Tips and Tricks on Creating Amazing Aquascapes.

polpo · May 20, 2019

So, I have my first aquascape laid out for my Waterbox 190. My next question, how do I get this into my tank without ruining it? I am using all Marco reef saver and an XL CaribSea arch. I was planning to mortar with E-Marco 400 and maybe work top down and try to put it back together in the tank in sections. Does anyone have lessons learned or advice from previous experience?

Spdjnky · May 21, 2019

I'm not sure as I have never done it before either but it sounds like your plan will work.
In fact I am planning the same thing.Here's a picture of my new aquascape. I'm not sure if this is the final one, I think might have a few more tweaks. Any comments suggestions Good or bad will be welcome.

kareemkamal3 · May 26, 2019

New tank.... New aquascape

Please Tell me your opinions

Spdjnky · May 27, 2019

All I can say is it’s different be interesting to see it with coral

PaulPerger · May 27, 2019

My first SW tank, so my first SW Aquascape... This is my first attempt. Nothing is cemented, just stacked for now. Final product will have some rubble rock stuck into reef cement to hide cement, rods, etc.

My intent is to have a Zoa / Paly Garden on the center island, some Pulsing Xenia on the single flat rock in the right front corner (I have heard isolating it will keep it from overtaking the tank, and I love it, so I want some in my tank!) This will be a mixed softie tank. No, or very little SPS. Tank is a 75 Gallon.

End View from corner of room. Basically nobody will see the tank from this angle unless they walk back into the corner...

Front View...

End View visible from couch and dining room...

And a walk around video...

Any Critique, Criticism and SUGGESTIONS are very welcome!!

polpo · May 29, 2019

kareemkamal3 said:
New tank.... New aquascape

Please Tell me your opinions

Looks cool, but a little skimpy. If you are relying on rock for biological filtration, you probably will need to add more. ~1lb/gallon.

jsvand5 · May 30, 2019

kareemkamal3 said:
New tank.... New aquascape

Please Tell me your opinions

I like the look of it but there probably isn’t many spots for fish hiding/sleeping

jsvand5 · May 30, 2019

PaulPerger said:
My first SW tank, so my first SW Aquascape... This is my first attempt. Nothing is cemented, just stacked for now. Final product will have some rubble rock stuck into reef cement to hide cement, rods, etc.

My intent is to have a Zoa / Paly Garden on the center island, some Pulsing Xenia on the single flat rock in the right front corner (I have heard isolating it will keep it from overtaking the tank, and I love it, so I want some in my tank!) This will be a mixed softie tank. No, or very little SPS. Tank is a 75 Gallon.

End View from corner of room. Basically nobody will see the tank from this angle unless they walk back into the corner...

Front View...

End View visible from couch and dining room...

And a walk around video...

Any Critique, Criticism and SUGGESTIONS are very welcome!!

Looks good from the front but on the side views the rocks look way too close to the front panel. There won’t be any room for coral growth and it limits fish swimming paths.

PaulPerger · May 30, 2019

jsvand5 said:
Looks good from the front but on the side views the rocks look way too close to the front panel. There won’t be any room for coral growth and it limits fish swimming paths.

I see what you are saying... Looking at the tank from the front, I am OK with the left side being a little closer to the glass because that stack of rocks has a LOT of cave space and nooks and crannys between the stacked rock. However, the piece I have circled below could be removed and will open up the right side a LOT and give a better sight line from that side all the way to other side as well. Thanks for the suggestion!!

Reefer Charlie · Jun 2, 2019

i cut out a piece of cardboard the size of the bottom of my tank and build off of that.

tst400 · Jun 10, 2019

I posted in this thread a long time ago and I have just set up a new reefer 525xl so wanted to share the new scape.

TetoCCB · Jun 10, 2019

This really took restraint not to add too much rock...

Bonsai reef · Jun 14, 2019

Hi Guys,

Need some feedback on the aquascape for my 24g cube.

I started with 13lbs as below-

Then i added more rocks to match the lbs:gallon ratio, and have two different layouts as below-
1st-

2nd-

Side view-

Please let me know if you have suggestions for changes or which one looks better. Thanks!

Note- want to make is a mixed reef with sps at a later point.

(Can’t remove the below image in edit. Please ignore as this was before adding more rocks)

MamaLovesHerReefTank · Jun 15, 2019

Aveek B said:
Hi Guys,

Need some feedback on the aquascape for my 24g cube.

I started with 13lbs as below-

Then i added more rocks to match the lbs:gallon ratio, and have two different layouts as below-
1st-

2nd-

Side view-

Please let me know if you have suggestions for changes or which one looks better. Thanks!

Note- want to make is a mixed reef with sps at a later point.

(Can’t remove the below image in edit. Please ignore as this was before adding more rocks)

My preference is #1 with the 2 smaller rocks on the sand. Only advice is make sure you can get your hand around all rocks to clean the glass. Nice layout.

madweazl · Jun 15, 2019

The rock is the skeleton, not the body. I like to let the corals fill in the majority of the space. We used about 50lbs in the 75g but dropped that to about 75lbs in this 150g.

Bonsai reef · Jun 15, 2019

MamaLovesHerReefTank said:
My preference is #1 with the 2 smaller rocks on the sand. Only advice is make sure you can get your hand around all rocks to clean the glass. Nice layout.

You are right, that adds more depth to the view. And yes, i have enough space around the rocks for flow and cleaning. Thanks!

Frank RiZZo · Jun 20, 2019

525xl w/ Carib sea arches

naterealbig · Jun 20, 2019

kareemkamal3 said:
New tank.... New aquascape

Please Tell me your opinions

Great job on the scape- one of the best I've seen in a while.

Remember the negative space can be just as (if not more) important than the rock itself. This will look incredible with the right fish and coral selection.

The 1 lb of rock per gallon is a fallacy. Your sand will perform the majority of nitrification, and there are many methods of denitrification. In fact, live rock is a poor denitrification media period.

Bravo.

mrtian97 · Jun 23, 2019

I am redoing my 3 yrs old reef tank (need to redo the floor where the tank is so may as well redo the scape).

Plan to add a couple rock formation while removing some existing. Like to try more open spaces and arch formation.

Any suggestions which rock to use that is not breaking my budget? Here is the FTS of the current tank (Redsea Reefer 350), I am planning to remove some of the monti caps that dominated the tank

kareemkamal3 · Jul 1, 2019

naterealbig said:
Great job on the scape- one of the best I've seen in a while.

Remember the negative space can be just as (if not more) important than the rock itself. This will look incredible with the right fish and coral selection.

The 1 lb of rock per gallon is a fallacy. Your sand will perform the majority of nitrification, and there are many methods of denitrification. In fact, live rock is a poor denitrification media period.

Bravo.

Thanks for your words my friend