Aquascaping a Tall Tank - Suggestions?

Falco · Apr 18, 2018

I am in the process of starting a new tank after being out of the hobby for 10+ years and I wanted to see if anyone has recommendations on how they would aquascape a taller tank? I should be getting the tank from Miracles Aquaria within the next few week and hopefully I will be completing my filtration room around the same time.

Here are the tank specs:
32" Wide
22" Deep
30" Tall
Front and Left Panel are viewing, Back and Right are blacked out and touching their respective walls.
Interior Overflow box is located at the back right corner of the tank.

Here are some preliminary photos that I just received the other day from Miracles, hope it helps paint the picture of what its gonna look like.

I think I am looking to do Live Rock of some sort but I am just not sure what to do about the layout. My initial thought was to build rock walls around the back and right panels and have it slope down a little to the front of the tank. The 22" depth doesn't really give me many options but I had to work within the specs of the serving bar that its being built into.

Appreciate any help! Thanks

nautical_nathaniel · Apr 18, 2018

I would go for an arch of some sort with the main bottom sections ending at or around the edges of the tank that will be blacked out. You'll need to secure any rock formations you build if you go with a tall aquascape, so look into getting some reef epoxy/cement and maybe some clear acrylic dowels for support pieces.

Daniel@R2R · Apr 18, 2018

This one is pretty cool!

Daniel@R2R · Apr 18, 2018

I'm also a fan of this one.

KJAG · Apr 18, 2018

Would personally avoid any rock walls and would be careful about overscaping the display with a relatively narrow width. I would do a mix of pukani and shelf rock.

tidefanjam · Apr 18, 2018

Mines 24” tall, I kinda wished I’d gone higher with my rock work, I will say it’s a royal pain to move stuff around in the bottom.

saltyfilmfolks · Apr 18, 2018

Look at Marco rock for some inspiration on scaping and techniques.
Me , I like walls.
One reason they lost popularity is many went from closed loop (return provides flow) to powerheads. So that’s a consideration.
Many use Portland Cemment or Marco cement for walls. Many are now using foam. Def do a google search on that , thers a nice thread here on R2r.

Falco · Apr 18, 2018

Thanks all.

saltyfilmfolks said:
Look at Marco rock for some inspiration on scaping and techniques.
Me , I like walls.
One reason they lost popularity is many went from closed loop (return provides flow) to powerheads. So that’s a consideration.
Many use Portland Cemment or Marco cement for walls. Many are now using foam. Def do a google search on that , thers a nice thread here on R2r.

I will look into this, sounds interesting.

tidefanjam said:

Mines 24” tall, I kinda wished I’d gone higher with my rock work, I will say it’s a royal pain to move stuff around in the bottom.

Click to expand...

Reaching things in the bottom was my biggest worry but since I couldn't go wider or deeper I made the call to go higher because I had the space. I definitely envisioned going tall with the rock work but leaving enough room for some SPS to grow up.

mdbannister
Thanks for the photos, the one with the mushroom cloud look is awesome.

One of my LFS sells cured Kupang live rock, I have to get a closer look at it in the next few weeks and see if its something I can use. Whatever I did I will make sure I have dowels and/or expoxy/cement on the taller structures to make sure its strong enough

Sipec · Apr 18, 2018

I’d do a floating scape, with some rock structures on the back and some “floating islands” of rock attached to the back

chris k. · Apr 19, 2018

Mine is 30 inch tall

Falco · Apr 19, 2018

chris k. said:
Mine is 30 inch tall

What is the depth of your tank? I really like what you did with the 2 separate islands. And what kind of rock is that?? Looks great

Falco · Apr 19, 2018

I came across this photo earlier today and really liked It. Sort of what Nautical_Nathaniel mentioned above

nautical_nathaniel said:
I would go for an arch of some sort with the main bottom sections ending at or around the edges of the tank that will be blacked out. You'll need to secure any rock formations you build if you go with a tall aquascape, so look into getting some reef epoxy/cement and maybe some clear acrylic dowels for support pieces.

User1 · Apr 19, 2018

I have a 30" tall tank with 30" depth. 150 lbs of Pukani with what I had in my 40 breeder I moved over. Picture is a bit difficult but what I tried to do is create a lot of arches and coves if you will. Non overflow side is a visible pane of glass on the side with one of the major rock walls. It is also one of the lower lighted sides and visible from my desk. The main display pane of glass is what you are seeing. I have 4 Lyretail Anthias that dart in and out of the rocks into the open water column. Once I settle on adding a few Gorgonian and SPS frags, let them grow out, it should provide some depth.

This is a picture about 3 hours after moving the 40 breeder into this. Corals are still recovering from the move but it does give sort of an idea. If nothing else maybe not what to do.

sp1187 · Apr 19, 2018

make it.
pvc.
2 part putty

ArowanaLover1902 · Apr 19, 2018

I'd suggest making your own rock, it'd be stable, exactly what you wanted (though likely less porous). Maybe just make the bottom/backbone of the structure and buy the rest. You could buy the rest live and jumpstart your cycle that way.

Falco · Apr 20, 2018

ArowanaLover1902 said:
I'd suggest making your own rock, it'd be stable, exactly what you wanted (though likely less porous). Maybe just make the bottom/backbone of the structure and buy the rest. You could buy the rest live and jumpstart your cycle that way.

I have been thinking more and more that I like this idea. I think I have to wait until I have the tank and put It in place before I do anything with the structure.

saf1 said:
I have a 30" tall tank with 30" depth. 150 lbs of Pukani with what I had in my 40 breeder I moved over. Picture is a bit difficult but what I tried to do is create a lot of arches and coves if you will. Non overflow side is a visible pane of glass on the side with one of the major rock walls. It is also one of the lower lighted sides and visible from my desk. The main display pane of glass is what you are seeing. I have 4 Lyretail Anthias that dart in and out of the rocks into the open water column. Once I settle on adding a few Gorgonian and SPS frags, let them grow out, it should provide some depth.

This is a picture about 3 hours after moving the 40 breeder into this. Corals are still recovering from the move but it does give sort of an idea. If nothing else maybe not what to do.

Nice work on the rock. Any recommendations or tips for dealing with a 30" tall tank? I know the bottom is going to be a PITA to deal with but I am hoping to get used to It over time.

sp1187 · Apr 20, 2018

make it. left side is 29" tall.

User1 · Apr 20, 2018

Yeah - the bottom is going to be difficult. And to some degree the back of the tank also. It is one of those things I sort of knew in the back of my mind was going to happen but it didn't really sink in until I started to aquascape it. Then it hit me like a two ton heavy thing

Anyway the obvious you probably already know, a nice and sturdy step stool or painters ladder. That is a must have. Also something I'm still looking for (just need to put more time into it) is a high quality pair of tongs. Beyond that if you haven't done so really think about your lighting or canopy for ease of movement out of the way. Originally I was going to use a enclosed canopy but now thinking about making a floating shelf if you will that is on hinges. That way I can just flip it up and while on the painters ladder have access to do what I need to do.