how just how

[nanonøkk]

ok so i tried dry aquascaping for the first time and how do you make it not fall should i try aquascaping with the sand then epoxy it how i like it or no

and also what can i use this one rock for like it looks like a square but it’s a circle and it has random jagged parts

like is it a base rock or is it something to make a piller like how do you guys aquascape so good or is it the fact i just hate everything i make

 

[MarshallB]

If you are trying to place pieces in spots where the rock isn't supported properly you can buy acrylic rods to drill into the rocks to hold them in place.

Without doing that, its more of mixing and matching pieces that will hold in place and making the best out of it. Also don't be afraid to break up some big pieces into smaller pieces.

Do yourself a favor and take a picture of the aquascape before you place it into the tank. It's real easy to screw up what goes where without a reference point when putting it together in the tank.

Just keep playing with it till you land on a aquascape you dont hate. It took me a good 3 days to get mine and I still don't love it, but its good enough.

 

[nanonøkk]

If you are trying to place pieces in spots where the rock isn't supported properly you can buy acrylic rods to drill into the rocks to hold them in place.

Without doing that, its more of mixing and matching pieces that will hold in place and making the best out of it. Also don't be afraid to break up some big pieces into smaller pieces.

Do yourself a favor and take a picture of the aquascape before you place it into the tank. It's real easy to screw up what goes where without a reference point when putting it together in the tank.

Just keep playing with it till you land on a aquascape you dont hate. It took me a good 3 days to get mine and I still don't love it, but its good enough.

ok should i try and use tape to see how much space i have to work with inside the tank

and i tried breaking that rock and it harder than it seems

 

[kkelly007]

Yes, using tape on a piece of cardboard or towels to define space is the way to go--and remember to allow for 3-4 inches around the sides for coral growth, cleaning the glass, etc. BRS has a great video as part of their 52 week series that has a ton of good techniques.

Your pic shows you holding a piece of dry rock outside of a functioning tank. Are you starting over with a new/dry tank? If so, you'll want to build the aquascape directly on the bottom glass and then pour the sand in. After modeling outside the tank, I took a bunch of pics and then cemented the pieces together with cement I bought at my LFS and once I got down the learning curve, it was fairly easy. I've heard using cement and epoxy in a wet tank is much more difficult, but doable.

 

[MarshallB]

ok should i try and use tape to see how much space i have to work with inside the tank

and i tried breaking that rock and it harder than it seems

Yes. Take the length and width measurements of the inside of the tank, and use painters tape to duplicate the measurements in your garage or where ever your work area is.

Depending on how you want to break the rock, if you want to break off specific pieces you can use a hammer and a flathead screwdriver if you dont have a chisel.

If you want to break a bigger rock into smaller pieces, put it in a garbage bag and throw it on the cement outside.

Just be patient. Measure out your area, put the tape down, put all your rock inside that area and just look at it for awhile. Come up with some ideas and play with it.

 

[WirelessMike]

ok should i try and use tape to see how much space i have to work with inside the tank

and i tried breaking that rock and it harder than it seems

For sure do a tape outline on a piece of cardboard or towel like suggested. Blue painters tape works really well. That way you know the area you have to play in. Also, if your tank had a built in overflow mark that off in the taped area. Nothing worse than putting together an aquascape you love and figuring out it won’t work when you put it in the tank. I’m in the same boat as Marshall. Originally designed a scape at one of my LFS that had a “build table” with different tank sizes taped off. Got home and put it together like the pics and didn’t dig it in my tank. Took a good 2-3 days of tinkering to get it where I liked it enough to keep it.

 

[nanonøkk]

Yes, using tape on a piece of cardboard or towels to define space is the way to go--and remember to allow for 3-4 inches around the sides for coral growth, cleaning the glass, etc. BRS has a great video as part of their 52 week series that has a ton of good techniques.

Your pic shows you holding a piece of dry rock outside of a functioning tank. Are you starting over with a new/dry tank? If so, you'll want to build the aquascape directly on the bottom glass and then pour the sand in. After modeling outside the tank, I took a bunch of pics and then cemented the pieces together with cement I bought at my LFS and once I got down the learning curve, it was fairly easy. I've heard using cement and epoxy in a wet tank is much more difficult, but doable.

yea i just got a new tank and i’m starting fresh with everything but i can’t fill it up till the stand gets here which is today and i have to wait still because they wanna paint my room as well

 

[nanonøkk]

Yes. Take the length and width measurements of the inside of the tank, and use painters tape to duplicate the measurements in your garage or where ever your work area is.

