with my aquascape. I made what I thought was a cool NSA scape but now with some softies and LPS corals I’m really not very happy with it.

my plan is to build a new rock structure with some live rock from the LFS. If I go this route what do I need to do to get the new scape ready to replace what’s already in the tank?

glb · Feb 18, 2023

Saluki2003 said:
My tank has be going for a little more than 2 years now and I’m really not happy with my aquascape. I made what I thought was a cool NSA scape but now with some softies and LPS corals I’m really not very happy with it.

my plan is to build a new rock structure with some live rock from the LFS. If I go this route what do I need to do to get the new scape ready to replace what’s already in the tank?

If you buy live rock just keep it wet until you put it in the tank. I’d take out the livestock in case there’s a mini cycle. When I started a new tank with live rock, I figured out how to put it together while I was still at the store. You could use the old rock in the sump for extra filtration. Good luck!

Saluki2003 · Feb 18, 2023

glb said:
If you buy live rock just keep it wet until you put it in the tank. I’d take out the livestock in case there’s a mini cycle. When I started a new tank with live rock, I figured out how to put it together while I was still at the store. You could use the old rock in the sump for extra filtration. Good luck!

It’s only a 20 gallon tank so I was planning to use a brute Tupperware to build the scape while still wet. Then once it’s all together keep it in the brute for about a week with a heater and a couple power heads and dose with some Dr Tim’s or Macrobacter.

Im not exactly sure what steps to make sure the new rock has enough beneficial bacteria to replace the current rock.

vlangel · Feb 19, 2023

Saluki2003 said:
It’s only a 20 gallon tank so I was planning to use a brute Tupperware to build the scape while still wet. Then once it’s all together keep it in the brute for about a week with a heater and a couple power heads and dose with some Dr Tim’s or Macrobacter.

Im not exactly sure what steps to make sure the new rock has enough beneficial bacteria to replace the current rock.

That sounds like a good plan to me. Are you not going to use any of the current live rock that is in the tank? If not, maybe you could just keep it in the tank the first few weeks after you move the new rock scape into the tank.