Need outside opinions

[LayT27]

Wife wants a snowflake eel so I added a bunch of rocks on the left for caves. Any tips for this aqua scape ?
Tank is standard 75gallon. That’s about 60lbs of rock. Plan on adding more fish for sure and then maybe some corals several months later once the tank gets established.

 

[cvrle1]

I didnt notice this until someone mentioned it to me about a month ago, when I was working on my aquascape. Arches are not natural, you wont find them in real reefs. What you will find is caves and crevices and lots of places for fish to swim through and hide in. For some reason people are drawn to building arches when they 1st work on aquascape (myself included)

Now that you built this, leave it be for about a week and see how you feel at that time. A lot of times your perception will change and what you like today, you may not like tomorrow. I built my 1st scape (arches galore) liked it when it was done. Then later that day after looking at it, I wasnt as big of a fan. Next day I absolutely hated it and took it all down.

Finally, plan your scape for corals. Do you have enough room for them, will they cover one another when they grow out. Once you add corals and the grwo, you wont even be able to see your scape any more.

 

[LayT27]

I didnt notice this until someone mentioned it to me about a month ago, when I was working on my aquascape. Arches are not natural, you wont find them in real reefs. What you will find is caves and crevices and lots of places for fish to swim through and hide in. For some reason people are drawn to building arches when they 1st work on aquascape (myself included)

Now that you built this, leave it be for about a week and see how you feel at that time. A lot of times your perception will change and what you like today, you may not like tomorrow. I built my 1st scape (arches galore) liked it when it was done. Then later that day after looking at it, I wasnt as big of a fan. Next day I absolutely hated it and took it all down.

Finally, plan your scape for corals. Do you have enough room for them, will they cover one another when they grow out. Once you add corals and the grwo, you wont even be able to see your scape any more.

Thanks for the info. Im a long way away from doing corals, mainly because ive never used them so Im still doing research and learning about them.
I just didnt want to do a wall of rock and the island style seemed plain. Ill sit on this for a week as I am still waiting for some plumbing parts to come in.

 

[DeniseAndy]

If you are getting an eel, I would look at putting in some pvc for tunnels and putting rock around them to make look more natural. I have not kept eels personally, but worked with some in the public aquarium.

I love arches, but not so dramatically. Make them more like caves. Fish like that better. As stated above, leave it, go back, your view will change. Then, try again. Take pictures to see what like best. Of course, if you are me, you will never get it the same twice. Oh, well. It is fun to try new set ups.

 

[LayT27]

If you are getting an eel, I would look at putting in some pvc for tunnels and putting rock around them to make look more natural. I have not kept eels personally, but worked with some in the public aquarium.

I love arches, but not so dramatically. Make them more like caves. Fish like that better. As stated above, leave it, go back, your view will change. Then, try again. Take pictures to see what like best. Of course, if you are me, you will never get it the same twice. Oh, well. It is fun to try new set ups.

What size pvc should I go with that would last him his whole life? I know they can get up to 2 feet in length. maybe 1.25" pvc?

 

[DeniseAndy]

Not sure on those guys. Make sure you get large enough for them width, not so much the length. My guess is 1-1.25 would be large enough. Just make some caves with them or longish tunnels, like 9-12", and then cover it with rock to look natural. Since you are just setting up and know that is what you want in there, best do it while you can.
Anyone else with eels?????

 

[cvrle1]

While I never had eel before, I can definitely vouche for no 2 rocks sitting same when you take them apart and try to put back together. It's like the moment you take them apart, one of them morphs and you wont get it back in the same place no matter how much you try. Did you think about how you will go in regards to connecting rocks together once you have scape that you like? Important to have rocks as secure as possible, as you dont want them falling down once tank is setup and possibly cracking your aquarium.

 

[LayT27]

While I never had eel before, I can definitely vouche for no 2 rocks sitting same when you take them apart and try to put back together. It's like the moment you take them apart, one of them morphs and you wont get it back in the same place no matter how much you try. Did you think about how you will go in regards to connecting rocks together once you have scape that you like? Important to have rocks as secure as possible, as you dont want them falling down once tank is setup and possibly cracking your aquarium.

I have some Seachem Reefer Glue that I planned on securing the rocks with.

