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Joining the reef

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Joining the reef

Havnt had an aquarium in over two years, just got my fluval 13.5 up and running and wanted to share my scape with you guys. I have always liked the minimalistic scapes more than rock heavy but I feel like I need a little more rock in their for biological filtration. Anyway thoughts on scape? Looks good, add more rock, move anything around? I am looking to do beginner sps mid to top and lps on the bed just to give an idea of coral placements. 

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Sooo...  I'm not going to lie it's not my favorite.  

 

To me it has more of a "stack of rocks" look vs. something more natural and styled.  It feels like you may have decided that you wanted to have a cave/ledge and then just started stacking rocks until they seemed stable enough.

 

Unfortunately it's really difficult to say what I would do - because that involves messing around with the rocks.  To try and narrow it down though:

- I feel like there are too many "breaks".  Meaning gaps where you can tell the rocks meet.  One of the nice things about this style of "reef saver" rock is that you can usually find some nice ways to fit them around that the seams disappear. But that's not to say some modifications to the rock aren't necessary as well. 

- The almost 90 degree angle looks really out of place

- I feel like the structure on the right doesn't have a strong enough "base" and that's both visually and structurally.  It looks like multiple rocks are sitting in the sand and holding up the other rocks.  I could of course be completely wrong as it's sort of difficult to tell due to the shadows and highlights of the image but that's just what it seems like.  If that is the case I would definitely re-do it to make it more stable.  Over time if the sand shifts or something digs under them the whole formation could fall.

 

My suggestions if you want to mess around with it:

- Get a few tubes of underwater cure epoxy - this is used to bond rocks together and create a stronger structure.  It can also be used to fill gaps and make a transition more seamless. You can even create new rocks if you want to fusing pieces together or forming something with extra rubble.

- One thing I've learned scaping this type of rock is that rubble is important. Take a hammer and break up one of the rocks you're not as fond of (maybe those with flat edges) to break them up a bit and create some new shapes.  Alternatively put them on the bottom where their flatness can serve a purpose.  The rubble can be used in conjunction with the epoxy to fill in larger gaps and make interesting shapes.

- Play with the ratios a little.  See what it would feel like if the right island were a little larger compared to the left?

- How many corals will you be putting in here?  That can also have a huge impact since a lot of coral will have the effect of covering up the rock.  On the other hand rock formations become more important with sparsely placed corals.

 

As for biological filtration - I wouldn't worry too much unless you're planning to massively stock this thing.   

 

On a side note there was a really good video on aquascaping in a reef tank (rare - most aquascaping videos tend to nature style freshwater aquariums). if I find the link I'll post.

 

Good luck!

 

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Joining the reef

Thanks for all the input! I can say this, it's all structurally good, there's is epoxy on some pieces that needed it and the base "under the sand is actually very wide. Had some pieces cut flat on the bottom.

 

What I do appreciate is the input on certain pieces looking like they don't fit naturally, and that's one thing I was kinda thinking in the back of my head. I might try the filling in certain gaps with rubble tomorrow to see if it helps with the natural flow from one rock to another. So thanks for the input!

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Here's the video I was thinking of.   It's kinda dry but some decent info.  Worth skipping an episode of Jeopary or whatever lol. 

 

 

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