Aquascape Critique

[jhOU]

Hi all, I'm setting up my first reef tank! SCA 120 gallon 48x24x24". Looking for critique of my current aquascape. I am undecided if the left side needs more rock, or leaves room for coral growth. I don't want the tank to feel crowded, but also want enough coral mounting options. Opinions please!

 

 

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[Origami]

Not an aquascape expert, but I like your basic approach of leaving a lot of room for growth and swimming. Expect that left side to have a good bit of open water over the top of it, even when filled out. That'll give your fish some room to swim and a lot of room for current at the top of tank to promote oxygen transfer. Check how far that rock on the right is from the glass. If it's too close, you may have difficulty cleaning the glass if it interferes with your algae magnet. Likewise for the back. Also, I normally like to open up a little space between mounds in this sort of setup so there's better flow between each of the piles. 

 

Finally, is your rock resting on the sand or on the bottom of the tank? If it's on top of the sand, you can expect it to settle over time, possibly leading to a rockslide. It's better to have the load transferred to the bottom of the tank (or to egg crate or something to distribute the load) now than to wait for it to settle in random fashion on its own.

[jhOU]

Rock was placed on glass before sand and arch is epoxied, so hopefully no worries of rock slides. Still not sure on corals/placement, so it's hard to envision the final product. Fighting the urge to fill space with rock lol.

 

 

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[John-Solo]

I also like your initial set up. There’s an episode on YouTube from BRS about aquascaping that’s got some pretty helpful tips and suggestions. If you haven’t seen it yet check it out.

 

 

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Edited October 13, 2017 by John-Solo

[Coral Hind]

I like it!  

 

Keeping it open makes the tank look bigger. Lots of room for corals to grow out. Are you keeping rock in the sump for bio-filtration?

[gws3]

I think you have the right amount of rock.  Especially if you plan to cover them with stony corals.

 

Tom made some good points. The rock on the right side is very close to the glass. I would put a break between the left and right side to make it two individual bommies.  The channel down the middle will provide lots of depth and make the tank look deeper. Then maybe you an slide the right side away from the glass for more room to clean the glass and mount corals.

 

Also, I would mortar or epoxy the rocks together once you get your final aquascape sorted out.  On my first SPS tank I just stacked the rock.  I can't tell you how many times I had a rock slide and snapped a mini colony in half.  It's infuriating.  Much better to have one solid base.

[flowerseller]

NICE!

[sen5241b]

Looks nice, very good. It appears there aren't enough hiding spaces for fish. Add some smaller rocks, closely spaced in an effort to create more hiding places for fish.

[dpassar12]

Nice job..

[madweazl]

I tend to start with too much rock and forget that the corals I'm adding are all going to end up a good 4-6" taller than when I added them. On the current build, I left the rock work much lower (highest point is eight inches below the surface). Now that I've had the lower aquascape, I wish I would have dropped it another four inches or so to maintain the negative space when the corals do grow out (though I may be dead before that happens with the one inch frags I started with...).