WEEKLY DISCUSSION : Aquascaping

[jman785]

As far as aquascaping goes, do you look at others tanks to help you get idea's as far as rock work goes?


What tools (if any) do you use to aquascape with?


What are some tips/tricks, you use in order to make rockwork a lot easier?


How do you prevent rockslides from ocurring?




Rome wasn't built in a day - neither is a reef

Keep this in mind, as tanks are always changing :)

[jman785]

:bump:

[newtofish]

1. I am always looking at pics of others tanks to get ideas about how to better set up my rock.

2. I use almost everything I can find, hammer, screwdriver, chisel, glue aquarium putty, silicone. you name it.

3. I wish I knew some!

4. I always wiggle the rock pretty roughly when I place it. If I can i will build the rockwork out side of the tank so I can get a good look at all sides.

[Sugar Magnolia]

I thought I spied jman here the other day! Hope all is well.

Aquascaping - I hate it, I loathe it, I abhor it. Simply stated - for me it sucks.

I'm a picture fiend. I love looking at other people's tanks for ideas. Even though I hate doing aquascaping, I love to look at others tanks to see what they did with their scaping. Personally I prefer the look of a reef slope, larger and wider on the bottom and slowly slanting towards smaller pieces at the top. I've also seen some amazing tanks over at RC where people have created two separate reef structures within the same tank with a valley in between. It looks so natural. Of course these were really big tanks. ;)

As far as tools go, I keep a hammer and chisel nearby in case a certain rock just won't fit the way I want it. Sometimes it works and other times I'm left with two useless pieces that won't fit where I want them.

Easier? Is there such a thing as easy aquascaping? If there is then someone didn't hand me that memo. :)

Knock on wood, I haven't had a slide in the two years I've been at this. I try to fit the LR pieces together in a jigsaw puzzle fashion, trying to interlock them by trying pieces out in different places until I get a fit that is snug. So far so good!

I totally agree about the changing tank syndrome. Just the other day I was messing around in my cube, adding a few more pieces of rock. I just can't leave well enough alone!

[riggs2k]

i try to arrange it so that the ones that hide in the cracks and under the rocks don't get crushed by any rock slides....that's the horror image that goes through my mind when i place my LR. GOD I GET GOOSEBUMPS TALKING ABOUT IT...i think i need therapy
seriously ...much like SugerMag. i try to puzzle them together so they are nice and fit. and i try to keep clear of the glass to help me clean the algae off during my cleaning days.
i also have a green chromis that has adopted a hole in a piece of LR as his bed at night, so i try to spread things out and make as many caves and crevases as possible.

[Aquaman]

I recently changed my whole tank aquascape. I purchased some nice plain rock for .99lb and built up a nice rock feature on top of my live rock. Eventually it will look really nice, right now it's just bare rock. But for the price you can't really go wrong.

[Condiman]

I am also always looking for different peices of rock for my tank. My wife is like why you want more you have enought already. When I first started my setup my rockwork was real shakky. About a year or so ago I flattened some of my rocks so I could set flat shelf pieces on them. It seems to have worked well so far and it seems alot more stable then it was in the past.

[funkybozu]

i had a look a load of pics, and i wanted to try something different,
i also got a lot of inspiration from a site call C.P.Farm.
but mostly i wanted to create a natural look, maybe a trench.
next SW i set up is deffenatly going to be set aquascapted in a stair formation
with a kind of crawl like ledge on the other side facing it.

# 1
Yes you bet I look at other pics of peoples tanks to get ideas and new insiration although not so much to copy ones tank. But I do get a lot of ideas that way. I am constantly always on the look out for unique shaped pieces of rock that hopefully will give me that one last big break I need to create a nice display! I am sure the hard drive of my computer must have a couple thousand pics of others tanks.
# 2
I really dont use any tools to speak of, just a whole lot of time thats all.
# 3 & 4
As far as tricks and tips...I have a good selection of masonry bits that I sometimes drill holes into rock to allow for connecting the pieces together. I then use Red or Pinkspot ties as they are more unobtrusive than the white ones and blend in quicker once coralline algae starts growing. I often use PVC pipe to lift the rock up off the bottom of the sand bed to encourage better circulation or to elevate the rock scape work up a little higher in back of the tank. I have also glued some pieces together that were smaller to give me some larger and more stable pieces to work with. I think circulation is a very important factor that is often over looked. As such when arranging the rock work I am always looking at this aspect. So I try to arrange the rock work to have lots of nooks and crannies for water flow. To improve circulation I have on many occasions placed large power heads behind the rock work hidden from sight to ensure adequate water flow and also to create more flow over all in the tank without being an eye sore hanging from the side of the tank distracting the veiwer looking at the tank. Rock work is always placed with an eye for holding corals. If need me I will drill into the rock the colony is attached to and then the rock where I want it and use a short acrylic rod as a peg to hold the coral in place and to the rock I want it to set on. This prevents avalanches and keeps Turbo snails from plowing things over. This also prevents top heavy Acroporas from tipping over and taking a tumble.

I really prefer the shallower and deeper (front to back) tanks as they seem to provide more options for aquascaping. Not having that much in the way of fish I can get much more rock work in the tank, and more corals and make the most of each gallon and watt of light.

Just some things I do. BTW...Great weekly discussion topic this week jman!!!

[CoralAdict]

I like the set up im using, with all the rock piled into the center. It allows me to clean the glass on all side, and lets the fish swim in circles creating larger swim area. My lace rock was all hand picked through the inventory not for the shelf, that was nice. I can never find a thing that wants privacy. the rocking method to ensure no rock slides works good for me. I live near a blasting quarry, and it shakes the place alot. Not to mention the our treadmill is also a wavemaker. Even though I love the setup the urge for change is gonna make me rearrange. Now that corals are attached it will be such a pain! But they will move if they don't like their new locale im sure. Hey thanks for all the ideas! ROCK ON LOL