 

[ApoIsland]

I didnt notice this until someone mentioned it to me about a month ago, when I was working on my aquascape. Arches are not natural, you wont find them in real reefs. What you will find is caves and crevices and lots of places for fish to swim through and hide in. For some reason people are drawn to building arches when they 1st work on aquascape (myself included)

Now that you built this, leave it be for about a week and see how you feel at that time. A lot of times your perception will change and what you like today, you may not like tomorrow. I built my 1st scape (arches galore) liked it when it was done. Then later that day after looking at it, I wasnt as big of a fan. Next day I absolutely hated it and took it all down.

Finally, plan your scape for corals. Do you have enough room for them, will they cover one another when they grow out. Once you add corals and the grwo, you wont even be able to see your scape any more.

I have seen arches in Hawaii, Philippines, and Mexico that come to mind right away. Have taken many snorkel/diving trips around the world and the great barrier reef is the only place I have not seen a rock arch. I also only spent 2 full days on the GB though which covered maybe 8 sites. But even there you can find many small coral arches formed when two large plating pieces connect.

If you like the rock arch go with the rock arch. Personally I like it much better than two piles of rocks.

The part about corals covering the scape is very true though. I have put so much time into planning and buliding a few different scapes only to have them totally destroyed by large coral colonies that block the view of evey nice cave/arch/tunnel/shelf etc I create.

My advice is that if you are going to create a cave or an arch make sure it a fairly big cave or arch so you will at least have some hint of it left years down the road. Definitely needs to be bigger than a fist. Looks like you have accomplished that with the arches you have now.

 

[LayT27]

I have seen arches in Hawaii, Philippines, and Mexico that come to mind right away. Have taken many snorkel/diving trips around the world and the great barrier reef is the only place I have not seen a rock arch. I also only spent 2 full days on the GB though which covered maybe 8 sites. But even there you can find many small coral arches formed when two large plating pieces connect.

If you like the rock arch go with the rock arch. Personally I like it much better than two piles of rocks.

The part about corals covering the scape is very true though. I have put so much time into planning and buliding a few different scapes only to have them totally destroyed by large coral colonies that block the view of evey nice cave/arch/tunnel/shelf etc I create.

My advice is that if you are going to create a cave or an arch make sure it a fairly big cave or arch so you will at least have some hint of it left years down the road. Definitely needs to be bigger than a fist. Looks like you have accomplished that with the arches you have now.

Thanks! I like the arches so far. I really want to make sure its adequate for the eel and the fish. Im still not totally set on corals, but i wanted to make sure I allowed myself different heights of rock incase I do decide on corals, I will have plenty of rock and height to do so. Im contemplating some pvc tunnels right now for the eel. Aslong as I can get my wifes snowflake eel and my Flame Angel, I will be happy.

 

[dough]

Instead of arches I went with long over hangs. For that center arch I would just do a long over hang and left side as an island. I've had the "rock wall" before and really like the look of islands much better. You can break up the vertical looks of the island by including horizontal over hangs or out crops, making sure the are not is a straight across the tank.

As everyone says take some time step back a day or so. Heck I still continue to make small changes in my rock work and it's been up for a few years.

 

[LayT27]

Instead of arches I went with long over hangs. For that center arch I would just do a long over hang and left side as an island. I've had the "rock wall" before and really like the look of islands much better. You can break up the vertical looks of the island by including horizontal over hangs or out crops, making sure the are not is a straight across the tank.

As everyone says take some time step back a day or so. Heck I still continue to make small changes in my rock work and it's been up for a few years.

Think maybe do one of the shelf rocks that BRS sells, in place of the arch?

 

[ApoIsland]

Thanks! I like the arches so far. I really want to make sure its adequate for the eel and the fish. Im still not totally set on corals, but i wanted to make sure I allowed myself different heights of rock incase I do decide on corals, I will have plenty of rock and height to do so. Im contemplating some pvc tunnels right now for the eel. Aslong as I can get my wifes snowflake eel and my Flame Angel, I will be happy.

I would make sure its a pretty decent size flame angel. Eels mouths can open pretty wide.

 

[ApoIsland]

Not sure on those guys. Make sure you get large enough for them width, not so much the length. My guess is 1-1.25 would be large enough. Just make some caves with them or longish tunnels, like 9-12", and then cover it with rock to look natural. Since you are just setting up and know that is what you want in there, best do it while you can.
Anyone else with eels?????

