"grown-in tanks" - reefs with more natural coral placement

[Chadf]

For added realism, choose brown ones.

 

Lol! Don't forget pests and coral munching fish!

[JamesHL88]

Lol and a tire and some fishing line tangled up in it

 

For added realism, choose brown ones.

Actually now that I think about it dont mosy of our corals look puke colors under natural daylight? Thats what nightdiving with blacklights is all about isnt it?

[19jeffro83]

This is the most natural tank I could find. I think it's really sweet let me know what you guys think, and mods please let me know if there's an issue w me posting up links to other sites. Not exactly sure of the rules as far as that goes.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2251245

[reefcowboy]

I feel you, but some things to think about....

 

I was at some point a planted tank aficionado as well. I think plants bring life into any environment. The peace an naturalistic theme they bring to the observer is therapeutic. On the other spectrum, in saltwater, the hobbyist faces a whole different set of tools to play with...colors and shapes that mesmerize constantly. It's difficult to keep in mind a natural look, I mean the way the scene looks like in the ocean when you can have chalices that look like they came from Mars along with sps and lps from different corners of the world. I understand the aquascape should mimic nature, but us, saltwater hobbyists, have extreme difficulty to keep ourselves from not buying frags of a really cool coral that comes to them. To some, it's not even about the scape or the overall tank look...it's only about each coral they have and each one of those is analyzed separately everyday...I can appreciate a natural look scape tank approach, but also feel the tanks full of plugs scattered all over with colors that make the system look like box of colored crayons.

[kentmoney]

Metrokat, send me some of that halimeda! I had some of that stuff in my old tank and I loved it.

 

I should clarify that I meant more natural coral placement. I understand that true reefs are much more drab than a lot of our tanks, but I am referring more to placing the coral on the main rockwork and making it looks as if it was growing there for some time.

 

 

I think the idea here would work best with a minimalist biotype. However,those tanks are few and far between. Amano's tanks look really nice, but i think many reefers collect corals rather than creating an artistic representation. Amano plans his tanks inhabitants and design with rediculous detail. Too obsessive an approach for me.

 

Exactly. Most people collect the coral not thinking about the overal aesthetic of the tank.

[ZX6Reefer]

It's more of a dutch style and maybe less naturalistic, but grown in and beautiful none-the-less.

 

[zooman72]

It's more of a dutch style and maybe less naturalistic, but grown in and beautiful none-the-less.

 

This one looks quite "natural" to me - more so than anything presented here so far...

[kentmoney]

Thanks for posting that zx6! Beautiful and this is the type of contribution I'm after!

[ZX6Reefer]

 

There's another from the same company. Not surprisingly, it is a Japanese firm. They seem to be far ahead of everyone else in terms of aquascape design.

 

a couple more at http://glassbox-design.com/2010/japanese-reef-tank-aquariums-cp-farm/

[Psychosis]

http://www.fishchannel.com/saltwater-aquariums/aquarium-frontiers/natural-coral-reef.aspx

 

I found this interesting, and relevant.

 

I also prefer well done "rock stacks" to minimalist stuff. Much more an English garden look. It's a good aesthetic, IMO. People seem to discount it as noob lately, but you have to construct tiers and towers to actually accomplish it well. I'll find a few examples. Kraylens tank thread was a good one.

[kentmoney]

zx6, it's funny that you would point out that they're japanese. They're always ahead of the game. Pretty much everything I have an interest in (custom motorcycles, clothing, aquariums), the Japanese are awesome at.

