Rock Aquascaping Tips

[Cereal Killer]

I like it looks good. Yea nps = Non-Photosynthetic Corals they need very little light.

[CAmor07]

Just redid it all, mother didnt like it haha, ill post a pic tomorrow

Thanks for all the help

[neuwave]

These are not my photos but photos just apart of my album of "reef porn". I wish I could find out who owns these tanks. Totally inspirational. Remember its not just the rock work but the coral growth patterns and placement should also be considered when building an aquascape.

 

 

[Spirofucci]

Another tip is try scaping by looking down and attempting to see where the light hits the rocks.

 

I ended up making a bonsai type sculpture. Here's a pic from the side and the top:

 

 

[atoll]

I have done a step by step guide to how I built my rock structure below.

 

Here's how I went about building my reef structure.

 

First of all I made sketches of what I wanted to try and achieve. When I was happy with the design I tried to incorporate the rock I had already together with some I went out and bought into the design as best I can. There are 2 caves and a few overhangs in my completed structure above. I made 2 separate structures and built them together at the end in the aquarium.

 

I put a tarpaulin sheet on the floor close to the aquarium and used a large plastic seed tray to build my structure on it outside the tank. I used these to catch the drips which inevitably come from the rock as I work on it. This can be a messy affair and small pools of water from the rocks will result.

 

I chose a large rock to use as the base and drilled into it which wasn’t so hard to do. You do need sharp drill bits and a good drill however. You can either drill right through the first base rock or stop 1/3 to 3/4 of the way through it makes little difference. I used 10mm acrylic rod so I first used a 10mm steel drill bit. If you find the steel drill bit hard going change to a bit for drilling stone or brick. The rock being wet and quite porous helps lubricate the drill bit.

 

Now put your next rock on top of the base one and note where the hole is in relation to the next rock. You won’t be able to get it spot on but IMO it does not matter so much. Drill right though the next rock in the approximate position noted in line of the first hole in the base rock. Note only then did I insert the acrylic rod into the base rock. Also note I did not at this point cut the acrylic rod to length.

 

Next I drilled/reamed the second rock out from 10mm using the 11mm drill bit and simply threaded this rock over the rod and positioned it in line with my design drawing as near enough as I could. I opened the holes up to 11mm as I found the rod tight in the 10mm holes plus it gave me some room for positioning each rock on top of the next. Each rock in turn was drilled and reamed out using the 10mm and then the 11mm drill bit.

 

After each rock was drill I slid it over the rock and positioned it as I wished on the one below as in line with my design or near enough. Remember to use a combination of different size and shaped rocks to create an interesting design incorporating caves and overhangs. Once the final rock is in place and I was happy with the overhaul structure I noted the position of each rock in relation to the next and disassembled the structure.

 

To assemble the rock structure in my aquarium, I firstly took care in positioning the base rock leaving sufficient room around it for the overhangs etc which will be built. I simply took each rock in turn and threaded it over the acrylic rod. You want to ensure you don’t have too much weight on one side unless you are going to support it with another structure which in fact I did in my design hence the 2 structures I mentioned above. The two structures where built as I went along together making minor adjustments as I went. Only when the structure was complete in the aquarium did I then cut the rod to length close to the surface of top rock with a junior hacksaw.

 

Finally there were some areas where you could see sections of the acrylic rod. I simply used some small pieces of Fiji or Tonga branch rock and poked them into the holes and the secured themselves by cantilevering within the structure. These not only helped hide the rod but also created extra small ledges to put small corals and attach frags to later. You don’t want your structure to look like a Christmas tree hence the need for caves and overhangs hence the need to roughly sketch out your design first. All was completed with a few hours work.

 

I did put a lot of thought of just what I wanted to achieve with my reef structure and wanted to design such with the follwing in mind.

1/ Must be an open a structure has possible to inc arches, caves and over hangs.

2/ Use as much as the existing living rock from my AM chromis as possible.

3/ Pick new rock that would help me achieve my goals.

4/ I wanted a tall structure as IMO this looks far better than low structures.

5/ Include areas in and on the rock for the corals I already had and some I wanted to buy.

6/ The reef had to be a reasonable distance away from the end and front glass to help faciliate its cleaning and give swimming space for the fish .

7/ The reef wasn't to lean against the back glass but stand alone with the assistance of the supporting acrylic rods.

8/ The structure would not only give the fish lots of areas to swim around but also give them an illusion of a much larger tank in doing so for them.

9/ The whole reef structure would be in effect in 3D.

10/ last but not least, I wanted to ensure the whole reef didnt have the "dry stone wall" effect and be as pleasing to the eye.

