What is the best rock lay out?

ali.farzinrad

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Hey guys
I have bought a new tank, a larger one than what I have now
It's 140 gals.
I need some suggestions for the lay out of live rocks,
I would be so thankful if anyone can help.
 
however you want. in general start with building steps, overhangs, arches, islands, walls, piles and go from there until you find what you like. try to keep it all somewhat open. if its all stacked tightly itll create a lot of dead spots
 
No one has any idea of what kind/shape of rock that you have.

My suggestion would be to look at other tanks and see what you like and then try and scape your rock that way.

Good luck and have fun.

however you want. in general start with building steps, overhangs, arches, islands, walls, piles and go from there until you find what you like. try to keep it all somewhat open. if its all stacked tightly itll create a lot of dead spots

It's really difficult, because when it's done and filled by water, I will not change it, bc of the shock to the system and fishes.
 
What I have always done was to make a cardboard piece the footprint of the tank and then use a 2x4 or something cut to the height, and then sit down and play with aquascape designs. I like to take a lot of pictures and compare then, then try to mimic the one I liked most (it never turns out exactly like I had it haha)

But then I start with super glue and epoxy, or like I did with my current tank, acrylic rods and a masonry bit along with the glue and epoxy.
 
"Best" is relative, each person will. Have their own opinion. My Best advice? Google a bunch of reef aquascapes and pick one you like to emulate the best you can .
 
well, ive changed my rock layout probably 100 times with fish and coral in the tanks and ive never had an issue. I even shake the detritus off the rock in a bucket of saltwater (drained from the tank. I always did a water change for this) to reduce some of the build up and nitrates. no shock to the system. more than anything the fish seemed more active as they found new holes and homes.
 
Not too much detail to go from here; however what matters the most is do you like it? If you don't you'll constantly mess with the scape and stress the fish, or even worse, grow disinterested. You'll want to consider an aquascape that will support the life you want to have. Want fish that like to hide? You must make caves! You want low par LPS + SPS? Ensure you include overhangs to shield low light corals. Also do research on building the scape itself. There are lots of tricks such as using acrylic rods to achieve new shapes by combining smaller rocks you cut and shape. Youtube is also your friend if you're the visual type for your research.

Step 1) Read this for the basics along with a ton of great examples - http://reef2reef.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-on-creating-amazing-aquascapes.97209/
Step 2) Do more research and start picking out inspirations. Remember, you can break rock to create scapes you see in large tanks in small tanks - http://reef2reef.com/threads/show-off-your-large-tank-aquascape.59909/ and http://reef2reef.com/threads/show-your-nano-aquarium-here.5098/
Step 3) Use cardboard to make the footprint of your tank
step 4) When you're happy with your scape, go through your requirements checklist and ensure everything is there (x amount of negative space, overhands, fish caves, coral real estate, space for coral to GROW)
Step 5) All good? Leave things where they are, sleep on it. Stare at it longer, imagine the flow of water, do you see massive blockers, is there multiple paths for the water (careful about putting scape on the back wall and leave space from the glass for cleaning it).
Step 6) Cement/putty the rocks together so you don't have avalanches due to shifting sand from residents
Step 7) Put in tank and finish the rest of the process.

Here's my process/scape. While I like the scape, I made two big mistakes that I will resolve in the next build. I forgot little fish caves for gobies, blennies and the other small filler fish I like and I didn't build enough tall real estate for the SPS I want. I ran out of space for fish and corals due to this.

The first scape. I really liked the way it looked, but the pieces were too large for my 420 liter tank and it caused major water flow issues.
1st_scape.jpg

So then I started planning the second scape (this is a real pain to change btw). I used cardboard with the dimensions drawn on it and the bed as a height reference.
Building_Scape.jpg

Here's what it looked like in the tank at first.... pretty empty.
2nd_scape.jpg

And here it is 6 months later growing in. Not the best shot, but you get the idea that you need to leave space and the scape drastically changes as coral growth happens.
6_months_2nd_scape.JPG
 
Last edited:
What I have always done was to make a cardboard piece the footprint of the tank and then use a 2x4 or something cut to the height, and then sit down and play with aquascape designs. I like to take a lot of pictures and compare then, then try to mimic the one I liked most (it never turns out exactly like I had it haha)

But then I start with super glue and epoxy, or like I did with my current tank, acrylic rods and a masonry bit along with the glue and epoxy.
Would you please send me a picture of your tank please?
I'm curious to see
 
Not too much detail to go from here; however what matters the most is do you like it? If you don't you'll constantly mess with the scape and stress the fish, or even worse, grow disinterested. You'll want to consider an aquascape that will support the life you want to have. Want fish that like to hide? You must make caves! You want low par LPS + SPS? Ensure you include overhangs to shield low light corals. Also do research on building the scape itself. There are lots of tricks such as using acrylic rods to achieve new shapes by combining smaller rocks you cut and shape. Youtube is also your friend if you're the visual type for your research.

