Tips and Tricks on Creating Amazing Aquascapes

[MikeTR]

Originally Posted by AGreyCrane

... where is that beautiful rock on the right behind the yellow tang from? It looks like part of a big fossilized tree trunk or something. Amazing.

I believe it's florida rock but I have no way to really know. Was probably purchased at an lfs in or near Gainesville. Came with the tank when I bought it. The rest was dry marco rock.

[moppy]

Can't wait to get my new stand and start attempting to try some new Scaping ideas...

[wyattroa]

Here is mine, not much. Just starting it out for my 40 breeder from dry rock. Was difficult putting it all together. Used Marco cement and acrylic rods.

[rayr18]

I am sure it has been mentioned ..but can someone give me some ides to tie the rock together...I really don't want to superglue...I would prefer using some kind of reef safe ties..TIA

[ReefKeeper64]

Originally Posted by rayr18

I am sure it has been mentioned ..but can someone give me some ides to tie the rock together...I really don't want to superglue...I would prefer using some kind of reef safe ties..TIA

I had great results using polygem 307 lite Sculpting Epoxy Putty to bond rock together. It seems expensive but saved me a ton of time and work. Plus a little goes a long way. I also used many thin rubber bands to get the rocks formed into the proper shapes and hold them in place during the bonding process. Then I pulled the rubber bands off when finished. The rubber bands were much easier to work with than string or zip ties since they hold the shape you want so easily. http://www.polygem.com/products/zoop...ng-epoxy-putty

[N9BX]

Wonderful Looking Reef. I'll be interested in watching this one grow out. Bruce

[rayr18]

Originally Posted by ReefKeeper64

I had great results using polygem 307 lite Sculpting Epoxy Putty to bond rock together. It seems expensive but saved me a ton of time and work. Plus a little goes a long way. I also used many thin rubber bands to get the rocks formed into the proper shapes and hold them in place during the bonding process. Then I pulled the rubber bands off when finished. The rubber bands were much easier to work with than string or zip ties since they hold the shape you want so easily. http://www.polygem.com/products/zoop...ng-epoxy-putty

Thanks for the reply reefkeeper..I love the look of your rocks.. Also how is the weather down there in Tampa...I was born down there and have visited ocassionally, but haven't been there recently. I will post some pics when i am done aquascaping in the next few weeks.

[ReefKeeper64]

Originally Posted by rayr18

Thanks for the reply reefkeeper..I love the look of your rocks.. Also how is the weather down there in Tampa...I was born down there and have visited ocassionally, but haven't been there recently. I will post some pics when i am done aquascaping in the next few weeks.

No problem and glad you like the rockwork! The weather down here is as hot as a sauna set at 105 degrees (just feels that way ) this time of year but fall, winter, spring are awesome so I can't complain.

I added three arrows to show highlights. The two orange arrows show where the 1" returns are. The one yellow arrow shows where there is a concealed 2" drain (there is a strainer as well). Water exits from the tank from that 2" drain and goes back to the pump for the CL and then flows back into the tank through those 1" returns. To create just the right overall shapes, it is easier to break a piece of large rock into a few smaller pieces and then rubber band them together and reform them with epoxy. The next morning you pull the rubber bands off and you're done! Your rock work never tumbles and it's easy keep most of your rock off the sand where detritus tends to accumulate. You can make bridges, overhangs, whatever you can imagine. Use less rock than you think you really need because corals will double the overall mass of the formations with time. Also, place plenty of loose rock around the main formations for a more natural effect. That also allows you to change things up a bit if you want to later on.

[jkoot]

Here is my aquascape over time. It changed several times over the years and now, I have had my current scape for the last year and finally achieved to what I believe is natural looking reef. My inspiration for my final aquascape were my dives in Curacao and Aruba, rock walls with outcrops and tables.


Here is a pic of my first scape.....I liked it but it just wasn't functional...two piles of rocks.
As you can also see as a newbie, I was suffering with a lot of issues.




I moved the tank into my current residence and gave it a bit of a fresh start. Again, two piles of rocks however with more caves.





I liked the above scape and had it for a considerable amount of time however my new coral additions made the rock pile unstable and I started to collapse repeatedly in different areas. Numerous attempts to fix it failed as I was only stacking rocks.

My goal for my new scape was for it to be solid, unique, and natural looking. I sourced out korallenwelt reef ceramic rock to redo my aquascape and made a clear plan. I wanted a reef wall on the back of the glass, a pile to the left that I wanted to grow monti plates, an sps tower in the center, caves and a table.

I first replaced the right hand stack of rocks that collapsed.



I than prepped the rest of the backwall, cutting it with a handsaw for a seamless fit. I was actually surprised that a hand saw was able to cut it, it was garbage after but I took my time not to ruin anything.



Everything all in, gives a bit of an idea of the initial structure. This was completed Feb 2012. All pieces were expoxyed in and the creases between panels were also filled with the two part reef epoxy. To secure the structure I used the "sandwhci method" which is superglue (I prefer gorilla glue), two part epoxy, superglue. All structures are solid and nothing has fallen over or collapsed.



