Need advice on Aquascape.

Eggpaul · Mar 21, 2018

150 gallon tank. Total water is 137 gallons with sump. Here are two pictures. One is without the live rock, the other is with the live rock. I know the color will match later on, but please let me know if I have too much rock in the tank. There is 124 lbs of dry rock in the display, and 25-30 lbs of live rock between the display and sump. you think the fish have enough room to swim with this setup? Which aquascape do you like more, with or without the live rock in the display?

I added 5 pieces of live rock. Made the structure on the right side a little higher.

Brew12 · Mar 21, 2018

Eggpaul said:
150 gallon tank. Total water is 137 gallons with sump. Here are two pictures. One is without the live rock, the other is with the live rock. I know the color will match later on, but please let me know if I have too much rock in the tank. There is 124 lbs of dry rock in the display, and 25-30 lbs of live rock between the display and sump. you think the fish have enough room to swim with this setup? Which aquascape do you like more, with or without the live rock in the display?

I added 5 pieces of live rock. Made the structure on the right side a little higher.

Either will work just fine. In my opinion it is just as important to have hiding spots for fish to sleep in and "escape" to as it is to have open swimming areas.

cloak · Mar 21, 2018

It looks great, but FWIW I prefer to have more open spaces in between the rocks as they're stacked. (caves,overhangs etc) IME it helps with circulation and creates more hiding spots for the fish. GL.

O'l Salty · Mar 21, 2018

You might want to consider making the pile on the left shorter and the one on the right taller. Then move one pile closer to the front and the other closer to the rear. I did something similar and made a bridge between the two piles.

Eggpaul · Mar 21, 2018

cloak said:
It looks great, but FWIW I prefer to have more open spaces in between the rocks as they're stacked. (caves,overhangs etc) IME it helps with circulation and creates more hiding spots for the fish. GL.

I should share a pic from the sides, there are some small areas for smaller fish. But I see what you are saying.

Eggpaul · Mar 21, 2018

O'l Salty said:
You might want to consider making the pile on the left shorter and the one on the right taller. Then move one pile closer to the front and the other closer to the rear. I did something similar and made a bridge between the two piles.

I was thinking of making a bridge. Can you share a pic?

O'l Salty · Mar 21, 2018

Eggpaul said:
I was thinking of making a bridge. Can you share a pic?

The fish seem to like it and swim through all the time.

Eggpaul · Mar 21, 2018

I like that. I'll see what I can do

Eggpaul · Mar 21, 2018

O'l Salty said:
The fish seem to like it and swim through all the time.

Nice!!!

O'l Salty · Mar 21, 2018

I noticed you had the same idea I had for electronics mounting. lol

Eggpaul · Mar 22, 2018

O'l Salty said:
I noticed you had the same idea I had for electronics mounting. lol

Haha! Looks good!

Eggpaul · Mar 23, 2018

O'l Salty said:
You might want to consider making the pile on the left shorter and the one on the right taller. Then move one pile closer to the front and the other closer to the rear. I did something similar and made a bridge between the two piles.

I understand what you are saying about moving one forward, and the other rearwards, but there isn't much room. I have only a few inches back and forth before hitting the glass. If I remove a few of the live rock from the left and use them to make a small bridge in the middle, would that be better?

Porpoise Hork · Mar 23, 2018

One thing to keep in mind, there will almost certainly come a point where you will have to pull some if not most of the rock out and put it back in. So going with really elaborate setups can get tedious or next to impossible to re-stack. Another thing to note is when planning the aquascape it's generally better to have the rock be the lowest at the front of the tank and climb as it moves to the back. This allows for more places to mount corals as well as better placement options for higher light demanding specimens like SPS and a top of options for soft and or lps corals.

I must have tore my rock work down and re-stacked it 3-4 times since I first setup my tank 18 months ago. I ultimately settled on the above layout compared to bridges or caves as i had more than one rock-slide causing me to lose some of my corals as a result.

Eggpaul · Mar 23, 2018

Porpoise Hork said:
One thing to keep in mind, there will almost certainly come a point where you will have to pull some if not most of the rock out and put it back in. So going with really elaborate setups can get tedious or next to impossible to re-stack. Another thing to note is when planning the aquascape it's generally better to have the rock be the lowest at the front of the tank and climb as it moves to the back. This allows for more places to mount corals as well as better placement options for higher light demanding specimens like SPS and a top of options for soft and or lps corals.

I must have tore my rock work down and re-stacked it 3-4 times since I first setup my tank 18 months ago. I ultimately settled on the above layout compared to bridges or caves as i had more than one rock-slide causing me to lose some of my corals as a result.

I agree. both structures start low and gradually rise up to the highest point near the back. Why did you have to tear down your rocks? I don't see a pic if you shared it.

Eggpaul · Mar 23, 2018

O'l Salty said:
I noticed you had the same idea I had for electronics mounting. lol

why is mine so much more crowded than yours? do you have equipment in other places?

O'l Salty · Mar 23, 2018

Eggpaul said:
I understand what you are saying about moving one forward, and the other rearwards, but there isn't much room. I have only a few inches back and forth before hitting the glass. If I remove a few of the live rock from the left and use them to make a small bridge in the middle, would that be better?

Just looking your set up with the wall on the right I would place the larger pile on the left hand side because you will be able to see around and behind it. If you put the larger pile on the right with the wall right there it will kinda create a dark corner back in there. You could make a much smaller island on the right and create a more open landscape in the darker part of the tank. This would give you room to move it back and front as you please. Bridge is optional but I find my fish using it and generally the aquascape more interesting. I agree you will probably remove or change your rocks around a number of times. I had to remove mine to clean for a GHA problem that wouldn't go away. I've taken various rocks in and out to get the aquascape just right.

O'l Salty · Mar 23, 2018

Eggpaul said:
why is mine so much more crowded than yours? do you have equipment in other places?

That's pretty much it. I don't have a bunch of reactors or anything like that just a skimmer and UV sterilizer.

madweazl · Mar 23, 2018

To aid in giving the illusion of more depth than your tank actually has, you can draw the rocks out at an angle (elongating the structure). So instead of a more rounded structure like you've posted above, you can make them oblong and turn them 30-45° or add an angled structure that comes out to a point from one or both.

Picture to illustrate what I'm trying to say.

Eggpaul · Mar 23, 2018

madweazl said:
To aid in giving the illusion of more depth than your tank actually has, you can draw the rocks out at an angle (elongating the structure). So instead of a more rounded structure like you've posted above, you can make them oblong and turn them 30-45° or add an angled structure that comes out to a point from one or both.

Picture to illustrate what I'm trying to say.

ohhh, I like that. I think I'll add the bridge and add an angle structure to the one on the left. Thanks!