mon petit océan

[Brynn]

@NY_Caveman & @Susan Edwards Im bashing my reefsaver up more & starting my hardscape this evening. Ideal rock size? I dont want to go to over break, for lack of better wording. English muffin?

 

[Zack K]

Following along. Should be a great build! What kinda of fish are you looking to stock the tank with?

-Zack

 

[Brynn]

Following along. Should be a great build! What kinda of fish are you looking to stock the tank with?

-Zack

Thank you Zach! I started following you back when I came across you in a Nem thread. I love Wisconsin so pretty! Been to a friends dairy farm up there a couple times! People dont realize how pretty it is.

All I ever wanted was a pair of clownfish, nem, and an urchin. Most things I love snorkeling I cant home. I'm excited about the clean up crew! When I taught elementary school the below was one of my favorite books. Every year got my students each a copy. I have a weakness for sea creatures that carry things around... Ya, Ive heard that could be an expensive coral. O well... they literally make my heart swell.

You familiar with urchins? Breaking up coral advice?

 

[Brynn]

Start day!

Tank: ADA Auascaping tank
51 gallons (35L × 17W × 19 1/2H)

Rock: 57 pounds of Reef Saver

Heater: Hydro 300

Sump: Esphopps 2nd hand

Overflow: EShopps eclipse small

Skimmer: Octopus classic 110-INT

Return pump: Sicce Syncra Silent 3.0

Water movement: maxspect gyre 200

RODI unit

I will be dosing calcium within the next calander year. I didnt realize at first the bit of advantage I should have having injected in freshwater.

Below is the photo I sent to my sister. Obviously, all not shown. Some in garage. I have a lot, but not everything for anything. As we all know that's always fun (eye roll).

I do art therapy, and am attenpting to write a book. Neither are moneymakers so this will be a modest budget build attempt.

 

[Susan Edwards]

First, very nice! Lots of goodies!

Second: re: rocks. There is no ideal size. All depends on what you want and what will fit and how. Bigger/heavier rocks help hold the scape in place. I only have a few key pieces glued. Rest are stacked like a jigsaw puzzle. I place them and turn them until they fit as close as possible without rocking and feel stable with my testing. Another rock added on top usually makes it even more stable. Having had to tear down my rocks to catch and remove fish, I learned rocks sometimes have to come back out and of course, they won't go back in the same way...

Aim for terraces/stepping up. Harder with a 3 ft long (like mine) I ended up going a wall but not enough good terraces for corals. Excited to see what you come up with. Take your time and enjoy the journey

 

[Brynn]

First, very nice! Lots of goodies!

Second: re: rocks. There is no ideal size. All depends on what you want and what will fit and how. Bigger/heavier rocks help hold the scape in place. I only have a few key pieces glued. Rest are stacked like a jigsaw puzzle. I place them and turn them until they fit as close as possible without rocking and feel stable with my testing. Another rock added on top usually makes it even more stable. Having had to tear down my rocks to catch and remove fish, I learned rocks sometimes have to come back out and of course, they won't go back in the same way...

Aim for terraces/stepping up. Harder with a 3 ft long (like mine) I ended up going a wall but not enough good terraces for corals. Excited to see what you come up with. Take your time and enjoy the journey

Thank you. Hope you are having a nice weekend!

 

[NY_Caveman]

Definitely keep some pieces large for best filtration. You want the possibility of some anaerobic bacteria deep in those rocks. 2-3 larger rocks can help (even say 6-8 inches in a tank that size). I will also say, in my experience, people generally use more live rock then is needed for biological filtration. I hear 1-2 pounds per gallon which I think is too much (for my minimalist tastes). 3/4-1 pound per gallon is usually plenty. Do not feel you have to jam it all in if starting with dry rock. You can save some for later needs as well (coral grow out, rubble for filtration, etc).

Otherwise chop away to get the shapes you want. You have a perfect sized tank for my tastes. Long for swim room and deep enough to leave a couple of inches around the sides for cleaning and good flow. Your tank height is such that you do not need a huge wall or stack of rocks. Remember to consider how tall corals will grow and leave a few inches from the top of the rock to the water surface. Also, try to make some interesting caves and swim throughs for the fishies along the nooks and crannies.

Of course there are no rules. You seem to have a creative eye, so find what is aesthetically pleasing to you, after stealing ideas from the hundreds of aquascapes you have probably looked at.

Good luck. Excited to see some aquascape pictures from you.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Just had an English Muffin. I opted for cream cheese. Thanks!