I filled in some of the structures harsh edges with zoanthid colonies. Here are two shots from January 2013.







Here is the most recent shot....about two weeks ago. I am really happy with the progression and hope you like the aquascape. Pictures don't do the structures and depth justice.




Sorry for the bad photos, all taken with iphone 4 or 5 (depending on photo age)
>jason

[Stepho725]

I like your most current one the best

[jkoot]

Thank you!

I hope to learn to take better photos. The pictures do look better on my phone though....not as much distortion so you can really see the aquascape and corals better.

>jason

[tfeyrer]

jkoot - looks great!

Wondering if anyone has experience and/or photos with aquascaping a tank visible from 3-sides. After reading and seeing what all of you have done, I think I need to mix things up a little.

[jkoot]

Originally Posted by tfeyrer

jkoot - looks great!

Wondering if anyone has experience and/or photos with aquascaping a tank visible from 3-sides. After reading and seeing what all of you have done, I think I need to mix things up a little.

Thanks tfeyrer!

I have seen some three sided tanks where there is a wall near the over flow and islands and arches down the rest of the tank through the middle. This would allow for nice viewing on three sides and maximize the area you would have for corals!

>jason

[Bman562]

Helpful thread.
Really llike the 2 island setup

[tfeyrer]

Originally Posted by jkoot

Thanks tfeyrer!

I have seen some three sided tanks where there is a wall near the over flow and islands and arches down the rest of the tank through the middle. This would allow for nice viewing on three sides and maximize the area you would have for corals!

>jason

I was thinking of that....The main viewing point on what is traditionally the "front" is built into the wall and only accessible from the back where I can take the panels off. I'm going to have to play around with it a little I think because getting around the rock to clean is a little tricky.

Thanks jkoot!

[greg1786]

Hey guys. I posted in this thread a long time ago when I had my 55 gallon mixed reef and you all were great. So im coming to you again. Ive had a 125 gallon mixed reef for about 5 months now. Ive rearranged the rock scape 4 times!!! It never satisfies. I have a vision in my head but am not very good at putting it to actual fruition. So I recently got some more LR and decided to try again. Below is a picture of the tank tonight. I like the rockwork for the most part but not entirely. Ive managed to get some front to back and top to bottom depth but not as much as Id like. I dont want to tear down and start fresh again as this took me 3 hours last night. I would however like some tips and pointers on ways to tweak it and get some better depth. Thanks in advance and if you need any more info let me know-Greg

[MikeTR]

Originally Posted by Bman562

Helpful thread.
Really llike the 2 island setup

Nice!!

[ReefKeeper64]

Originally Posted by greg1786

Hey guys. I posted in this thread a long time ago when I had my 55 gallon mixed reef and you all were great. So im coming to you again. Ive had a 125 gallon mixed reef for about 5 months now. Ive rearranged the rock scape 4 times!!! It never satisfies. I have a vision in my head but am not very good at putting it to actual fruition. So I recently got some more LR and decided to try again. Below is a picture of the tank tonight. I like the rockwork for the most part but not entirely. Ive managed to get some front to back and top to bottom depth but not as much as Id like. I dont want to tear down and start fresh again as this took me 3 hours last night. I would however like some tips and pointers on ways to tweak it and get some better depth. Thanks in advance and if you need any more info let me know-Greg

Its looking good but if you want to take it further, I'd add some rock on the left in front of the left overflow. That will make the left and right sides look more unique to each other and would be inline with tips and tricks of the original poster - veganbrian.

[Saltydrip]

How did I do??

[3dpilot]

Sorry about the bad photography skills

[Lavoisier]

I would recommend rereading the op's posts regarding scales (5::3) and then his color charts. Start at this point and then seek for feedback from the thread.

[N9BX]

Also a Big Fan of the Two Islands, Three might cause shadows depending of Led Placement. But it sure looks great Though

[MikeTR]

Originally Posted by Saltydrip

How did I do??

Take out the section of rock behind the gsp and put it on top of the right pile, then slide the rest over to the left.

[MikeTR]

Originally Posted by 3dpilot

Sorry about the bad photography skills

just turn the center island so it lays flat.

edit: although it would look cool if it's stable enough for some tabling acros..

[greg1786]

Originally Posted by ReefKeeper64

Its looking good but if you want to take it further, I'd add some rock on the left in front of the left overflow. That will make the left and right sides look more unique to each other and would be inline with tips and tricks of the original poster - veganbrian.

Thanks for the advice! I really was hoping to get more front to back depth, but I think I need more height to acheive that. The closest point of the rockwork to the front glass is about 7 inches from the front panel and the closest point to the back panel is less than an inch. Do you think if I added enough rock to raise the scape four inches or so that I could add more rock to get a better sloping appearence, or in otherwords make the tank appear deeper than it actually is?