The Science . . . And the Art

Maritimer · Dec 24, 2017

There's a lot of physics, chemistry and biology to learn in this hobby, and the basics of things like water parameters and stabilizing the rockwork are pretty well documented.

When it comes to coral placement, some things seem more nebulous. Most folks recognize that SPS should be in higher-light / higher-flow parts of the tank, and that some LPS prefer shadier fringes or areas closer to the sand or the outer edges - but how do you decide what's going to _look_ good?

How do you know that when your corals grow from nubbin frags to colonies, they'll look _amazing_ together, as opposed to "pretty nice". Do similar forms go well side-by-side in different colors, or should they be scattered more widely? Do you decide based on how they'll look under daylights, under blues, or both?

How do _you_ handle the inner aesthetics of a reef aquarium? (Hint, feel free to show off the awesome living art that you've created!)

~Bruce

saltyhog · Dec 24, 2017

Great question! Anxious to see what everyone has to say. I see all these tanks that look like works of art and I look at mine and shake my head sometimes!

Whipples · Dec 24, 2017

saltyhog said:
Great question! Anxious to see what everyone has to say. I see all these tanks that look like works of art and I look at mine and shake my head sometimes!

Man I know this feeling! I just keep reminding myself that those awesome tanks are a several year effort and an evolution that only time and patience can yield. One day!

SashimiTurtle · Dec 24, 2017

I'm still learning this as my reef is two months old... Keeping LPS and some zoas happy right now but I'm trying to leave some room for SPS when the tank gets ready. I'm always asking myself, "Did I leave the right room for that SPS I want?"

Maritimer · Dec 27, 2017

I am remiss.

Thread like this isn't worth much without photos. Full-tank shots below . . .

Under the blues:

And under the daylights:

No magnum opus . . . yet! But working on it! Critique welcome.

~Bruce

Rakie · Dec 27, 2017

For me, I like trying to organize colors in a way in which they will not compliment each other, but grate against one another.

For example, if you look at the color scale you can see colors like blue transition into colors like purple.

Now if you put a blue and a purple coral next to one another, in my opinion, those are complimentary colors. They are in a similar area of the color scale, and are similar in some respects.

I would rather put a neon green coral next to the purple color. They contrast in a way that makes one another pop.

You can also think of it like clothing -- What is a better match? Blue jeans with a purple shirt. Or a neon green shirt with purple pants? That second option doesn't look great in clothing, but it absolutely makes both colors pop by grating against one another.

So when it comes to corals -- in clothing terms -- I want something that doesn't match.

Rakie · Dec 27, 2017

So a follow up with pics and some examples.

First, here's a FTS giving you a head on image of my tank

So here's the top right side of my tank in more detail, a little triangle with 3 colors built a certain way -- This picture is not the most current, but all is going according to plan.

So lets take a closer look at this second pic, we have 3 corals. Red with Green tips (JF Fox Flame -- Front and center), Hot Pink Mili (Right), and FHC something something (Blue body with Neon green tips)

Okay, so what was my placement goal here -- My plan was to put the Fox Flame front and center, but I knew it was a coral that spends a LOT of time encrusting before it really gains some height. So putting it front allows the corals with more growth to hit their stride and not be overtaken by the coral in front of them (3 months later, my plan is still working). The FHC in the back grows slightly bushy, but immediately shown vertical growth. The milli to the right is a milli, it does milli things like growing tall. Simple enough.

What was my color goal here -- My plan here was simple. Jason Fox is a red coral, with red polyps, and flaming neon yellow tips. So what could be better behind that than a deep blue coral with some neon green tips. The yellow Fox Flame tips, and the Neon Green FHC tips are complimentary to a degree, but the red/blue are not. So I feel the blue in the back will pop against a black background with a red coral in front of it, and likewise, the red coral will pop with a deep blue behind it.

