st9z October 10, 2007 Share October 10, 2007 Is it better for the fish if you aquascape with a lot of caves for them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yauger October 10, 2007 Share October 10, 2007 Is it better for the fish if you aquascape with a lot of caves for them? Its better to have a hiding place for your fish then not have them. This reduces the amount of stress on the fish and gives them a nice spot to call "home" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st9z October 10, 2007 Author Share October 10, 2007 what about tunnels are they important as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller October 10, 2007 Share October 10, 2007 The key is to have as open a reef structure as possible. By doing so, you'll be creating "caves and tunnels" that your fish will enjoy, while allowing for good flow throughout the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gman91 October 10, 2007 Share October 10, 2007 leave lots of space in between as well as behind the rocks, it creates natural hiding spots and reduces fish stress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st9z October 10, 2007 Author Share October 10, 2007 (edited) ok cool so far this is what i have after aquascaping. Would you be able to tell me if i need more tunneling or caves for my tank. I am going to post a before and present pic. You can be as BRUTAL as you want on the comments BEFORE AFTER Edited October 10, 2007 by st9z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krewlor October 11, 2007 Share October 11, 2007 It does look lots better then before. I can see many more places for the fish to hide. My overall comment would be it looks a little "stacked" to me. It seems like it could look a little more natural. Is the structure solid? Overall it is a great improvement and your aquascaping skills are improving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gman91 October 11, 2007 Share October 11, 2007 not to sound like a jerk, but they both look fine to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treesprite October 11, 2007 Share October 11, 2007 You're doing better than I am right now. I kind of have given up on making my scaping look "natural". One of these days I'm going to get someone to come do the job for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st9z October 11, 2007 Author Share October 11, 2007 You're doing better than I am right now. I kind of have given up on making my scaping look "natural". One of these days I'm going to get someone to come do the job for me. I was thinking of having somebody to do the aquascaping for me too. The problem is finding someone! (sighs) I am not sure how or what "natural" looks like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bk_market October 11, 2007 Share October 11, 2007 I feel like the first pic have more open space. The second pic look similar but maybe because of the angle u took it it look more pack. You can do the 2 islands or the mountain ridge aquascape ( i combine both of these in my tank). There are alot of pics of these basic structures floating around the net. just google them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascal October 11, 2007 Share October 11, 2007 (edited) Is it better for the fish if you aquascape with a lot of caves for them? Yes what about tunnels are they important as well? Yes The key is to have as open a reef structure as possible. By doing so, you'll be creating "caves and tunnels" that your fish will enjoy, while allowing for good flow throughout the tank. What he said. I also think it's neat to see the fish start to use the corals as habitat once they start to grow in a bit, especially with sps. A good test for whether your tank has enough hiding places is what happens when you turn the lights out. Most fish will immediately look for their sleeping/resting spot. If everybody settles in nice and comfy like without too much of a fuss, that's good. If your tank looks like a game of musical chairs with a few too many chairs missing, that's not so good. Edited October 11, 2007 by Rascal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st9z October 12, 2007 Author Share October 12, 2007 A good test for whether your tank has enough hiding places is what happens when you turn the lights out. Most fish will immediately look for their sleeping/resting spot. If everybody settles in nice and comfy like without too much of a fuss, that's good. If your tank looks like a game of musical chairs with a few too many chairs missing, that's not so good. ooh i never thought of it that way. hmm most of my fish goes into there sleeping area except for the tang that likes to hang out in the back and the clowns that likes to swim around up front. I guess that is a good sign 5 out of 8 feels homey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st9z October 27, 2007 Author Share October 27, 2007 New aquascaping....whatcha think right side left side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bk_market October 27, 2007 Share October 27, 2007 look like u stacking rock together. Watchout if one of them fall. Other than that look good. I like the RBT look like it inside some kinda of cave on the left side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zotzer October 27, 2007 Share October 27, 2007 Looks very pretty, just make sure those rocks are secure! Tracy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st9z October 28, 2007 Author Share October 28, 2007 aww it still looks stacked! I was trying to make it more open and with more caves. :( Tracy- rocks are all secured Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krewlor October 28, 2007 Share October 28, 2007 I really like the last one, excellent work. What are the dimensions of your tank? The big question is...are you happy with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal October 28, 2007 Share October 28, 2007 Many of your rocks are round or oval and that may be one reason why you're having a hard time coming up with an arrangement that doesn't appear "stacked" to you. I personally don't think it looks all that bad and I know it will look better as coraline begins to grow and you add a few more corals to the tank. I thought my rocks looked stacked or mounded and knew that what I needed was one large, flat rock to use as a bridge. With that in mind, I stopped by BRK and found the perfect rock. Yes, I ended up paying full retail price and it didn't come cheap, at least not as cheap as buying leftover rock from a fellow WAMAS member, but sometimes you have to fork out a little extra to get what you want. So my recommendations would be to either leave well enough alone and be happy with the arrangement you have, continue messing with it until you give up in frustration, take a hammer and chisel to some of your current rocks to form them into flatter pieces or go digging through the LR at your LFS until you find just the right one(s) to support the design you have in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fry_school101 October 28, 2007 Share October 28, 2007 I'll offer two suggestions and you can take them for what they are worth. 1. I had an art teacher that said all straight lines are bad. Application: don't stack rocks so that they form a wall, you want lots of ins and outs as far as the edge goes. 2. Let the rocks "tell" you where they want to go. Think of it like a jigsaw puzzle. The edges of some rocks will fit against the edge of another. It should help to make it more seamless. Don't despair! It almost never works the first time. (or second or third ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NSC October 28, 2007 Share October 28, 2007 In this EXTREMELY rare occasion I have to whole-hearted disagree with Bob(Ybenormal), don't bust up the rocks. The pieces that you have can be arranged in such a fashion that will both be visually appealing and reef productive. While I am not knocking Bob's aquascapes in his tanks, I think that with what you had in the first pic, a little rearranging could have put just the touch you are looking for, enough places for the fish to hide/sleep/whatever, and enough for corals to grow in and still look natural. My personal gripe is the Tonga piece, in my opinion that piece should be taken out as it shows as a stick figure in a thick world... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discretekarma October 28, 2007 Share October 28, 2007 I like the very first picture you posted the best. When I first bough live rock, I bought about 5 lbs of small pieces and had all the same problems. Since then I have slowly bought big pieces from people and it is a lot easier to make it look good. I still use the small pieces in between and around the main pieces. I think you need some big base rock but out of all the pictures, I like the first the best. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st9z October 28, 2007 Author Share October 28, 2007 I really like the last one, excellent work. What are the dimensions of your tank? The big question is...are you happy with it? The tank is a 55 gallon :/ not much to work with... I totally agree the tonga branch makes the aquascape look eh but it has this one purple mushroom on it that I reallie like... i guess the current aquascape will have to do for now until i get inspired again or if i find more rocks thanks for your help guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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