First tank aquascape

[PapoReef]

Hello Guys! just got back from LFS with some dry rock, 4 pieces around 7kg (15 Lbs) total. I was trying a couple of scapes, let me know what you think, any criticism is appretiated! BTW tank is 45 Lt. ( 11.8 Gal).

 

On to the pictures...

 

 

The ones i liked most are the first picture and the last one. Thoughts??

 

Thanks! Cheers!

[Jono]

I liked the last one the best. I'm messing around with my first aquascape at the moment too. One thing I have read multiple times, make sure you can get your magfloat or other clean on the glass past the rock....basically make sure your rock isn't too close to the class. Makes cleaning hard. 

[WV Reefer]

5 minutes ago, PapoReef said:

Hello Guys! just got back from LFS with some dry rock, 4 pieces around 7kg (15 Lbs) total. I was trying a couple of scapes, let me know what you think, any criticism is appretiated! BTW tank is 45 Lt. ( 11.8 Gal).

 

On to the pictures...

 

 

The ones i liked most are the first picture and the last one. Thoughts??

 

Thanks! Cheers!

 

I agree....... I like the two pics with a “cave”. 

[Sneds]

Just make sure it is very stable.  Sometimes what looks great doesn't work in the long term.  Having your rockwork tumble with your new corals getting banged up sucks, been there, done that.  That being said, I like the last one, epoxied together of course.  Maybe a combo of the last 2.  Good luck, have fun with it.

[PapoReef]

Thanks for the tip guys! Yeah, I remembered to leave some space to be able to clean with the scraper. I did think about glueing them together, but I don't want to in case i want to remove some rocks or what not. It was not VERY stable as pointed out by Sneds, so i tried a new one where the rocks are very stable, but maybe its too much rock? Picture...

[NeonZoie]

I actually really like that last one, lots of surface area and levels for corals. What kinds were you thinking of? Also i like how your highest point is off center so any coral placed there wont get any direct light. 

[FISHnChix]

So constructive criticism right?? Fyi I suck at aquascapping so i am definitely not judging ya.. imo it looks like a pile of rocks.. I would get smaller rocks and try again or try and break the larger rock up into small peices.. I did the same thing as you in my biocube,  bought too big of rocks.. after a year of having it I am really not happy with it . Going to start up a new tank soon and try my hand at aquascaping again.. wish me luck... 

 

Happy reefing!!!!

[1891Bro]

27 minutes ago, Weikel said:

So constructive criticism right?? Fyi I suck at aquascapping so i am definitely not judging ya.. imo it looks like a pile of rocks.. I would get smaller rocks and try again or try and break the larger rock up into small peices.. I did the same thing as you in my biocube,  bought too big of rocks.. after a year of having it I am really not happy with it . Going to start up a new tank soon and try my hand at aquascaping again.. wish me luck... 

 

Happy reefing!!!!

This is why I’ve never in my few trys at this hobby have ever bought rock online. I usually take a cardboard cut to fit the tank bottom to a store and play with rock for a while. Knowing myself I’d have to order 100# to get three pounds I’d like together. 

[banasophia]

I really like the last one! I agree it’s important to make it stable... if you are able to do that without relying on epoxy that seems smart to me. The epoxy did not hold my rocks together properly in my Biocube scape (my first tank, started 4 1/2 months ago) and it was a big pain to reassemble and superglue later on, and I’m not sure superglue will hold long term. In my new tank (started 1 month ago) I scaped without stacking or gluing to avoid that problem. 

 

I always mention to look from top top down to see how your lights will hit it, remembering the vast majority of corals require light (didn’t think of that with my first tank). 

[banasophia]

You’ve probably seen how some people drill a hole through their rocks that they insert a rod into to provide stability when they’re stacked... 