So what about the pink milli on the right -- Well it's a complimentary color being hot pink, it's polyps are developing green, and it's base is also developing a neon green color. My goal was it's color would be semi-complimentary, yet grating with the Fox Flame as time goes on. It's color is developing as I would like it to.

Okay, so lets look at the center section of my top rock -- Also not the most up to date picture. I haven't gotten a new top down overview in awhile, all my recent shots are of one coral at a time.

Lets use the PC Superman (Pink w/blue tips) as the center point for this break down. This picture is at an angle, so the "Yellow w/red polyps" is right in front of it.

Placement plans with growth patterns -- So going from the PC Superman (pink with blue tips) this is a table, and it's placed on the side of the rockwork, my goal for it was to grow out and only a little up, leaving the space on either side of it to stand out. The yellow and red polyp coral in front will grow up towards the PC Superman, and slightly to it's left.

Coral to the right of PC Superman -- Is a milli, it's a yellow based body with peach tips, green polyps, and some green hues on it's body. I thought this would stand in stark contrast to my PC Superman, and is placed behind the PC Sup, and to the right.

Left of PC Super -- Is what I believe is a TGC "Pink Cadillac" (AKA, not a pink cadillac at all). It's a teal green/blue color with neon flouro tips, and neon blue polyps. This is to the left of my PC Superman, and I believed it would also grow in contrast, although slightly complimentary with the blue aspect.

In front of the PC Superman -- This is a Diabolic Pacman (AKA Pink Floyd, WWC Afterparty, Pikachu, BioHazard... etc etc etc etc etc). This guy is yellow with red polyps. Yellow felt like a strong contrast to the red-based Pink of PC Superman. This will be growing up, towards the PC Sup, and slightly to it's left.

Right behind PC Superman -- Is a blue Oregon Tort. Now, the blue tips in PC superman, and blue in the fake pink caddy are complimentary, but the whole of the red PC Superman against a background of an oregon tort sounded like it would grate well and really make the lighter colors up front pop.

Back Left -- A pink-red based RR El Diablo. From above, it's pretty pink. From the side, it's a deeper purple based red -- Not as deep purple red as a red planet, but more that way than straight pink. My goal here was to grow behind the fake pink caddy, and on the side of the Oregon Tort. Giving it a little triangle of colors which grate and pop. What you don't see is the flaming neon wild "Pink Floyd" that's a table, visually between the El Diablo, and Pink Caddy. This is a neon green with blue based body, and orange/red polyps. This thing visually from the FRONT of the tank, interrupts some of the complimentary colors seen between some of these corals.

Perspective -- is a large part of the reef. If a rock allows you to place a different color coral in front of coral on another rock, it can interrupt the visual between corals on that rock. So you may have two corals with similar colors next to one another on a rock, but placing a coral VISUALLY between them (not physically between them) will interrupt those colors when viewed from the front.

Servillius · Dec 27, 2017

Can’t say I’m much of an expert, but the motivation for my latest tank was the lack of forethought that went into the previous. I’ll undoubtedly decide the same again somewhere along the way.

Here is what I’ve been aiming for this time though. I have a long axis. I want to create as much depth as possible in this direction. Note the rising aquascape.

I need a lot more growth up top, but it’s coming along.

From the side, I want open water. I wish I had the discipline to actually leave half a tank open. It’s beautiful when done right. Here is what I have for now though.

Now the goal is to get a frag into each spot that needs a colony and (in a totally failed attempt to answer your question by answering with your question) choosing a good color mix as I do that. It is important to me not to add too much. I expect I’ll have to cut some stuff out along the way in areas where it becomes clear I went overboard.

Here is the rockwork when it first went in.

The overall aesthetics of the whole tank in my living room have been very important to my wife and me. Some day I’ll do better, but I think we’ve made a good start.

While it’s not much of an answer, I hope I’ve added something interesting to your thinking.

