Feedback/Criticism on Caribsea Aquascape?

[TatorTaco]

Reefer 250 with about 45-50 pounds of Caribsea Life Rock.  Everytime I stepped away from my pile of rocks, I was super happy with it.  So, I stacked them in the tank and I'm scared to move anything since I'm happy with it -I wanted lots of little caves and hideaways for smaller fish.  Will these actively be used, or are they just a detritus trap? 

 

My plan is lower flow for softies and lps. 

 

https://youtu.be/AQCPJftvuj4

 

I'd be happy to take more pictures/videos.  Sorry for the shakiness - I tripped over the black dog on the ground. 

[billygoat]

I think it looks great! I wouldn't be too concerned about trapping detritus or anything like that. Bristle worms, brittle stars, and other critters will clean that up for you, and if worst comes to worst you can always blast it out with a turkey baster every once in awhile. 

 

Are you planning to add sand as well?

[Murphs_Reef]

Looks good. But I would always want to add height to it 

[Clown79]

Looks great. I wouldn't change it and you like it a lot🙂 so don't fix what's not broken.

 

You don't really need low flow for lps or softies but rather moderate which will still be enough to keep destritus from building as well as your own maintenance.

[M. Tournesol]

1 hour ago, TatorTaco said:

Will these actively be used

yes, they will be use.

 

The scape is cool 👍

[ninjamyst]

Looks great!  Too much rock for my personal tank but I like the overall layout.  

[FISHnChix]

Personally I like it a lot.. definitely bond it together with epoxy.  Like the spacing between the glass on all sides too. If you are into invasive corals leave a bottom piece you can pull out later to trim or remove it it gets crazy.

[Seadragon]

3 hours ago, TatorTaco said:

Everytime I stepped away from my pile of rocks, I was super happy with it.  So, I stacked them in the tank and I'm scared to move anything since I'm happy with it

 

If you're super happy with it, then I'd just leave it alone since it looks like you spent a lot of time on that and it'll turn out just fine either way.

 

For myself, I like slightly more space between the rockwork and the back wall since I want GSP to cover my back wall and I want that extra space between the GSP and the rockwork incase it starts to creep over from the sand bed or bare bottom and I can catch it in time.  Also, I'd want to add a little more height from the start because it's probably much more of a pain to do that years down the line after everything has settled.

 

But if you love that, keep it! 🙂

 

[Firefish15]

I like the intricacy of the structure! Lots of little caves.

For me personally, I would try to have a little less symmetry between the left and right sides though. 

[TatorTaco]

4 hours ago, billygoat said:

I think it looks great! I wouldn't be too concerned about trapping detritus or anything like that. Bristle worms, brittle stars, and other critters will clean that up for you, and if worst comes to worst you can always blast it out with a turkey baster every once in awhile. 

 

Are you planning to add sand as well?

That's true about giving the little critters a safe space, even if they can be icky. 

 

I'm definitely adding sand - I have CaribSea Arag-Alive that I plan on rinsing out really good and then I'll add it. 

[billygoat]

11 minutes ago, TatorTaco said:

I'm definitely adding sand - I have CaribSea Arag-Alive that I plan on rinsing out really good and then I'll add it. 

I don't think you're supposed to rinse that Arag-Alive stuff. Fresh water will probably kill all the beneficial bacteria in it. I'd just dump it in the tank (before you put water in, of course).

[TatorTaco]

4 hours ago, billygoat said:

I think it looks great! I wouldn't be too concerned about trapping detritus or anything like that. Bristle worms, brittle stars, and other critters will clean that up for you, and if worst comes to worst you can always blast it out with a turkey baster every once in awhile. 

 

Are you planning to add sand as well?

That's true about giving the little critters a safe space, even if they can be icky. 

 

I'm definitely adding sand - I have CaribSea Arag-Alive that I plan on rinsing out really good and then I'll add it. 

4 hours ago, Murphych said:

Looks good. But I would always want to add height to it 

I just measured and I have a gap of 6" from the top of the highest rock to the water level.  From experience with my Nuvo 20, that's going to leave me miserable trying to put something up that high without constantly having to accidentally or intentionally frag it.  Unfortunately, now I KNOW I have to do something about that. 

4 hours ago, Clown79 said:

Looks great. I wouldn't change it and you like it a lot🙂 so don't fix what's not broken.

 

You don't really need low flow for lps or softies but rather moderate which will still be enough to keep destritus from building as well as your own maintenance.

Thanks for chiming in on my aquascape!  I've seen other builds with MP10s, MP40s, and gyres on the back wall.  I'm really hoping to keep the sides of equipment, but I'll heed your advice about the flow. 

4 hours ago, M. Tournesol said:

yes, they will be use.

 

The scape is cool 👍

Thanks!

2 hours ago, ninjamyst said:

Looks great!  Too much rock for my personal tank but I like the overall layout.  

I've been hovering and looking at this tank from all sorts of angles, and I'm really starting to agree with you.  I can always add MORE rock, but I really want to bring the whole structure down at least a couple inches, and the middle section (while intricate with lots of tunnels), seems a bit unnecessary.  I think I'm going to take out a rock or two (5-10lbs?) and see where that gets me tomorrow.  

2 hours ago, FISHnChix said:

Personally I like it a lot.. definitely bond it together with epoxy.  Like the spacing between the glass on all sides too. If you are into invasive corals leave a bottom piece you can pull out later to trim or remove it it gets crazy.

Ha!  I actually have GSP on my Nuvo 20's back wall, and already planned on putting GSP on an isolated rock in the front of the tank.  

2 hours ago, Seadragon said:

 

If you're super happy with it, then I'd just leave it alone since it looks like you spent a lot of time on that and it'll turn out just fine either way.

 

For myself, I like slightly more space between the rockwork and the back wall since I want GSP to cover my back wall and I want that extra space between the GSP and the rockwork incase it starts to creep over from the sand bed or bare bottom and I can catch it in time.  Also, I'd want to add a little more height from the start because it's probably much more of a pain to do that years down the line after everything has settled.

 

But if you love that, keep it! 🙂

 

One thing that always drove me crazy was not having space for a frag rack in my Nuvo.  I just don't think I'll ever be the hobbyist that keeps frags in my sump to grow out, but I do need to consider where I would put frags or a frag rack.  The sand bed is always an option, but they tend to fall over and it's hard to get around them when I'm cleaning the sandbed.  The back wall is ideal to hide it, so I should certainly factor that in.  

2 hours ago, Firefish15 said:

I like the intricacy of the structure! Lots of little caves.

For me personally, I would try to have a little less symmetry between the left and right sides though. 

This is very true!  I'll tinker and see what happens. 

[TatorTaco]

1 minute ago, billygoat said:

I don't think you're supposed to rinse that Arag-Alive stuff. Fresh water will probably kill all the beneficial bacteria in it. I'd just dump it in the tank (before you put water in, of course).

Ugh!  You're probably right, but that doesn't mean I won't pout about it.  No rinsing sand - got it.  🙂

[Firefish15]

You can always rinse in saltwater. 

[banasophia]

Looks great! I wouldn’t rinse live sand personally.