North Borders Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Hey guys and gals! Just looking for a critique on my aquascape. This is my first attempt at a reef tank. The tank is a Red Sea Reefer Nano. It has a 21 gallon display and 8 gallon sump. I woke up in the middle of the night two nights ago realizing I probably didn't have enough rock in my tank. (I had about half the amount in the pics) I've since added what you see in the pics here. Hoping for some constructive criticism. Thank you in advance! First pic is top down, second is side view showing one of the little arch caves and the third pic is the full frontal view from dead center. I plan on easy corals to start...i.e. duncans, zoas, hammer, maybe xenia, kenya tree, some LPS and probably add in a bit of SPS as I gain confidence and experience. I figure the top parts would be nice for some branching SPS like birds nest? Also, any tips on removing that dirty sand glaze on the inside of the glass? Link to comment
ragtimewilly Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 I really like the layout of your scape, I usually use an old credit card to clean my glass. Good luck. Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 I would use your fingers to clean off the sand glaze. Or buy a Nano-Mag; you'll need one within a week or two anyway! http://www.amazon.com/Two-Little-Fishies-ATLNM1-Nanomag/dp/B001JSTHXS Link to comment
CrazyEyes Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 That looks awesome. What rock is that? Link to comment
spectra Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Yep Nano Mag just got one today only 10 bucks shipped. Rock looks like Reefcleaner but could be different dry rock. Scape looks good though! And the Red Sea.......been eying a 250.... Link to comment
North Borders Posted September 11, 2015 Author Share Posted September 11, 2015 I bought it at my LFS. I'll have to ask him next time I'm up there. He probably got it from either reefcleaners or BRS. SUPER porous! Link to comment
HarryPotter Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 I bought it at my local LFS. I'll have to ask him next time I'm up there. He probably got it from either reefcleaners or BRS. SUPER porous! What lighting are you running? Link to comment
North Borders Posted September 11, 2015 Author Share Posted September 11, 2015 Got the NanoBox Duo in there. Yep Nano Mag just got one today only 10 bucks shipped. Rock looks like Reefcleaner but could be different dry rock. Scape looks good though! And the Red Sea.......been eying a 250.... I plan on putting together a build thread in the next week or so. There haven't been very many Reefer build threads from what I've seen, and I've only seen one or two other Nanos. I have pics of most of the setup process up until now including putting the cabinet together. I'm currently cycling. Wiping out 4ppm of dosed pure ammonia in about a day and a half, so I'm nearly there. Link to comment
North Borders Posted September 11, 2015 Author Share Posted September 11, 2015 Here's a pic with the stand and lighting. Have most of my Apex gear in the cabinet to the right. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Welcome. So I like the scape overall - but the "cave" on the right seems a bit forced. That rock seems like it's just sitting there tilted. Unfortunately though, I'm having trouble visualizing what might look better for that side... I suppose take some time and look at various reef pictures. Recall that while the "mound" look is popular and certainly natural looking a lot of reef structures take on a top heavy form, where a column supports a larger bulk of rock. This also makes sense if you factor in how many corals grow over time. If I think of anything I'll post a follow up. Link to comment
Sk8n Reefer Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 Hey there - looks like your off to a good start! I like the scape- don't worry about changing it along the way to fit better with certain corals Link to comment
North Borders Posted September 11, 2015 Author Share Posted September 11, 2015 Welcome. So I like the scape overall - but the "cave" on the right seems a bit forced. That rock seems like it's just sitting there tilted. Unfortunately though, I'm having trouble visualizing what might look better for that side... I suppose take some time and look at various reef pictures. Recall that while the "mound" look is popular and certainly natural looking a lot of reef structures take on a top heavy form, where a column supports a larger bulk of rock. This also makes sense if you factor in how many corals grow over time. If I think of anything I'll post a follow up. Yeah, that's my only big 'dislike' as well and is the part I added afterwards to get more surface area. The 2 pieces are actually super sturdy though and twist and interlock. I didn't even need to use putty on them they were so sturdy. An alternative I was playing around with was taking the piece that's making the 'cave' part and using just that to have a cool spire like structure off to the side by itself. Link to comment
HOTWATER Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Nice looking scape I like the "cave" Link to comment
ndrobey Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Yeah, that's my only big 'dislike' as well and is the part I added afterwards to get more surface area. The 2 pieces are actually super sturdy though and twist and interlock. I didn't even need to use putty on them they were so sturdy. An alternative I was playing around with was taking the piece that's making the 'cave' part and using just that to have a cool spire like structure off to the side by itself. Once your corals grow some, they will cover up the "forced" look. So everything will look great. Link to comment
IronChefItaly Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 +1 to the tilted rock looking a bit unnatural. I think the best solution would be to make the top connection a bit more seamless by filling it in with a few small fragments of rock. The video below demonstrates this really well. Link to comment
Oneslowsaleen Posted September 20, 2015 Share Posted September 20, 2015 I would take the rock on the left leaning up against the larger rock work and move it. Take the two smaller rocks from bottom off the sand and lay the bigger rock on 45 degree angle than make a cave on top with smaller rocks may need a rock or two more I tried altering the photo on photoshop but being in bed with no finger dexterity just got me aggravated, so I did a simpler version. Also the rocks I made are a little larger than yours so keep that in mind. Purple -rock you have leaning against rock work Yellow-two smaller rocks under the leaning rock Orange- a new rock Black line angle of the purple rock Again this just opinion! Link to comment
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