[Amphiprion1]

Those are all very nice, successful tanks, but they aren't natural looking. The vast majority of people wouldn't like the look of more natural tanks, because the often have, as already pointed out, different looking corals, more plants and algae in general and less fish. Pollution is optional. But seriously, too many people have a phobia of brown corals, algae growth, detritus, and weird critters for natural tanks to be terribly popular. I haven't seen many and most weren't recent at all. Naturalism with respect to coral and reef systems seems to have largely fallen to the wayside in favor of the zen butterfly garden (often bonsai-style) tank which consists of alien blue-colored boxes of artistically arranged glowsticks, radioactive, oddly shaped water balloons, and absurdly-priced trophy fish collections, all popularized in (relatively) recent years by the iconic TOTMs of a certain unnamed site. It is it's own following, as so many now view such tanks as the pinnacle of aquarium success, aesthetic, and skill. And I mean that in the most loving way possible, but it just isn't natural and it's kinda weird to say it is. Not saying they aren't incredible in their own right, but that general style and goal just ain't natural.

[Psychosis]

The only thing aquarium related that is considered Japanese in style that I like would be the lighting. Better than a big box hung over the tank. Otherwise, they can keep it.

 

We also build better Exo-skeletons, so nyah nyah you Anime Hippies.

[kentmoney]

http://www.fishchannel.com/saltwater-aquariums/aquarium-frontiers/natural-coral-reef.aspx

 

I found this interesting, and relevant.

 

I also prefer well done "rock stacks" to minimalist stuff. Much more an English garden look. It's a good aesthetic, IMO. People seem to discount it as noob lately, but you have to construct tiers and towers to actually accomplish it well. I'll find a few examples. Kraylens tank thread was a good one.

Thanks for that link! Excellent.

 

I think the point he makes about most tanks being overloaded with rock is exactly right. A lot of the tanks posted in this thread practice "economy of rock" and use the pieces more "artistically", for lack of a better term. If you think about it, they are more iwagumi.

 

marine iwagumi...

http://www.thegreenmachineonline.com/articles/tips-techniques/iwagumi-aquascapes-introduction

 

which is interesting. using iwagumi philosophy to aquascape, and letting (most of) the corals grow-in directly placed on the rock, leads to really eye catching marine aquariums. at least to me.

[Psychosis]

Based on the link provided, I tend to disagree. If I understand Iwagumi at all, too much emphasis if placed on the hard scape. In many instances, this is in fact what draws your eye, being accented by meticulously chosen and predictably grown plants. None of our stock grows in a predictable way, excluding toward the light. These rocks are simply going to be engulfed in coral, which by themselves could be considered hardscape. It's a key difference between the fw planted and sw reef disciplines. We just so happen to have a lot more to play with, and a lot less control. Our only true fundamentals, in terms of aquascapes, can be summarized by the terms "flow" and "detrius removal." Any thing else is generally a happy coincidence. I'm not saying you can't maintain a beautiful tank with less rock, but I can say you'll have less variety. First and foremost, the visual impact a reef has on you is derived from a mind boggling array of color and texture. The form factor of the aquascape falls some where behind equipment ogling and right before asking if this or that can be fragged. Radical aquascapes, like the volcano tank, are the only real exception.

 

That said, I'm building a patch reef. I'm going to attempt to keep less rock for a greater visual impact. The ironic part is that I'll probably only really have one Rick structure, I just so happen to have the footprint for a sand bed around it.

[kentmoney]

your signature banner is relevant here, yeah?

 

I'm not sure what you disagree with. To deny that the underlying live rock doesn't contribute to the overall aquascape would be silly, even if it is covered in coral.

 

"Our only true fundamentals, in terms of aquascapes, can be summarized by the terms "flow" and "detrius removal.""

Maybe for yourself? Mine would include to be beautiful, and to provide the proper space for the livestock I plan to have.

 

and sure, using less rock may give you less variety simply because real estate is limited, but that's the trade-off when you carefully curate your corals in a nano

 

But then you go on to say you will use less rock for visual impact.

 

so what are you disagreeing with? Either way, I really liked that article, it was enlightening

[kentmoney]

This reef builder article is good

http://reefbuilders.com/2012/11/07/five-favorite-nano-reefs/

 

[kentmoney]

I feel you.