Step 1) Read this for the basics along with a ton of great examples - http://reef2reef.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-on-creating-amazing-aquascapes.97209/
Step 2) Do more research and start picking out inspirations. Remember, you can break rock to create scapes you see in large tanks in small tanks - http://reef2reef.com/threads/show-off-your-large-tank-aquascape.59909/ and http://reef2reef.com/threads/show-your-nano-aquarium-here.5098/
Step 3) Use cardboard to make the footprint of your tank
step 4) When you're happy with your scape, go through your requirements checklist and ensure everything is there (x amount of negative space, overhands, fish caves, coral real estate, space for coral to GROW)
Step 5) All good? Leave things where they are, sleep on it. Stare at it longer, imagine the flow of water, do you see massive blockers, is there multiple paths for the water (careful about putting scape on the back wall and leave space from the glass for cleaning it).
Step 6) Cement/putty the rocks together so you don't have avalanches due to shifting sand from residents
Step 7) Put in tank and finish the rest of the process.

Here's my process/scape. While I like the scape, I made two big mistakes that I will resolve in the next build. I forgot little fish caves for gobies, blennies and the other small filler fish I like and I didn't build enough tall real estate for the SPS I want. I ran out of space for fish and corals due to this.

The first scape. I really liked the way it looked, but the pieces were too large for my 420 liter tank and it caused major water flow issues.
1st_scape.jpg

So then I started planning the second scape (this is a real pain to change btw). I used cardboard with the dimensions drawn on it and the bed as a height reference.
Building_Scape.jpg

Here's what it looked like in the tank at first.... pretty empty.
2nd_scape.jpg

And here it is 6 months later growing in. Not the best shot, but you get the idea that you need to leave space and the scape drastically changes as coral growth happens.
6_months_2nd_scape.JPG
Really good, thank you for your complete answer
 
All good advice so I'll throw in my 2cents worth. Don't make the most common mistake. Try to not have an even and uniform layout. Nature is not even. More rock work on one side than on the other. Don't split the tank evenly. Don't make the rock work all the same height. If you have room run some of the rock further forward to give more perceived depth. If you have a strong focal point don't put it in the exact center of the tank. One of the most spectacular tanks I've ever seen were a canyon with a diorama behind it. You could look down the canyon and see corals growing out of the walls and with the diorama it looked to go on back for a long way. I used this approach in my 210 only I ran the canyon diagonally so you can look back into the tank and see a much deeper 3d effect.
 
All good advice so I'll throw in my 2cents worth. Don't make the most common mistake. Try to not have an even and uniform layout. Nature is not even. More rock work on one side than on the other. Don't split the tank evenly. Don't make the rock work all the same height. If you have room run some of the rock further forward to give more perceived depth. If you have a strong focal point don't put it in the exact center of the tank. One of the most spectacular tanks I've ever seen were a canyon with a diorama behind it. You could look down the canyon and see corals growing out of the walls and with the diorama it looked to go on back for a long way. I used this approach in my 210 only I ran the canyon diagonally so you can look back into the tank and see a much deeper 3d effect.
Thanks for the advice Harold,
And everybody were so helpful, thanks again.
And Harold, would please send me a pic of your own tank and the one that you mentioned.
After I finished the lay out, I will send some pics here
 
I'm afraid the lfs that had the diorama tanks closed about 35 years ago. Here's a picture of my tank as it was cycling a year ago. It's hard to tell looking at the tank from an angle but the right island actually extends past the left island.
P8100170.JPG
 
I'm afraid the lfs that had the diorama tanks closed about 35 years ago. Here's a picture of my tank as it was cycling a year ago. It's hard to tell looking at the tank from an angle but the right island actually extends past the left island.
P8100170.JPG
Nice view
Could you please tell me W/L/H of your tank?
 

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