Aquascape with STAX think dimensionally!

[TheWB]

I have the Stax rock myself and love it. I really like what you did with it. Any chance of a new FTS to see your progress?

 

[second_decimal]

Any progress on this? Would love to see some updated shots.

 

[Fudsey]

@120reefkeeper how about some updated shots

 

[Leslie Tabor]

Must see new photos... ;Drool;Drool;Drool;Drool

 

[120reefkeeper]

Oh there’s been some changes , but you’ll soon see. Unfortunately they aren’t great ones but hey this is Reed keeping . Not everything always goes your way .

 

[second_decimal]

it is what it is... if anything, rest assured its nothing one of us (or probably all of us) has not encountered.

 

[120reefkeeper]

it is what it is... if anything, rest assured its nothing one of us (or probably all of us) has not encountered.

I went through an epic Dinoflagellate battle with this tank. It was a nightmare but has now started to turn the corner. The next item on the list is Aptasia.... ugh

Here is a current picture of the state of affairs.

 

[120reefkeeper]

I’ve stopped adding coral for now and have actually taken some out. I have a file fish in quarantine waiting to get a full belly.
He’s a know ferocious Aptasia eater.

 

[second_decimal]

I have read that it is possible to just cover them in a small pile of rubble. the Aptasia moves to the surface and can then be just picked up in its entirety. Sort of like the ones in the sand could just be scooped up and taken out. the rest your file fish will take care of.

before you know it, you will be back on track. That aquascaping really is pretty cool..

 

[Fudsey]

I went through dinos in my waterbox as well. I got a CBB to take care of my aips and he did a great job.

 

[120reefkeeper]

I have read that it is possible to just cover them in a small pile of rubble. the Aptasia moves to the surface and can then be just picked up in its entirety. Sort of like the ones in the sand could just be scooped up and taken out. the rest your file fish will take care of.

before you know it, you will be back on track. That aquascaping really is pretty cool..

Yes I have full confidence in this file fish... he’s a beast! Lol

Thank you for the compliment

 

[120reefkeeper]

I went through dinos in my waterbox as well. I got a CBB to take care of my aips and he did a great job.

It was the worst case of Dino’s I’ve ever had out of any tank I’ve ever run, but I learned a lot and now have a great way to destroy them.

 

[Amaroq]

So all said and done did you end up using the entire 120lbs of STAX in this build? I'm considering it for my next build, whenever that happens haha Your scape turned out great though, I imagine the back wall will be a breeze to glue corals onto once your ready to start adding more! Too bad about the aiptasias, algaes I can deal with but living pests are the worst to deal with. I almost shut down my old 75 years ago because of them but a CBB single handedly eliminated them for me in the display at least. Sounds like you'll be in good hands with the filefish!

 

[120reefkeeper]

So all said and done did you end up using the entire 120lbs of STAX in this build? I'm considering it for my next build, whenever that happens haha Your scape turned out great though, I imagine the back wall will be a breeze to glue corals onto once your ready to start adding more! Too bad about the aiptasias, algaes I can deal with but living pests are the worst to deal with. I almost shut down my old 75 years ago because of them but a CBB single handedly eliminated them for me in the display at least. Sounds like you'll be in good hands with the filefish!

Yes I used all 120lbs more or less. Maybe 1 or 2 small pieces leftover. Aptasia is what it is... it’s manageable unlike some other nasty pests.

 

[Moscar]

So cool! I'm doing a far more modest build (24x24x17 Crystal Dynamic) and will be covering my overflow with Marco Rock fragments that I am cutting flat on one side. I feel a lot more relaxed about both the technique and effect now.
Thanks for sharing!

 

[Weevo]

How did you get all the aptasia if you started with the stax? Did I miss something in the thread.

 

[120reefkeeper]

How did you get all the aptasia if you started with the stax? Did I miss something in the thread.

Nope you didn’t miss a thing. Aptasia is a notorious hitchhiker. It most likely hiked a ride on one of the coral additions. The eradication process has already begun. It won’t be long and they will be gone.

 

[Fudsey]

My CBB took care of my aiptasia problem.

 

[120reefkeeper]

My CBB took care of my aiptasia problem.

Those are nice but I’ve had some that did well and others that haven’t. This file fish has knocked out about half of them in 2 days.

 

[txrdnk]

been thinking about this type of scape since i saw people using greatstuff and eggcrate. my one unknown fear was the silicone not adhering to the rock once completely saturated. have you experienced this or is there enough "bite" because of the rocks porousness? i love this look and proof of concept. thanks in advance for any help or advice