Aquascape....

[martinojon]

Help I have about 50 lbs of rock in my 46 Gallon bow front tank and can't figure out how to aquascape it... It looks so easy when the tanks are all set up. Mine just looks like a bunch of rocks piled up. Any suggestions, or pictures I can look at??

Thanks

john

 

[MediaOne]

My advide would be to surf the net for people who have taken pictures of their tanks. Look at how they structured the rocks in there tank, and also look for people with tanks of similar size.

Keep in mind that you might want to elevate your rock work, or use PVC and zap straps to make overhangs and caves. Also think about how your water movement will flow around and through the rocks, you should have both.

Goodluck.

Check out the members section of reefcentral.org, and view all those tanks. It's a start!

 

[Mouse]

I allways find that when i first put the rocks into a tank they look like a pile. Give it a week or two to settle. Nature will take its course and the minute ammount of settleing the rockwork does makes the whole thing look a little less contrived. But at the end of the day your never going to make a reef with rocks, its the corals that make the reef. Especially reef building SPS corals.

 

[reptilicus]

G'day,
just as an idea, here is my tank
http://www.reefaholics.com/reptilicus/images/DSCN3757.JPG
There's no real trick to aquascaping, I just looked at heaps of tanks, then vaguely modelled mine on one of the tanks in "The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium" by Fossa and Nilsen vol. 3.
I try to keep as little rock actually touching the sand as possible. I also chose this design because I thought it looked fairly natural, and I basically try to emulate nature as closely as possible.
As Mouse as pointed out, corals, particularly SPS, will always make the reef look more natural.
Regards,
Tom

 

[martinojon]

I have to add about 50lbs or rock to the 50lbs I already have. How much stress is this going to put on my fish and shrimp... How can I minimize the stress.

Should I put all the rock to one side, aquascape the other then move the rock and do the other. Or should I take al the rock out and start fresh. If so what do I do with the fish and shrimp that hide in the rock. I also need to put pvc pipe on the sand below the rock..

Any suggestions

John