I kept a snowflake for about a year maybe 1.5 years in a 55g tall (30x18x24). I went with one pvc tunnel along the back with an exit in the middle. So 3 possible entry and exit points for him. Glue some rocks around the exit points so they are hidden. I believe it was 1'' pvc. The eel grew very fast though with only feeding 2-3 times per week so maybe 1.5'' would have been more appropriate if I would have kept it many years.

Be aware that you will need a good cleanup crew in there as they do make a mess when eating. Plus they enjoy cracking open crab and snail shells for an extra snack from time to time.

I did not have success keeping small fish with the eel, but the two 3'' tangs cohabitated just fine. I think they were just too big for the eel to think about eating. Firefish, zebra goby, damsel, all became a snack.

Typing this makes me want to set up another eel tank....

 

[ApoIsland]

Think maybe do one of the shelf rocks that BRS sells, in place of the arch?

No need to buy one. Just glue that one rock forming the lower cave on the right into a different location so it is not connecting with the other rock.

You would then have a sweet cave on the left, and a pile of rocks on the right that everyone seems to like so much now...plus an overhang

 

[LayT27]

I kept a snowflake for about a year maybe 1.5 years in a 55g tall (30x18x24). I went with one pvc tunnel along the back with an exit in the middle. So 3 possible entry and exit points for him. Glue some rocks around the exit points so they are hidden. I believe it was 1'' pvc. The eel grew very fast though with only feeding 2-3 times per week so maybe 1.5'' would have been more appropriate if I would have kept it many years.

Be aware that you will need a good cleanup crew in there as they do make a mess when eating. Plus they enjoy cracking open crab and snail shells for an extra snack from time to time.

I did not have success keeping small fish with the eel, but the two 3'' tangs cohabitated just fine. I think they were just too big for the eel to think about eating. Firefish, zebra goby, damsel, all became a snack.

Typing this makes me want to set up another eel tank....

Thats what I have been reading. I took a 45degree joint and siliconed the end and glued the gravel to it to make it blend in to the substrate that I will be using. so aslong as i buy a tiny one and bigger fish, I should be ok. What cleanup crew do you recommend since i cant do crustaceans ? lots of snails?

 

[LayT27]

No need to buy one. Just glue that one rock forming the lower cave on the right into a different location so it is not connecting with the other rock.

You would then have a sweet cave on the left, and a pile of rocks on the right that everyone seems to like so much now...plus an overhang

Good call! Ill do that and take a pic and see if i did what you were thinking.

 

[ApoIsland]

Thats what I have been reading. I took a 45degree joint and siliconed the end and glued the gravel to it to make it blend in to the substrate that I will be using. so aslong as i buy a tiny one and bigger fish, I should be ok. What cleanup crew do you recommend since i cant do crustaceans ? lots of snails?

Only had 1.5 years experience with it so I'm far from an eel expert and won't be the best for any advice on care. I didn't mind him eating the hermits so I always made sure there were 4 or 5 in the tank to snack on. I'm not sure if the eel ever ate the snails or it was the hermit crabs that ate the snails. I would bet my money on the eel though.

The tangs were my main clean up crew as they are constantly grazing.

 

[LayT27]

No need to buy one. Just glue that one rock forming the lower cave on the right into a different location so it is not connecting with the other rock.

You would then have a sweet cave on the left, and a pile of rocks on the right that everyone seems to like so much now...plus an overhang

Only had 1.5 years experience with it so I'm far from an eel expert and won't be the best for any advice on care. I didn't mind him eating the hermits so I always made sure there were 4 or 5 in the tank to snack on. I'm not sure if the eel ever ate the snails or it was the hermit crabs that ate the snails. I would bet my money on the eel though.

The tangs were my main clean up crew as they are constantly grazing.

 

[ApoIsland]

I have some Seachem Reefer Glue that I planned on securing the rocks with.

I have no experience with Seachem glue but it sounds like it is similar to super glue gel which in my experience is not adequate at all for keeping large rocks glued together in the event you need to move the formation around. I have used a couple variations of cement but much prefer to use expanding pond foam now. The foam is much easier to work with and does not require any curing other than the day or two to completely dry.