aquascaping nano

[treesprite]

why is it so freakin hard to scape a nano? I spent 2 hours tonighttrying to get teh rock in my office nano to look half decent before I left the office at 15 after midnight... and it still looks like cr@p. I have all these little pieces so I took a couple bigger pieces.... they are slightly too big. I want to build some height but it's impossible.

[Brian Ward]

why is it so freakin hard to scape a nano? I spent 2 hours tonighttrying to get teh rock in my office nano to look half decent before I left the office at 15 after midnight... and it still looks like cr@p. I have all these little pieces so I took a couple bigger pieces.... they are slightly too big. I want to build some height but it's impossible.

 

 

 

Limited space requires more imagination. I have mine designed as a little horseshoe shape, but tha'ts in a 29. Anything smaller and you're going to need to go with the standard mountain look. www.nano-reef.com and go through their photo gallery. If you search for "Mushroom House" I've always liked that tank.

[gmubeach]

I have a tunnle:)

[Nitro Junkie]

although not something you could do at the office I am going to try and make some rock pillars for my 29g nano that I am working on (the one to replace the 14g build that I broke)

[Leishman]

This is my 18g (I need to get the container out)

 

[jason the filter freak]

Try less rock not more

[treesprite]

Try less rock not more

 

but then I can't make it higher which is what I want to fo... I think it's more a matter of getting teh shape??

[shawns]

check out my wife's tank for an idea:

 

http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=20480

 

like they said, "less is more." also the pieces that are needed to 'scape a nano are A LOT smaller then those in a tank that is bigger.

 

have fun!

[tranceFusion]

check out my wife's tank for an idea:

 

http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=20480

 

like they said, "less is more." also the pieces that are needed to 'scape a nano are A LOT smaller then those in a tank that is bigger.

 

have fun!

 

Here's my 12G aquapod tank, about a month ago. It has alot more corals now, since I have joined WAMAS

 

 

And I gotta disagree with the "less rock" thing. It might make scaping and coral placement easier, but these little tanks are unstable, and the more rock, the easier it will handle new bioload when you add stock..

Edited March 14, 2008 by tranceFusion

[Gadgets]

It's all just preference. More rock doesn't stabilize your tank better than less rock. It's all about how YOU want it to look. I've done large and small tanks with very little rock and tons of rock. Here is an actinic shot of my current 18g SPS nano.

 

[tranceFusion]

It's all just preference. More rock doesn't stabilize your tank better than less rock. It's all about how YOU want it to look. I've done large and small tanks with very little rock and tons of rock. Here is an actinic shot of my current 18g SPS nano.

 

 

so why not go no rock at all? more surface area = more bacteria, fauna, etc, right?

[treesprite]

I'll post these to give an idea of the space I'm working with... the tank looks nothing like this now because twice I added to the rock and I changed equipment.

Edited March 14, 2008 by treesprite

[Oprah Wrangler]

When I put together the rock work for my 3 gallon pico I cycled 10 lbs of rock rubble for variety. When I was ready to design a structure, I sat down and starting playing LEGOS with some superglue. After about 8 hours and 12 budlights I had this structure

 

 

since then I have added and removed things and the nice thing about the superglue is that with a little force you can seperate the little pieces and change your rock work without effort. Another upside is that in my case all of the little pieces were very light and porous so they worked great for bacteria growth and biological filtration. This is the most recent photo of my rock work...

 

 

and I have changed it a bit since then to accomodate another picec of rock I purchased with a mixture of little things growing on it. All of that to say that if I had it to do again I would buy small pieces and build up a nice structure. I hope that helps and i didnt just take up a lot of space on your thread.

[treesprite]

Now THAT's more what I'm talking about. Arches, tunnels... openings that go completely through not just caves or walls. I suppose I should put my brain thinking in terms of smaller fish - that's probably part of my problem.

 

Part of it is also that some of the pieces are actually coral skeletons so they are kind of hard to work with - they are strange shapes and it looks kind of strange having corals wedged between rocks. I got them from LFS liverock bins many years ago for decoration. They weren't/aren't white they have age coloring and coraline on them. I suppose if I could take decent pictures I possilby could trade for a few regular pieces of liverock. I'm not sure what kind of corals - one is rounded no branches, a couple are very curvy, one is very branchy like birdsnest.

Edited March 14, 2008 by treesprite

[DarthPaul]

I mostly used the larger rocks for the bottom portion...then worked up using smaller. Making sure to incorporate caves,gaps,openings and places for fish/critters to explore. Keep in mind that you will usually be collecting more rocks when you start loading it with corals/frags....so leave some room for placing those too. I also wanted to make sure that I could get may mag float all the way around the glass so I did not place anything to close to the glass that would block my path.

 

[Gadgets]

so why not go no rock at all? more surface area = more bacteria, fauna, etc, right?

 

There are many Japanese tanks that have no rock. I'll post some pics later.

[Gadgets]

My 75g

 

 

Lots of rock

 

 

Less Rock

[Leishman]

My 75g

Lots of rock

Less Rock

 

 

Remind me why you took that tank down.......

[Gadgets]

Remind me why you took that tank down.......

 

I dunno...

 

 

Don't worry I have something even better in the works.

 

 

Very little rock in these. Almost none.

 

Edited March 17, 2008 by 143gadgets

[treesprite]

your 75 actually looked better with less rock. I like rock though. I like the structure, the fish find it useful, and I was going to say it he;ps with filtration but if needed for that it can just go in the fuge.

[tranceFusion]

There are many Japanese tanks that have no rock. I'll post some pics later.

 

i am assuming they have a sump with bio filtration of some sort? I am assuming he isn't adding a significantly sized refugium to his office nano?

[treesprite]

I am assuming he isn't adding a significantly sized refugium to his office nano?

 

is that referring to me? If so, it's she not he

 

If it's my tank you refer to... maybe not? Well if it is, I have that one end sectioned off for sump/fuge - that dark stuff is caulerpa and chaeto - and I have the DSB.

[tranceFusion]

is that referring to me? If so, it's she not he

 

If it's my tank you refer to... maybe not? Well if it is, I have that one end sectioned off for sump/fuge - that dark stuff is caulerpa and chaeto - and I have the DSB.

 

Sorry for jumping to assumptions about your sex!

 

Basically, I am just trying to understand why people are recommending little rock in nano tank. My understanding has been that the less rock, the less bio filtration, and I am wondering if I am wrong or if there is something I am missing. I am assuming that the Japanese tanks with no rock basically are running their water through a big sump with lots of rock/bio filtration, something you would not have.

[gmubeach]

I've heard that as long as you use a deep sand bed and keep stocking low fish wise you can have happy corals without live rock... The problem with live rock seems it distrupts flow and if you have too much you reduce water volume:) I had about 100 pounds in a 24 gallon nano once upon a time and it was hidious... I gave away sold alot of it and now I have a happy balance... Ask new fish if you don't belive me:) and that was half of what I had in the begining... Anyway when I aquascape I think what looks natural and benifical to what I am trying to grow:) I have never seen a reef that has all those open swim paths and stuff unless its branches... anyway you need to also think about water placement like how far your corals need to be from the lighting... I had the orginal delux hood on my jbj and all my corals were right under the light I upgraded to a metal halide and some CF for regular veiwing... and now I can place corals anywhere, so I got a knife and fragged the stuff off rocks with newfish's help and now it looks better... I just wish my feather duster hadn't lost its crown it was looking great in the only area of my tank that doesn't recieve light! I am thinking about an eletric flame scallop... anyway hope it helps!