First saltwater aquarium aquascape

[Hebrewhammer]

Hi there, first thread. I am in the process of setting up my first saltwater aquarium. Wanted to know if anyone had tips or ideas on what to add to the aquascape. I am adding sand and will be destroying the other rocks in the next few days (they are massive).

If you are wondering about the position it is between the office and in the living room so you can see it through the window and the cats have a spot where they can view the tank as well.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Everyone's taste is different....from the Berlin Wall look (a pile of rock) to minimalist look of aquascaping. That said, the advice given to me years ago was to think tripods to maximize caves for fish to hide. That is, put down three rocks about the same size and now put a larger rock on top. This creates holes and caves for fish to hid, and doesn't simply look like a rock wall. My most recent build used this method.....might be hard to see, but there are a bunch of caves and holes for fish:

And just to be clear of order of addition, you want rock down first and then sand. The reason is you don't want rock sitting on sand for fear of the rock being undermined and now falling over.

 

[Hebrewhammer]

Everyone's taste is different....from the Berlin Wall look (a pile of rock) to minimalist look of aquascaping. That said, the advice given to me years ago was to think tripods to maximize caves for fish to hide. That is, put down three rocks about the same size and now put a larger rock on top. This creates holes and caves for fish to hid, and doesn't simply look like a rock wall. My most recent build used this method.....might be hard to see, but there are a bunch of caves and holes for fish:

And just to be clear of order of addition, you want rock down first and then sand. The reason is you don't want rock sitting on sand for fear of the rock being undermined and now falling over.

That sounds like a good idea. I definitely want to have the fish be comfortable.

 

[Dkmoo]

Will this be a fawlr or reef tank?

If fawlr, then you can add rocks and create structures to your hearts content. The "tripod" method is good. Can also add different features like arches and caves. Whatever you think look nice bc at the end of the day you are the one that'll stare at it all day


If reef tank then need to think about a few additional things

1) use less rocks and build more of a "skeleton" bc you'll need to leave room for corals. I made this mistake in the beginning and when I converted to reef tank I eventually ended up removing 50% of my rock

2) caves, arches, hiding spots are still good but you'll also want some shelves and platforms for easy coral mounting.

3) will need to think more about the flow and location/light - will you have spots for corals that want high flow vs low flow? Light light vs low-light?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I agree with redficjbluefish comment. From the angle of the pic, it looks like there is enough space to add a couple rocks on top to make a few caves. I like the round shape you have, I wouldnt change that, I would just add a few more rocks to go higher, but I like higher scapes.

To each his own, but yours is nice, i like it so far.

 

[Hebrewhammer]

I agree with redficjbluefish comment. From the angle of the pic, it looks like there is enough space to add a couple rocks on top to make a few caves. I like the round shape you have, I wouldnt change that, I would just add a few more rocks to go higher, but I like higher scapes.

To each his own, but yours is nice.

Thanks I will definitely give that a shot. I do like the rounded cove shape but it looks like it needs more rocks on top.

 

[Hebrewhammer]

Will this be a fawlr or reef tank?

If fawlr, then you can add rocks and create structures to your hearts content. The "tripod" method is good. Can also add different features like arches and caves. Whatever you think look nice bc at the end of the day you are the one that'll stare at it all day


If reef tank then need to think about a few additional things

1) use less rocks and build more of a "skeleton" bc you'll need to leave room for corals. I made this mistake in the beginning and when I converted to reef tank I eventually ended up removing 50% of my rock

2) caves, arches, hiding spots are still good but you'll also want some shelves and platforms for easy coral mounting.

3) will need to think more about the flow and location/light - will you have spots for corals that want high flow vs low flow? Light light vs low-light?

I will start as a Fowler but will slowly add corals. It's my first tank but I want to eventually have a reef with soft corals which are my favorite and maybe some leathers.

 

[Dkmoo]

I will start as a Fowler but will slowly add corals. It's my first tank but I want to eventually have a reef with soft corals which are my favorite and maybe some leathers.

Ok cool, softies are generally easier to care for and less stringent on light/flow requirements. Since they also don't calcify you won't need to reduce your rocks as much vs if you are getting "structure builders" like LPS or SPS.

One thing to keep in mind tho, is that most softies root and spread fast -ie, zoas, xenia, gsp. So it may be better to keep your rockwork as a few separate structures instread of one continuous one in case one specias take over the whole structure.

 

[Hebrewhammer]

Okay so I tried to take some tips for you all. So now the fishies will have hiding places with many entrances. I used probably close to 30lbs of rock which is nuts.

I wanted a little more height originally but wasn't in the mood to glue/epoxy.

I think I'm happy with the end result. Hopefully I can get it filled with water in the next few days.