Honest Opinions

[jacobreynolds6883]

Ok I would like some input and honest opinions about my aquascape prior to adding more corals. It’s a new system and just cannot find the aquascape that seems right. This one I came up with but I’m starting to wonder could the sand under the massive shelf become a problem over time. Also is there just too much rock?

 

[Peach02]

Aesthetically it looks good, however these are the critiques that may help
Rock is too close to glass and may make matinance hard
It may be hard to get a syphon under the rock as you said but smaller ones may help
Little negative space is the only visual critique I have.

Sorry if I was too harsh

 

[MarineVet]

What size tank is this? My thought is you need to work with the front to back depth more. Unless it is 12” front to back

 

[albano]

Hard to tell from pics, but the base rocks should be sitting directly on the bottom glass, not on the sand. This is to prevent any sand diggers from toppling the rocks.
In my tank the base rocks have acrylic ‘legs’ so that they are actually over the sand bed.

 

[jacobreynolds6883]

What size tank is this? My thought is you need to work with the front to back depth more. Unless it is 12” front to back

Standard 90g, 18.5” wide.

 

[Waters]

Just my opinion, but I would lose the shelves all together. Looks too unnatural to me. To answer your question though, the sand under the shelf should be fine....lack of light won't do anything to it (except keep it clean ). As long as you have sufficient flow, it will keep detritus moving and off the sand bed.

 

[Streetlamp]

I had flat shelf piece in my scape too at first but I pulled it after 3/4 months for a few reasons and i think they apply to your tank too. Firstly i just never looked natural to me. Second a large flat surface gives only one level to place coral, thirdly you're very limited with what can go in the shade underneath. The final thing is your vertical surfaces a very shear again limiting real estate for coral placement. Gentler slopes are you friend.

 

[jacobreynolds6883]

I had flat shelf piece in my scape too at first but I pulled it after 3/4 months for a few reasons and i think they apply to your tank too. Firstly i just never looked natural to me. Second a large flat surface gives only one level to place coral, thirdly you're very limited with what can go in the shade underneath. The final thing is your vertical surfaces a very shear again limiting real estate for coral placement. Gentler slopes are you friend.

Thanks, I also believe after looking at so many other aqauscapes online that I have too much rock in the tank and secondly too many large pieces of rock. Curious to see if someone would reply back about taking these large pieces out and busting them up how much bacteria would be killed? Also I do agree I hate I paid for this large shelf but I think it has to go!

 

[Indytraveler83]

+1 on the shelf issues.

I also think it looks too even across, you could almost draw a straight line across the top of the rockscape.

The grouping on the left looks pretty good honestly, but I'd re-do what's on the right. Maybe instead of breaking up the shelf, you could have one end in the sand, and the other sloped up? Could look really cool if you could then get a coral to encrust across it.

 

[albano]

I think you have a good start, and some of the extra rock can go in the sump. As corals are added you can adjust and rearrange the rocks. For now I’d suggest removing a piece or 2, in particular the 2 smaller flat rocks that are basically in the middle, connected to the long flat one. It would then make 2 separate rock piles which should look better.

Breaking up the rocks won’t kill the bacteria, will actually increase the surface area.

In my own tanks, I’m always re-aquascaping as things grow.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Few things I see are definitely too close to the edges. Need to be able to get between rock and sides to clean.
I am not a huge fan of that much rock. Some individuals really like it. That is up to you.
The ledges seem a bit awkward. Again, that is my preference to natural, open. It could look great once you ahve the corals around it. There are always some that do not need lots of light.

 

[Mmcghee102485]

Looks good, definitely leave some room between glass and rock for cleaning. I’m so much happier with cleaning since I did.

 

[andrewkw]

Everyone is mentioning the rock being too close to the glass, I would also like to mention the height is too similar all the way across. You need more variance, especially depending on what types of corals you are planning. I will say you did a great job not going all the way up to the top of the tank, but a few lower and maybe 1 or 2 pieces higher will make the display overall more striking.

 

[BobbyOtto]

Ok I would like some input and honest opinions about my aquascape prior to adding more corals. It’s a new system and just cannot find the aquascape that seems right. This one I came up with but I’m starting to wonder could the sand under the massive shelf become a problem over time. Also is there just too much rock?

Its flat. You should create more depth and make it less uniform. It lacks visual appeal because it doesnt follow the golden ratio.

 

[jacobreynolds6883]

Everyone is mentioning the rock being too close to the glass, I would also like to mention the height is too similar all the way across. You need more variance, especially depending on what types of corals you are planning. I will say you did a great job not going all the way up to the top of the tank, but a few lower and maybe 1 or 2 pieces higher will make the display overall more striking.

Great advise will try that!