Aquascaping 101

[emissary]

So, I've been giving the topic of aquascaping some thought recently. When my 180 goes into the wall I'm going to have a good amount of room to do some cool stuff in there with LR. Some things I'm considering:

 

* reef shelf (big bank of rock)

* overhang (pillar & overhang)

* horseshoe (probably part of the overhang ... diamond shaped hole)

* small pile of rocks

* low trail of rocks

 

Now... I've also been doing a bit of reading. Specifically from "The Modern Coral Reef Aquarium" volume 1. One of the things the authors talk about is the "pile of rocks" problem -- I'm paraphrasing here. Basically, you have a bunch of LR and you need to put it in your tank so you make a big pile of them and put stuff on it. My current rock setup has this problem.

 

SO, the idea is, you use more natural shapes that occur in reefs. One of the techniques described is attaching rocks to pvc pipe to give the illusion of massive-rock-formations and to make things like overhangs possible & safe. Trouble with cable-tying rocks to PVC is that if you need to take the rock out (to attach something to it or scrub something off it for instance) you can't.

 

Anyone have thoughts on this topic? Pictures? Inspiration would be good too. When the fateful day comes, I'm thinking about having a WAMAS aquascaping party at my house

[Lee Stearns]

This is also one thing I am still wrestling with- the best solution I have seen is some work with plexiglass shaped when heated with a blow dryer, then tie tie rock to it that allows stability for shelves and overhangs but have not made the time to try it yet- You want stability if you are going to mount sps- I have a digitatas rock that I have moved dropped broken so many times that the colony just looks pitiful- I need to takle this stability problem before my acros get too large. Inevitably you have shifting and moving problems. So maybe clumps of rocks on each frame would work so that you could maybe move one framework at a time. In my tank that would be about four frameworks in a 150 high the way I have it laid out now. If you decide to you want to see my tank and or determine you want to make some of these support- let me know I have plexiglass and a hair dryer- and need the motivation to just do it.

[eddi]

Timely topic for me as I am about to resetup my 125 and am trying to figure out how to position my rocks. I am looking for more sand and open space than I had before, and hope to build some arches. I am not nearly as motivated as Lee so the plexiglass thing is out, I will have to settle for good old design tips. Do the ***** eye guys do reef tanks??

 

I will post pictures once I am finished.

[Guest maestro774]

I used Haitian and Fiji live rock in my tank. The Haitian is mostly flat pieces, excellent for making shelves and caves. Combined with some epoxy you can aquascape pretty nicely without using any supports. Haitian is also dirt cheap, and adding 30 or so lbs would give you enough pieces for a lot of caves.

 

[Caribbean Jake]

Hi

We all are confronted with this question. You want to put your rocks and make it so it looks natural and not complex configuration of rock. My answer is, do not waist your time with PVC unless you want a permanent fixed rock formation. All if not most of the people whom has seen my 55G and 125G tank set up express aw! on the rock formation and aqua spacing. Specially on the 55G three way view set up. Basically I look for the natural formation of the rock and the potential characteristics that will allow for future coral seeding or encrusting frags. The rocks are a puzzle; all you have to do is rotate them until it fits your d

[emissary]

Do the ***** eye guys do reef tanks??

 

ROTFLMAO. Now that's freaking funny.

[HowardofNOVA]

Hey Folks,

My 90g has about 160-180# of LR, sometimes I wonder why I use so much, but kind of works for me. When I started this tank out I made THREE 5 Parts ARAGONITE to 1 Part Portland Cement Tripods to use as base rocks to build reef on. This has proven to me to be a MOST EXCELLENT bases to build to.

#1 Allows less area's of COVERED sand, trapping Nitrates

#2 More hiding places for fish

#3 Solid surfaces to build higher reef

#4 Saved a ton of money! About $1 per pound to make.

DOWNSIDE: Really takes very little effort to do, just need about 2-3 MONTHS for the rock to cure enough to put in tank. HIGH PH with concrete.

Just food for thought

Howard

[emissary]

My answer is, do not waist your time with PVC unless you want a permanent fixed rock formation.

 

Well, for things like overhang and arches I think PVC is a must unless you're going to use a lot of epoxy. And I've never been particularily successful with epoxy -- maybe I'm doing it wrong. Making the PVC hidden's a bit of a trick, but shouldn't be too bad. Sounds like there might be some interest in a series of aquascaping parties?

[Caribbean Jake]

Feel free to come by my house anytime you like and look at the 55G three way set up. All rocks in the tank are mounted together without the use of PVC, epoxy or wire. Imagine a 55G long tank with caves, overhangs and clifs without having a single rock touch either of the four sides of the tank, and still have room to cleanup the glass with your hand. I've tried taking a picture of it but in this case pictures do not reflect the real beauty of this tank. Don't take my word for it, ask Lee, Clownfish, Howard, and others who have seen it.

[HowardofNOVA]

Yes he does!

 

Jacob has a very unique tank setup viewable on all 4 sides as a bit of a room divider. Here is one of his pictures, but need to see in person.

Excellent job JACOB! You da man in rock stacking!

Howard

[GaryL]

here is a pick of my outlet of my closed loop. i use it to stack rokcd onto so there will be movement and hiding places behind the rock work, same applies for the intake.

 

 

and here is a pic of it with the rocks. it has mroe rock in it now and is more sread out but you get the idea

 

 

my rocks are just stacked though and use limestone boulders as base rock

 

HTH

[Lee Stearns]

Ok I was just saying mine is stacked, And I do not think too badly- (Jake yours is awsome but you can get at your tank from all sides very easily)- But maybe I put my hands in the tank more than others- If you are adjusting and or moving rocks to get a an anenome that has just split or a frag that was knocked down behind something- I invariably knock the digitatas rock into another rock or the glass or whatever and I inadvertently frag the darn thing- I can somewhat live with beating up my digitats colonly because it grows so fast- I would not like the same thing happening to my acros once they reach colony size. My thought was to get more stability by peicing to gether several of the rocks into a stable formation. Then you could move one formation at a time to the open sand area to work or get at whatever you needed.

On the haitian rock- where did you pick pick that stuff up at maestro?

And eddie if I get motivated you are welcome to stop by and make a set or two for your tank using your rocks- I guess it would be better for me to bring the stuff to you after you have seen what I have done. Don't get any ideas that I have the ***** eye - must be a Caribbean thing Jake has going.

[Caribbean Jake]

Wait a minute, Eddie brought the issue about the ... "***** eye"... not me.

 

Also, I Dive/SCUBA the Caribbeans once a year and get ideas on rock formations based on what I see in order to make the tank look more natural.

[Caribbean Jake]

one more thing. Howard thank you for the picture. I have to say is a one dimensional view of my 4 way vewing tank. .. If some one is interested in vewing my tanks, please feel free and welcome to stop by.. my doors are always open to friends.. and by the way that (open doors thing) is a Caribbean thing.. :D

[Guest maestro774]

I got my rock off ebay. It needed a little scrubbing and a couple weeks to cure but it was an excellent deal. There's a couple companies selling this stuff, and they're all in Florida so shipping is fairly cheap.