 

I have done a rough sketch as suggested below. I hope it gives you some idea of what I have been talking about above. Shame I can't produce a 3D model of the reef work but i'm not tehcie enough for that . Any questions just ask. The sketch isnt to scale or quite right as the RH reef section goes further behind the LH reef section.

[CAmor07]

Thanks for all the help, gonna post a new pic once my tank cleans up and i love the tank spirro fucce and atoll, if what you just said to me is just like your tank, it must look amazing

[CAmor07]

Probably my favorite, multiple levels, only think i dont like is the rock in the front,

Any ideas

[JamesHL88]

Definately the best one. From the picture that rock looks fine but it might look different in person. If you dont like that one rock then just remove it. You seem to have plenty of rock for bio filtration.

[Cereal Killer]

Great Job that looks kick ass!

[buddythelion]

I used this as my inspiration:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...05#post20181405

 

He has tons of stuff in such a small tank.

[atoll]

Probably my favorite, multiple levels, only think i dont like is the rock in the front,

Any ideas

 

 

The only thing that puts me off a little about that reefscape is that the front reefscape is almost a carbon copy of the rear reefscape only smaller. Don't get me wrong its still a nice reefscape and when its mature with plenty of corals it will look different again. One of the things worth considering (amongst many) is what the tank will finally look like with the corals you choose to compliment it. Tanks can look totally different from the original reescape when full stocked with corals.

here's a couple of pic's showing my fully stocked 94L nano with a full tank shot and a central section shot. If only it was in 3D but the blue between the rocks is the rear filter compartment showing through so it should help give you some idea how open the structure really is. For instance the rock on the LH side in the middle of the reefscape with the frags and sun coral on comes round to the front of the tank like an arm. Other rocks have overhangs and create caves and ledges which aren't as noticeable in a flat photograph.

 

 

Now that it is all but fully stocked with corals it looks a different reefscape to when it was just a bare rock reefscape.

[Spirofucci]

I like the new scape! Although, it's always so hard to really tell from a picture. Its a personal choice, but I like to keep the rocks away from the back and side so it can be easily cleaned. I also prefer to have more sand visible, so I'd remove the front rock. But ultimately it has to look good to you!

 

Atoll, great explanation of how you did your scape!!!

[metrokat]

Moar on how I scaped.

Scaping continued.

 

50 lbs uncured rock

Which look like this

 

The rocks get photographed and their shape drawn on cardboard after determining the best balance and side they should face (the UPS box is an almost exact measurement of the footprint of the DT)

 

Then you start building and trying different ideas

 

After you find the layout that looks good, you start to assemble it in the tank. One piece at a time, with emaco to cover where one rock meets the other, keeping the live stuff under wet paper towels while you work.

 

A whole day of back breaking labor later:

[atoll]

I like the new scape! Although, it's always so hard to really tell from a picture. Its a personal choice, but I like to keep the rocks away from the back and side so it can be easily cleaned. I also prefer to have more sand visible, so I'd remove the front rock. But ultimately it has to look good to you!

 

Atoll, great explanation of how you did your scape!!!

 

Cheers, appreciate it.

Agreed re keeping rock work away from the back of the tank I always do.

[CAmor07]

This is a better pic,

Also is that hair algae

[CAmor07]

I think im gonna bury the rock and just leave a little bit showing above the sand or i might break it into 2 diffrent pieces and maybe create like a little island

What do you think?

[Spirofucci]

I think you should get some nice "dry" rock and take a hammer to it. Get some epoxy putty and some AC glue and see what you come up with.

 

It sounds to me that you really want a nice scape and the rocks you have aren't doing it for you.

 

GO FOR IT!!!

 

My scape took me all day to complete. But I was sipping tequila and having fun with it. Try it, you'll like it.

[cuboy]

I just stack mine till it fits together. LOL.

 

check out my AP12 link in my sig.

 

as you can see it has constantly changed. I have not added or removed any rocks through the pictures in that thread.

 

actually, in my newest picture (which I have not posted yet) I did remove 1 small rock which my yuma was growing on.

[CAmor07]

What should i do about the algae????

Order a CUC from John?????

[Spirofucci]

What should i do about the algae????

Order a CUC from John?????

 

He's the best!

[CAmor07]

so what should i do order a cuc or turn off the lights?

[Spirofucci]

Don't turn off the lights! Let the algae grow, it won't hurt anything. Get a clean up crew from John. It takes weeks to months for the algae issues to stablize.

 

What did you decide on your scape?

[CAmor07]

NEW PIC

Like or dislike

[Spirofucci]

I like it!

[atoll]

Yep looking good to me even better when the water clears. Just one warning rocks close to the sides can make it difficult to clean the glass around them but if you are happy with that then no problem.