Is your aquascape balanced?

[WallyB]

One more BALANCE Topic. Not Rocks this Time.

NATURE's own BALANCE.

Remember that Center Leather.

It was removed.....

It was sold to a store, and put into a 500G+ Tank.

And it kept Growing and Growing, with the Extra Space.

I would visit it, and it kept growing....MASSIVE.

In Perfect Symetrical Balance (Naturally)

I thought that was cool.....How Nature Balances LIVING SHAPES Naturally.

 

[sp1187]

Very awesome aquascape! Never seen something like that and I love it. It is balanced, asymmetrically across a vertical axis but I’m sure you already knew !

actually, I didn't. old guy here had some trouble following along with your video. (not that it wasn't well done).

 

[sp1187]

I've seen this a few times and I absolutely love it.

What 2 Part putty did you use?

If you don't mind on my next tank I may copy it and give thanks and credit to you

Also
Interested in knowing what the putty is!

Product is Habitat Black from SMOOTH ON.
https://www.smooth-on.com/products/free-form-habitat-black/

what it currently looks like.

my goal when I scape, besides it being eye pleasing, is to hide everything mechanical.
the wall on the right hides the overflow, a heater & a vertically mounted gyre.
the tower on the left hides the return plumbing & a vertically mounted gyre.

 

[Queenofreef]

actually, I didn't. old guy here had some trouble following along with your video. (not that it wasn't well done).

It’s a lot of information for one video and it’s kind of difficult to demonstrate AND apply to aquascaping in one go so don’t blame you hah. I added links in the bio that explain the concept in more detail (and probably better than I did!) if you’re interested!

 

[Queenofreef]

Product is Habitat Black from SMOOTH ON.
https://www.smooth-on.com/products/free-form-habitat-black/

what it currently looks like.

my goal when I scape, besides it being eye pleasing, is to hide everything mechanical.
the wall on the right hides the overflow, a heater & a vertically mounted gyre.
the tower on the left hides the return plumbing & a vertically mounted gyre.

I love how it looks in the tank! You definitely have an eye for aquascaping

 

[Queenofreef]

One more BALANCE Topic. Not Rocks this Time.

NATURE's own BALANCE.

Remember that Center Leather.

It was removed.....

It was sold to a store, and put into a 500G+ Tank.

And it kept Growing and Growing, with the Extra Space.

I would visit it, and it kept growing....MASSIVE.

In Perfect Symetrical Balance (Naturally)

I thought that was cool.....How Nature Balances LIVING SHAPES Naturally.

I love how much thought you put into creating balance with these tanks! I find it so interesting how you can mix around corals in your tank to create it.

It’s so interesting how you can use balance in so many ways with corals like playing with texture, color contrast, etc. I like to offset different textures of corals with designated areas, like breaking up the visual weight of a euphyillia garden with a large leather. And balancing the colors within the euphyillia garden by placing them in a way that each color contrasts the other.
Then putting it together by having areas with corals with high movement balance diagonally or horizontally with another area on the sand band with a torch or something. Not sure if that makes sense? But will be making a video in the future about it!

For the next scape I’m creating I want to keep both SPS and LPS so I’m trying to figure out before I start scaping how to balance out these areas. Looking forward to the challenge with such a large tank!

 

[sp1187]

I love how it looks in the tank! You definitely have an eye for aquascaping

Thanks.
I've worked in automotive design my whole working life. I see things in 3-D.

 

[Queenofreef]

Thanks.
I've worked in automotive design my whole working life. I see things in 3-D.

That’s a true gift!! I had to learn this stuff because I have no artistic bone in my body haha. Once you see in 3D you can’t “unsee” it though which is pretty neat!

 

[sp1187]

I've seen this a few times and I absolutely love it.

What 2 Part putty did you use?

If you don't mind on my next tank I may copy it and give thanks and credit to you

if you decide to do this on your next build. message me. more than happy to give you some tips.
and I don't need credit, just pics on the progression.

 

[Queenofreef]

if you decide to do this on your next build. message me. more than happy to give you some tips.
and I don't need credit, just pics on the progression.

Aw I would love that! Would like to experiment with your putty method for this build !!

 

[sp1187]

Aw I would love that! Would like to experiment with your putty method for this build !!

another option I'm thinking about for my next build is the same product, but it's the Habitat Fire Safe, not that we need "Fire Safe" in a tank. the coloration is off white instead of grey/black.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Nice effort on the video. Scaping views and debates are often... Interesting. Not sure which of those elements I've captured in mine if any when I put this together a month or two ago. But I wasn't obsessing too hard over it. Was just trying for something not monolithic and maximize hiding spaces for fish and inverts to be safe in.

 

[Queenofreef]

another option I'm thinking about for my next build is the same product, but it's the Habitat Fire Safe, not that we need "Fire Safe" in a tank. the coloration is off white instead of grey/black.

if there’s a way to make a purple/coralline colored one, I’ll buy in bulk!!

 

[Queenofreef]

Nice effort on the video. Scaping views and debates are often... Interesting. Not sure which of those elements I've captured in mine if any when I put this together a month or two ago. But I wasn't obsessing too hard over it. Was just trying for something not monolithic and maximize hiding spaces for fish and inverts to be safe in.

