Scape ideas - what's the best?

[sarah_casper]

Hi,

 

I've had a good look through a lot of the FTS thread and some look amazing! I wonder what they look like under the corals though...

 

I've just bought a 100litre tank. Planning on getting about 8kg of rock as more will no doubt get added through certain corals.

 

Not sure what sort of scape to go for though? I've seen:

 

Blocks either side

A wall up the back

A block bang in the middle

Some with archways

Some with caves

 

The options are endless!

 

I'd like a view though, what type of scape is best? Both for fish and looks?

 

Thankyou

[Elizabeth94]

Like you said, options are pretty endless.

 

Think about what kind of corals you really want to keep and what kind of flow and lighting requirements they need and the kinds of fish you want. Some fish prefer more open water, and some like to be hidden in caves.

 

It is hard for me to give you a straight answer because I don't believe there is one. Just play with your rock carefully when it is in the tank and leave a scape for a bit before you add corals. Sometimes I set a scape, wait a couple of days and I move more rock because I get sick of the look.

[Pinner Reef]

Like Elizabeth said there is really no single answer to this question. It's all a matter of personal preference. That said, there is an art to it.

 

Here's a good link to help you think about it from an artistic mindset.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/311811-tips-and-tricks-on-creating-amazing-aquascapes/

[sarah_casper]

Like you said, options are pretty endless.

 

Think about what kind of corals you really want to keep and what kind of flow and lighting requirements they need and the kinds of fish you want. Some fish prefer more open water, and some like to be hidden in caves.

 

It is hard for me to give you a straight answer because I don't believe there is one. Just play with your rock carefully when it is in the tank and leave a scape for a bit before you add corals. Sometimes I set a scape, wait a couple of days and I move more rock because I get sick of the look.

 

Corals, thinking Mushrooms, rics, buttons, Xenia, star polyps, a toadstool - along those lines

Fish, a couple of clowns, a goby, and something else small maybe

 

I don't know what shape / size live rock to buy which is the thing that's confusing me

Like Elizabeth said there is really no single answer to this question. It's all a matter of personal preference. That said, there is an art to it.

Here's a good link to help you think about it from an artistic mindset.

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/311811-tips-and-tricks-on-creating-amazing-aquascapes/

Only just had a quick scan through but wow, what a great thread thanks for the link. I'll be sure to look in detail though over the next day or so!

[Elizabeth94]

Corals, thinking Mushrooms, rics, buttons, Xenia, star polyps, a toadstool - along those lines

Fish, a couple of clowns, a goby, and something else small maybe

 

I don't know what shape / size live rock to buy which is the thing that's confusing me

 

Only just had a quick scan through but wow, what a great thread thanks for the link. I'll be sure to look in detail though over the next day or so!

 

Hm..

 

With the green star polyps, they spread fast so you could have a small "island" of it (so maybe a single rock that is not touching any other rock. This should keep it from overtaking the main rock.

 

Xenia also can spread pretty fast, but it is easy to frag so you can put that on main rock if you don't mind the up keep.

 

If you are worried, you could go with one larger rock and use epoxy to attach smaller rocks to it. Or if you are going with dry rock you can always hammer pieces that are too large if you can't work with it. There are always more possibilities when you have more pieces of rock, even if they are smaller.

[hey]

my suggestion if you don't have something in mind is to draw out a rectangle to scale of a tank, make lots of copies of it, then any time you get a hardscape idea sketch rough rock shapes in.

 

save all the sketches because the next step would be to sketch in shapes of the coral you want to keep in. once you have done a bunch of these you can pick out the one or ones you like best and try to copy it in a real aquascape.

 

when buying rock imo too big is better a hammer and chisel fixes that problem. plus the rubble can be glued together to make interesting shapes or platforms to set coral on, also free frag plugs.