[FISHnChix]

11 minutes ago, 1891Bro said:

This is why I’ve never in my few trys at this hobby have ever bought rock online. I usually take a cardboard cut to fit the tank bottom to a store and play with rock for a while. Knowing myself I’d have to order 100# to get three pounds I’d like together. 

You know I just ordered brs reef saver and they gave me a good selection . I did order 70 pounds for a 55 gallon though.. spent less than I did on my cube bc it was it was live  rock in my cube.. I am trying a whole bunch of scapes bc i have no idea what I'm doing however I am taking it slow this time so hopefully I can come up with a decent one this go around.. this is the latest .. I am trying this rule of third crap bit still i dunno it's a work in progress 

[banasophia]

Seems nice to use dry rock so you can really play around with it to get it how you like it and not worry about it drying out... plus I’m guessing epoxy will hold better if it cures while it’s dry???

[1891Bro]

29 minutes ago, banasophia said:

Seems nice to use dry rock so you can really play around with it to get it how you like it and not worry about it drying out... plus I’m guessing epoxy will hold better if it cures while it’s dry???

As far as cured live rock goes you’d have to let it dry for days to lose all the good bacteria. If it makes you feel better just have a mister handy to keep it wet while you play with it. If you’re spending big bucks on that fresh outta the ocean stuff it’s different in that you want to keep all the other life alive so keeping wet is imperative to getting what you paid for. As far as epoxy goes I don’t know. 

 

Edit. I just reread that and that second sentence is disgusting. I’m gonna leave as is. 

[banasophia]

2 minutes ago, 1891Bro said:

As far as cured live rock goes you’d have to let it dry for days to lose all the good bacteria. If it makes you feel better just have a mister handy to keep it wet while you play with it. If you’re spending big bucks on that fresh outta the ocean stuff it’s different in that you want to keep all the other life alive so keeping wet is imperative to getting what you paid for. As far as epoxy goes I don’t know. 

 

Edit. I just reread that and that second sentence is disgusting. I’m gonna leave as is. 

Haha I know... I was thinking my mister isn’t that handy. 🤣🤣🤣

[1891Bro]

43 minutes ago, Weikel said:

You know I just ordered brs reef saver and they gave me a good selection . I did order 70 pounds for a 55 gallon though.. spent less than I did on my cube bc it was it was live  rock in my cube.. I am trying a whole bunch of scapes bc i have no idea what I'm doing however I am taking it slow this time so hopefully I can come up with a decent one this go around.. this is the latest .. I am trying this rule of third crap bit still i dunno it's a work in progress 

Looking like you’ve got something going and you have all the time in the world to get it where you want it. I still don’t understand why people seek others approval for something that they have to look at all the time. There’s no forum for billionaire art collectors with threads titled “will this look good in my parlor?”  Maybe there is but I don’t qualify for membership. 

[specore]

Seems a bit tall for my taste.  If you stick corals on the top of that structure they will be hitting the water line in no time.  

 

Edit:  @1891Bro is right, go for what you like.  They all look great once covered in mature coral colonies. 

[1891Bro]

1 minute ago, banasophia said:

Haha I know... I was thinking my mister isn’t that handy. 🤣🤣🤣

Pretty sure my wife would say the same. 

[banasophia]

3 minutes ago, specore said:

Seems a bit tall for my taste.  If you stick corals on the top of that structure they will be hitting the water line in no time.  

Good observation! Maybe could remove that top rock?

[banasophia]

50 minutes ago, Weikel said:

You know I just ordered brs reef saver and they gave me a good selection . I did order 70 pounds for a 55 gallon though.. spent less than I did on my cube bc it was it was live  rock in my cube.. I am trying a whole bunch of scapes bc i have no idea what I'm doing however I am taking it slow this time so hopefully I can come up with a decent one this go around.. this is the latest .. I am trying this rule of third crap bit still i dunno it's a work in progress 

Looks great to me!