Whipples · Dec 27, 2017

These have been great! I hope more contribute and share. The thought process I applied to the rockscape was an open one with multiple levels and space behind it to allow an escape route for aggression as well as swim space for the fish I plan to keep. The focus on the rockwork being centralized is to allow me to create (eventually) an SPS shelf across the middle to grow out and fill in the middle 2/3s of the tank and leave open space on the edges and front to encourage fish to swim all throughout the rocks and allow for LPS corals to have shadier locations. Currently building up my SPS collection which dominate the middle of my 'scape for now. This photo is a few months old at this point and some corals have been changed out (or lost due to inexperience

) and I will edit this post to add an updated post soon.

revhtree · Dec 27, 2017

Nice thread!

Honestly I try to keep growth patterns in mind but first and foremost is keeping frags alive and thriving! Wherever that happens best is where they go!

Maritimer · Dec 27, 2017

@Rakie, that is a beautifully thought-out and explained philosophy! Allowing each coral to vibrate and contrast against the ones around it, highlighting the structure, form and hue of each individual gem of the reef. Your tank certainly looks well on its way toward embodying that vision!

@Servillius, you've absolutely made a contribution with your beautiful rising reef. Not only do I see the contrast of colors and forms, but of textures as well; the soft folds of that big toadstool alongside the brilliant purple stems of Stylophora, the architectural angles of the staghorn contrasting with the more organic trumpet corals. Thank you!

@Whipples, that's a magnificent foundation - and I can already see where there'll be fun contrasts of form and color. Thanks for chiming in!

@revhtree ... Good point. Gotta keep 'em alive and growing, or all the artistic talent in the world isn't going to help much!

~Bruce

JasPR · Dec 28, 2017

Things the art side has taught me: 1) less is more 2) knowing WHEN to act is more important that anything else 3) the very best thing that comes in a bottle for almost all situations is fresh saltwater 4) at the end of the day, a marine aquarium/ reef aquarium is a glass box in which certain things are used up over time and other things build up over time- know the difference and inevitability of both. 5) Murphy is alive and well in the marine hobby. And he and his law usually visit on Sunday Nights and when you are on vacation. 6) due to Murphy design redundancy into your systems and keep an extra motor/pump/ heater on hand

Maritimer · Dec 28, 2017

Excellent, simple and truthful, @JasPR!

~Bruce

Goby-won · Dec 29, 2017

Excellent topic. I see beautiful aquariums that make mine look Like i shouldn’t even be in the hobby. My simple answer is i buy hat a like and try to make it work. My one regret is buying zoas and “liking” the same color combinations so I do not have enough contrast to make them pop...I promise I will do better in the future.

Maritimer · Dec 30, 2017

That really is a beautiful tank, @Goby-won - in spite of what you think of the zoas. I particularly like the way the purples atop the reef vibrate against the greens of anemones and ... frogspawn? at the lower right, and then that kind of zigs into the orange ... monti? yet lower down. Lots of stuff becoming nicely grown-in, as well!

~Bruce

DSC reef · Dec 30, 2017

I try to put contrasting colors together and also monitor growth patterns. I try to keep some bright colors at all levels of the tank to keep the eyes wandering when looking at the tank.

Maritimer · Dec 31, 2017

Neat blend of textures and colors, @DSC reef!

I like the way you've got similar textures (Montipora spongodes / capricornis) in contrasting colors, and the way the slimer picks up the spongodes' color, but with a radically different form.

~Bruce

leahfiish · Dec 31, 2017

Personally I prefer to group similar corals together and mix up the colors. I had an Acan garden that I was frequently rearranging before deciding to put everything on disks lately to try to help them grow. I really like how it looks with so many vibrant colors grouped together even though they are the same shape and texture. And while I also love all of my acans individually, I felt with my current group the colors didn't really work well together.

I tried a few different arrangements but never really felt like the colors matched or complimented each other.

I ended up putting these two together because they have similar colors and patterns but are still different, I thought they would make an interesting contrast. Green with red/orange stripes and dark red with green stripes.