very dumb question about aquascaping

nemoray · 09/02/2007, 01:09 PM

My tank is a 90 gallon, so it is 24" deep and 18" wide. Due to an accident with a shipping carrier (dropped box), and a very generous retailer bent on great customer service, I have way more live rock than I actually need. At the moment it is all curing in my tank. (190lbs total)

Now for dumb question.

Do you folks with similar sized tanks aquascape more to the back of the tank, or toward the middle. Middle made sense to me due to water flow and reaching all areas for maintenance. Building it toward the middle leaves not much open floor space

Like I said, I will have to remove some rock. The tank looks too full, at least to my eyes. I have everything from baseball sizes to pieces as long as 18 inches. Gorgeous stuff.

Oh, and would you use the big stuff for all the caves and nooks, or the smaller pieces?

Just wondering.

barngeatbayman · 09/02/2007, 01:28 PM

I would tend to do aquascaping in the middle due to the reasons you mentioned. I would you use the largest pieces as your base and build up from there. The last thing you would want is to have a rock slide. I have the same size tank as you with 125lbs of rock. You would be suprised when you start to arrange it that it doesnt take up the space you thought it would. I could probably get another 20-30lbs of the "right" shaped rock in my tank and it would still look good.

nemoray · 09/02/2007, 01:54 PM

I appreciate the comments. Tried to upload a pic, but my file sizes with my Nikon are too high. Will try tinkering.

six.line · 09/02/2007, 02:31 PM

Aquascaping is an art. There are general rules of thumb; i.e. make sure the rock is stable, make sure you have room for fish to swim, make sure you dn'ot create deadspots with rock and powerhead placement... etc... ad nauseum... the bottom line is go with what looks good.

Aquarist007 · 09/02/2007, 02:37 PM

six.line is on the right track here----if you are going to have a tang for instance--these fish need lots of swimming room and lots of room for a quick dash----have a circular area would be good--they could boot all around the rock.
in that ninety for realestate considerations--drop it down to 90lbs---you can get a big sump and add lots to that---its still doing its job but not cutting down on the swimming area.
If you get a fug--some can be hammered into fragments and put in there.

nemoray · 09/02/2007, 03:23 PM

Thanks everyone...Its all nice stuff...hard to decide which rock lives and dies, but all cannot stay

09/02/2007, 01:09 PM	#1
nemoray Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Darien, Georgia Posts: 143	very dumb question about aquascaping My tank is a 90 gallon, so it is 24" deep and 18" wide. Due to an accident with a shipping carrier (dropped box), and a very generous retailer bent on great customer service, I have way more live rock than I actually need. At the moment it is all curing in my tank. (190lbs total) Now for dumb question. Do you folks with similar sized tanks aquascape more to the back of the tank, or toward the middle. Middle made sense to me due to water flow and reaching all areas for maintenance. Building it toward the middle leaves not much open floor space Like I said, I will have to remove some rock. The tank looks too full, at least to my eyes. I have everything from baseball sizes to pieces as long as 18 inches. Gorgeous stuff. Oh, and would you use the big stuff for all the caves and nooks, or the smaller pieces? Just wondering. __________________ "It does not require many words to speak the truth." Chief Joseph Current Tank Info: Reef up and running for two years now!

09/02/2007, 01:54 PM	#3
nemoray Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Darien, Georgia Posts: 143	I appreciate the comments. Tried to upload a pic, but my file sizes with my Nikon are too high. Will try tinkering. __________________ "It does not require many words to speak the truth." Chief Joseph Current Tank Info: Reef up and running for two years now!

09/02/2007, 02:31 PM	#4
six.line Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Logan, UT Posts: 775	Aquascaping is an art. There are general rules of thumb; i.e. make sure the rock is stable, make sure you have room for fish to swim, make sure you dn'ot create deadspots with rock and powerhead placement... etc... ad nauseum... the bottom line is go with what looks good. __________________ This post approved by Mrs. Sixline. assign <= six.line(#FFFFFF && string("nerdy")) Current Tank Info: 30 gallon with 10 gallon sump

09/02/2007, 02:37 PM	#5
Aquarist007 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Hamilton, Canada Posts: 28,240 Blog Entries: 1	six.line is on the right track here----if you are going to have a tang for instance--these fish need lots of swimming room and lots of room for a quick dash----have a circular area would be good--they could boot all around the rock. in that ninety for realestate considerations--drop it down to 90lbs---you can get a big sump and add lots to that---its still doing its job but not cutting down on the swimming area. If you get a fug--some can be hammered into fragments and put in there. __________________ I prefer my substrates stirred but not shaken Current Tank Info: 150gal long mixed reef, 90gal sump, 60 gal refugium with 200 lbs live rock

09/02/2007, 03:23 PM	#6
nemoray Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Darien, Georgia Posts: 143	Thanks everyone...Its all nice stuff...hard to decide which rock lives and dies, but all cannot stay __________________ "It does not require many words to speak the truth." Chief Joseph Current Tank Info: Reef up and running for two years now!

09/02/2007, 01:28 PM	#2
barngeatbayman Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: freehold, nj Posts: 380	I would tend to do aquascaping in the middle due to the reasons you mentioned. I would you use the largest pieces as your base and build up from there. The last thing you would want is to have a rock slide. I have the same size tank as you with 125lbs of rock. You would be suprised when you start to arrange it that it doesnt take up the space you thought it would. I could probably get another 20-30lbs of the "right" shaped rock in my tank and it would still look good.