[printerdown01]

I like the top one and the last one. They both comply nicely with the rule of 1/3rds... I think the last does so even more, but it also depends oh what you are placing on them.  If you are putting something tallish on top the last pick may be built up too high -as then the focus wouldn't be on the upper 3rd. 

 

If you are having any issues with stability just drill a hole in the rock and drop a plastic rod.  I have used both clear acrylic and black.  I can honestly say the black seemed to work out better, as the glint from the acrylic drove me nuts.  

 

Also I love the fact that those two scapes have the rock that juts out towards the glass. Will help to give the system depth and more real estate for coral to grow on. Just make sure you can fit a credit card between the rock and the glass to keep it clean and you'll be fine. 🙂 Congrats on your first scape! 

 

Speaking of learned nuggets (see below for reference) something that I really wish I would have done in my last pick was actually fill the tank and drop in some little balls (or anything) that would float around in the water column and turn the thing on.  Typically I am used to adding extra flow wherever it is needed, but that is MUCH harder to do in a pico like yours.  I wish I would have tested the flow before I glued it all up -as I had created a dead zone that I would not have foreseen (and could have fixed). 

 

@1891Bro I definitely get why folks would run their scape past others that have built dozens tanks and ask if it looks good.  It is not just an aesthetic thing, but they are also wondering what it is that they haven't thought of.  What nuggets of wisdom and heard learned lessons others had to learn for themselves that they might be willing to pass on in a simple post. I still find learning from others successes & failures to be invaluable and still run things by other reefers -even though I've been doing nanos since 2001 and keeping larger reef tanks since the mid 90's. I find those that don't ask for opinions end up learning very expensive mistakes they could have prevented with a simple "hey how does this look" post ;). @Paporeef kudos to you my friend for having the willingness to post your very first scape and ask for feedback. 

[1891Bro]

50 minutes ago, printerdown01 said:

I like the top one and the last one. They both comply nicely with the rule of 1/3rds... I think the last does so even more, but it also depends oh what you are placing on them.  If you are putting something tallish on top the last pick may be built up too high -as then the focus wouldn't be on the upper 3rd. 

 

If you are having any issues with stability just drill a hole in the rock and drop a plastic rod.  I have used both clear acrylic and black.  I can honestly say the black seemed to work out better, as the glint from the acrylic drove me nuts.  

 

Also I love the fact that those two scapes have the rock that juts out towards the glass. Will help to give the system depth and more real estate for coral to grow on. Just make sure you can fit a credit card between the rock and the glass to keep it clean and you'll be fine. 🙂 Congrats on your first scape! 

 

Speaking of learned nuggets (see below for reference) something that I really wish I would have done in my last pick was actually fill the tank and drop in some little balls (or anything) that would float around in the water column and turn the thing on.  Typically I am used to adding extra flow wherever it is needed, but that is MUCH harder to do in a pico like yours.  I wish I would have tested the flow before I glued it all up -as I had created a dead zone that I would not have foreseen (and could have fixed). 

 

@1891Bro I definitely get why folks would run their scape past others that have built dozens tanks and ask if it looks good.  It is not just an aesthetic thing, but they are also wondering what it is that they haven't thought of.  What nuggets of wisdom and heard learned lessons others had to learn for themselves that they might be willing to pass on in a simple post. I still find learning from others successes & failures to be invaluable and still run things by other reefers -even though I've been doing nanos since 2001 and keeping larger reef tanks since the mid 90's. I find those that don't ask for opinions end up learning very expensive mistakes they could have prevented with a simple "hey how does this look" post ;). @Paporeef kudos to you my friend for having the willingness to post your very first scape and ask for feedback. 

So glad to hear it. Oh hey, what kinda cereal box would look best in my cabinet, pics incoming. 🙄

[Privateer]

Don't be afraid to take a chisel and hammer and shape em up to your liking...just go slow

[printerdown01]

+1 

15 hours ago, Privateer said:

Don't be afraid to take a chisel and hammer and shape em up to your liking...just go slow