aquascape gold mine?

crankbait09 · 04/21/2015, 06:51 PM

I recently purchased 200 pounds of dry rock for my 135 gallon reef tank. These are the assortment of rock I obtained.

With these being rather large "boulders"/coral skeletons......does anyone see a lot of potential in the options of how to layout?

To me they look like big lumps of rock. Im not sure what to do with some of the cooler ones (coral skeletons). hate to break/cut them up and lose there value. But they are too large to leave alone.

Any suggestions? Thought?

xmas_one · 04/21/2015, 06:54 PM

Honestly, those are not the greatest pieces for an aquascape. It's hard to avoid the "pile of rocks" look when you have round rocks like those. Check out some of the dry rock that they sell at BRS.

crankbait09 · 04/21/2015, 06:56 PM

would cutting them help? would that open up any windows for me?

JEREsquire · 04/21/2015, 06:58 PM

I'm being of little to no help here, but I am nervous when it comes to aquascaping mine when I get it going (it's a tall 110gallon), however...the thing I do know, and this is the little help I'll give is that you have quite a bit there, and it let's your creative side out. is the tank up and going? If not you have a lot of time to play around with it. Set it up way that looks good on paper, step back, move some stuff around, repeat if necessary.

It's your tank, envision what your end game is with it, each nook and cranny is a good hiding spot for fish, or a good spot for a coral.

crankbait09 · 04/21/2015, 06:59 PM

I dreaded the whole "pile of rock" title

crankbait09 · 04/21/2015, 07:02 PM

i was reviewing a thread on here about how to layout a great aquascape, but the rocks I have don't exactly fit the design i read about.

the tank is not up and running at the moment, so i do have time. I dont exactly have a creative bone in my body so i struggle with that. maybe ill break/cut/drill a piece or two and see what happens

JEREsquire · 04/21/2015, 07:05 PM

Maybe it's a good time to buy a little live at a lfs that can help make the aquascaping possible?

CStrickland · 04/21/2015, 07:35 PM

I had some like that. I bashed it into smaller chunks and then cemented them together into shelves and caves and archy things. I have a 55 so I needed to make it tall and skinny. I used the diy rock mix but with less salt so it didn't have big holes, like how you use a tighter cement mix between bricks than you do if you are making a big chunk of something.

It didn't take long for stuff to grow over the connections so you can't tell where the pieces of rock meet. And I did a real hack job cause I had already cycled the rock like a dummy so I was trying to keep it wet and rushing around like a nut. I think if you practiced beforehand and took your time it would come out great. You can have boulders and shelves mixed together.

Just look at some tank of the month threads and stuff to see what you like. Remember that the coral is the last part of your scape, so you need to leave room for it to grow and plan for its shape

IDreamOReefin · 04/21/2015, 07:51 PM

To start, use cardboard or eeg crate (if you use it) to create a foot print the same size and shape of your tank. This will let you stack and restack without the of risking hitting the side of your tank with the rock. It will also let you get a look at the scape from different viewing angles. And if something is going to fall, better it happen when not in the tank. Take your time. Arrange and rearrange until you like it and it's stable.
To break up the pile of rocks look, try moving all rock to one side and leave a large sand bed with just a rock here and there on the other side. Or brake it up into two separate piles with sand bed in between. Keep messing with it till you like it then take pictures. And after all that it will still be a little different when you actually put it in the tank. Lol. Good luck.

crankbait09 · 04/21/2015, 07:53 PM

thank you......time to bust up and sculpt

04/21/2015, 07:51 PM	#9
IDreamOReefin Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Reno Posts: 76	To start, use cardboard or eeg crate (if you use it) to create a foot print the same size and shape of your tank. This will let you stack and restack without the of risking hitting the side of your tank with the rock. It will also let you get a look at the scape from different viewing angles. And if something is going to fall, better it happen when not in the tank. Take your time. Arrange and rearrange until you like it and it's stable. To break up the pile of rocks look, try moving all rock to one side and leave a large sand bed with just a rock here and there on the other side. Or brake it up into two separate piles with sand bed in between. Keep messing with it till you like it then take pictures. And after all that it will still be a little different when you actually put it in the tank. Lol. Good luck. __________________ For us it is a tank upgrade, to them, it is, the apocalypse. Current Tank Info: Freshwater 55 that revolves around my spotted Perch. 28gal bow front saltwater for sexys and a pod nation.

04/21/2015, 06:54 PM	#2
xmas_one Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: long beach, ca Posts: 181	Honestly, those are not the greatest pieces for an aquascape. It's hard to avoid the "pile of rocks" look when you have round rocks like those. Check out some of the dry rock that they sell at BRS.

04/21/2015, 06:56 PM	#3
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	would cutting them help? would that open up any windows for me?

04/21/2015, 06:58 PM	#4
JEREsquire Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Howey in the Hills, Florida Posts: 11	I'm being of little to no help here, but I am nervous when it comes to aquascaping mine when I get it going (it's a tall 110gallon), however...the thing I do know, and this is the little help I'll give is that you have quite a bit there, and it let's your creative side out. is the tank up and going? If not you have a lot of time to play around with it. Set it up way that looks good on paper, step back, move some stuff around, repeat if necessary. It's your tank, envision what your end game is with it, each nook and cranny is a good hiding spot for fish, or a good spot for a coral.

04/21/2015, 06:59 PM	#5
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	I dreaded the whole "pile of rock" title

04/21/2015, 07:02 PM	#6
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	i was reviewing a thread on here about how to layout a great aquascape, but the rocks I have don't exactly fit the design i read about. the tank is not up and running at the moment, so i do have time. I dont exactly have a creative bone in my body so i struggle with that. maybe ill break/cut/drill a piece or two and see what happens

04/21/2015, 07:05 PM	#7
JEREsquire Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Howey in the Hills, Florida Posts: 11	Maybe it's a good time to buy a little live at a lfs that can help make the aquascaping possible?

04/21/2015, 07:35 PM	#8
CStrickland Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: New England, U.S. Posts: 4,595	I had some like that. I bashed it into smaller chunks and then cemented them together into shelves and caves and archy things. I have a 55 so I needed to make it tall and skinny. I used the diy rock mix but with less salt so it didn't have big holes, like how you use a tighter cement mix between bricks than you do if you are making a big chunk of something. It didn't take long for stuff to grow over the connections so you can't tell where the pieces of rock meet. And I did a real hack job cause I had already cycled the rock like a dummy so I was trying to keep it wet and rushing around like a nut. I think if you practiced beforehand and took your time it would come out great. You can have boulders and shelves mixed together. Just look at some tank of the month threads and stuff to see what you like. Remember that the coral is the last part of your scape, so you need to leave room for it to grow and plan for its shape

04/21/2015, 07:53 PM	#10
crankbait09 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Posts: 932	thank you......time to bust up and sculpt