Depending on how you want to break the rock, if you want to break off specific pieces you can use a hammer and a flathead screwdriver if you dont have a chisel.

If you want to break a bigger rock into smaller pieces, put it in a garbage bag and throw it on the cement outside.

Just be patient. Measure out your area, put the tape down, put all your rock inside that area and just look at it for awhile. Come up with some ideas and play with it.

ok thanks for the help

 

[nanonøkk]

For sure do a tape outline on a piece of cardboard or towel like suggested. Blue painters tape works really well. That way you know the area you have to play in. Also, if your tank had a built in overflow mark that off in the taped area. Nothing worse than putting together an aquascape you love and figuring out it won’t work when you put it in the tank. I’m in the same boat as Marshall. Originally designed a scape at one of my LFS that had a “build table” with different tank sizes taped off. Got home and put it together like the pics and didn’t dig it in my tank. Took a good 2-3 days of tinkering to get it where I liked it enough to keep it.

ok thanks for the advice and help

 

[WirelessMike]

ok thanks for the advice and help

You’re welcome! That’s the best part of this forum. Everyone is willing to chip in to see others succeed. Post some pics when it’s done! We wanna see it.

 

[terraincognita]

You could buy a reef safe epoxy as well to make "Feet" for the rock. Just smoosh it on the rock bottom then on a flat surface so it stands up how you want it. when you add sand it will 99% hide this completely.

Also you need a hammer to break the rock for sure.

Chisel if you want to accurately break specific pieces.

If you wanted to get really fancy you could create a custom structure with breaking the rock up into a lot of pieces and using a good amount of reef safe epoxy.

 

[nanonøkk]

You could buy a reef safe epoxy as well to make "Feet" for the rock. Just smoosh it on the rock bottom then on a flat surface so it stands up how you want it. when you add sand it will 99% hide this completely.

Also you need a hammer to break the rock for sure.

Chisel if you want to accurately break specific pieces.

If you wanted to get really fancy you could create a custom structure with breaking the rock up into a lot of pieces and using a good amount of reef safe epoxy.

ok thanks for the help and would instant ocean epoxy work well for that it’s all i have access to

 

[terraincognita]

ok thanks for the help and would instant ocean epoxy work well for that it’s all i have access to

YEah those sticks work fine.

Any Reef Safe Epoxy works totally fine.

I recommend using those in a well ventilated space (They smell strong from when I used them last at least).

Also let it dry for a full 24 hours (the Instant Ocean one at least) I've found that one is much better when you give it proper time to dry.

 

[terraincognita]

Is your aquascape balanced?

Aquascaping from a design perspective is rarely discussed. I’ve always wondered why we don’t talk much about what makes a scape look visually appealing, so I’ve started a series where I apply common principles of design used in art, photography, graphic design, etc. to reef aquascapes. This is...

www.reef2reef.com

Here's some inspirations for you if you're into NSA styles.

These are some of the "custom" creations made with the above methods.

 

[nanonøkk]

YEah those sticks work fine.

Any Reef Safe Epoxy works totally fine.

I recommend using those in a well ventilated space (They smell strong from when I used them last at least).

Also let it dry for a full 24 hours (the Instant Ocean one at least) I've found that one is much better when you give it proper time to dry.

ok thank you so much for the help

Is your aquascape balanced?

Aquascaping from a design perspective is rarely discussed. I’ve always wondered why we don’t talk much about what makes a scape look visually appealing, so I’ve started a series where I apply common principles of design used in art, photography, graphic design, etc. to reef aquascapes. This is...

www.reef2reef.com

Here's some inspirations for you if you're into NSA styles.

These are some of the "custom" creations made with the above methods.

and i’ll check that out thanks for the help

 

[kkelly007]

yea i just got a new tank and i’m starting fresh with everything but i can’t fill it up till the stand gets here which is today and i have to wait still because they wanna paint my room as well

Oh and one more thing. I would strongly recommend going to Home Depot and getting a wide chisel for clean breaks. Using a flathead screwdriver and a hammer doesn't really work (at least on Caribsea dry rock), but a hammer and a wide chisel works great.

 

[nanonøkk]

Oh and one more thing. I would strongly recommend going to Home Depot and getting a wide chisel for clean breaks. Using a flathead screwdriver and a hammer doesn't really work (at least on Caribsea dry rock), but a hammer and a wide chisel works great.

ok thanks for the help

 

[nanonøkk]

thoughts also the red tape is way smaller than the actual dimensions of the tank

 

[nanonøkk]

here’s an update on the rock work

 

[Johnnybueller]

looks Awesome