 

I've had this same style planned since it was set up almost a year ago. Corals are picked based on color and shape and they are permanently (ish) attached to the rocks so that when they fill in it will create a more natural mini reef.

 

I try to find corals of all different colors and shapes and place them scattered around. I don't want two similar colors or shapes to be next to each other. This leads your eye around the tank and nothing is out of balance.

 

But like Seahawk said, creating these types of tanks takes a LONG time. Planted tanks can mature in a few months. Many good reef tanks take years. And buying all large colonies right off the bat is expensive and in my opinion not very rewarding when the main fun in the reefing hobby is buying or trading cheaper frags and watching them mature to real beauties. Some really nice corals are also extremely expensive so even buying a small frag of lots of these "high end" corals can quickly eat up your budget.

 

great tank man. I think were on the same page.

[Migs7]

Its not a nano, but through all of its phases, a natural lookng tank to say the least.

 

[Psychosis]

I didn't come off clearly, I'll condense my thought process. Minimalist aquascapes irritate me in a Nano. You don't have much room to begin with, halving your options again for the sake of attractive rock work is idiotic. Most Nanos don't make it past 1.5 years, those with minimalist or Bonsai scapes average even less. The reef builders article illustrates this perfectly. You're basically advocating upgrading every year for principals that where never designed with a Nano reef in mind. My new system is not a nano, I have room to play around with. You see very few mature systems around here, and I constantly read stories about colonies lost during a tank upgrade. More often than not, it doesn't go smoothly. If you're concerned about the health of the coral, bear that in mind. I'm not pulling numbers out of my ass either, look around these boards for a while. Everyone oohs and ahhs over a nice scape, no one gives a shit 6 months later when coral is visible. The article I linked advocated recreating reefscapes to suit the animals, not ourselves. The true visual impact off a reef is from the color and texture of healthy coral, you really don't need the scape to do more than hold them and promote good flow. See metrokats tank for examples.

[kentmoney]

my response

 

http://reefbuilders.com/2011/12/14/simple-clean-nano-aquarium/

 

 

to each their own, right? Anyone else got some contributions?

[Psychosis]

Fair enough, agree to disagree. I don't have any pictures on hand, but you'd love rehypes tank, both his new Caribbean system and his old reef. Beautiful tanks, and he actually maintained it for some time (my biggest gripe with minimalist systems.) I'd go so far as to say he's the best nano aquascaper there is.

[Rehype]

Fair enough, agree to disagree. I don't have any pictures on hand, but you'd love rehypes tank, both his new Caribbean system and his old reef. Beautiful tanks, and he actually maintained it for some time (my biggest gripe with minimalist systems.) I'd go so far as to say he's the best nano aquascaper there is.

 

Thanks alot psy i really appreciate that.Theres alot of great points in this thread. Although i dont feel like im the best aquascaper or anything like that i feel my Caribbean biotope is the most natural looking build ive done yet. I believe one way of achieving a natural looking tank is to focus on species (fish,coral,invertebrate and macrolagae) from a particular region. Then choosing a light spectrum that matches the look of that reef.

 

8 gallon cube

 

[SeahawkReefer]

^Rehype I've been a fan of your Caribbean biotope since I first saw it a couple months ago! Def the most "natural" looking reef tank that I've seen! To me it is more beautiful than many of the adhoc pieced together scaped reef tanks! (Japanese "scaped" tanks remind me of the JDM "stanced" car scene... USA tries it and gets it right 1 in 100x)

[kentmoney]

awesome tank, rehype. azoox are rad.

 

another good article

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2011/4/aquarium

"When designing this aquarium, I had openness and negative space as my top priority. This aesthetically looks better, and allows for a more natural and pleasant display. All too often reefers are quick to stack massive amounts of rock and corals into an aquarium. This in turn gives the display the appearance of a fruit stand, and it is much too cluttered and busy. By allowing the corals a large area to grow, you will be rewarded with natural growth patterns and a better looking display."