Thank you so much!! Balance is essentially just making sure no one area “overpowers” the rest of the scape. The specifics of how you achieve it with symmetrical/asymmetrical balance is just a nuanced consideration hah!

Your aquascape is well balanced though and I bet they will love those caves Wish I made more of those in my current scape looking back on it - my goby hogs all of my overhang haha

 

[sp1187]

if there’s a way to make a purple/coralline colored one, I’ll buy in bulk!!

they sell an acrylic paint, that you then have to seal with another of their product. I forget which.
I used it on a smaller experimental piece I made, but didn't like the look.
they have video's on their site and youtube but for some reason I'm getting an error. don't know if it's on my end or theirs.
they have really cool vid on making an overflow box cover. (when it plays.)

 

[Jack Ravensbergen]

Balanced?

 

[xiaoxiy]

I really like your approach of thinking of the aquascape as "balanced". I think this is a much better way of approaching reef aquascaping than being overly focused on what the rockwork looks like at initial setup.

I have always found reef tanks more difficult to aquascape than freshwater, planted tanks. I think this is in part due to the dynamic role of a hardscape/rockwork as the reef tank matures out.

In freshwater tanks, the hardscape is typically the visual focus and this doesn't change much as the tank matures. In new saltwater tanks, the rockwork is similarly the main point of visual focus. The corals in a new tank are typically too small to play an impactful role in aquascape; instead the corals compliment the hardscape.

As the corals grow out, they start covering up the rockwork and also start change the topography and balance of the aquascape. For example, Zoanthids and soft corals visually soften the hardscape, and branching corals can even completely change the profile of the hardscape. Coral coloration also changes the visual weight of the aquascape as well (i.e reds are more visually dominant and have more visual weight).

Due to this shift as reef tanks mature, successful aquascaping in a reef tank requires some foresight. You have to design the rockwork with enough room for corals to grow in, while also being mindful of how it will look when corals are grown in. You also have to carefully select of corals for their eventual shape and color, as this will dramatically affect the shape and balance of your aquascape.

Here's an example of how my aquascape has shift with time. This is my tank when I first set it up last December. As you can see, the rockwork dominates the aquascape and the corals play a complimentary role.

Here it is now, with the corals steadily growing in. The rockwork is barely visible anymore and has lost some of it's original profile/shape due to the corals. At this point the corals start playing the dominant role in the tank's aquascape and the rockwork starts playing on a supportive role.

 

[Queenofreef]

I really like your approach of thinking of the aquascape as "balanced". I think this is a much better way of approaching reef aquascaping than being overly focused on what the rockwork looks like at initial setup.

I have always found reef tanks more difficult to aquascape than freshwater, planted tanks. I think this is in part due to the dynamic role of a hardscape/rockwork as the reef tank matures out.

In freshwater tanks, the hardscape is typically the visual focus and this doesn't change much as the tank matures. In new saltwater tanks, the rockwork is similarly the main point of visual focus. The corals in a new tank are typically too small to play an impactful role in aquascape; instead the corals compliment the hardscape.

As the corals grow out, they start covering up the rockwork and also start change the topography and balance of the aquascape. For example, Zoanthids and soft corals visually soften the hardscape, and branching corals can even completely change the profile of the hardscape. Coral coloration also changes the visual weight of the aquascape as well (i.e reds are more visually dominant and have more visual weight).

Due to this shift as reef tanks mature, successful aquascaping in a reef tank requires some foresight. You have to design the rockwork with enough room for corals to grow in, while also being mindful of how it will look when corals are grown in. You also have to carefully select of corals for their eventual shape and color, as this will dramatically affect the shape and balance of your aquascape.

Here's an example of how my aquascape has shift with time. This is my tank when I first set it up last December. As you can see, the rockwork dominates the aquascape and the corals play a complimentary role.

Here it is now, with the corals steadily growing in. The rockwork is barely visible anymore and has lost some of it's original profile/shape due to the corals. At this point the corals start playing the dominant role in the tank's aquascape and the rockwork starts playing on a supportive role.

I really appreciate you taking the time to comment this because this changed my perspective on this concept of “balance.”

I was planning on making a separate video in the future about how to “balance” the feel of your tank with coral placement — through color, texture, etc. as you mentioned. However, I never sat down and thought about the relationship aquascapes and coral placement have together. I think your explanation of how aquascapes shift their role in “dominance” is really interesting, and it explains the discrepancy well.


Thank you for this! Your tank is absolutely jaw dropping as well.

 

[Queenofreef]

Balanced?

Couldn’t open this for some reason! Could you try re-send?

 

[Michael White]

This is the hardscape in my 210 I’m building. It’s just a simple 2 island scape with plenty of caves and negative space. For me, simpler is more natural. Following the rule of thirds, I only built the rock height to between 1/3 to 1/2 of tank height. The idea is to leave plenty of space for corals to grow out to the 1/2 to 2/3 height for the overall aquascape. This should leave plenty lf space for colony grow out and fish swimming area. The right side is the overflow and the left side is open for peninsula length viewing. Barebottom but I have a 100 gal remote sandbed in my basement sump.