Aquascaping

[DYIguy]

I've been in the landscaping business for over 50 years and always was good at designs- had my own design construction business for close to 40 years. I got into reefing after a long time out of the hobby and after 3 years am still having a tough time. I like my scapes and somewhat my placements of coral, but when I see someone elses tank, like @momof6kids I get depressed. It didn't take me 4 years to figure it out with landscaping-don't think I'll be around for a another 20 or so to figure it out lol

 

[momof6kids]

lol, Chris, and here I get depressed when I see pics of other peoples tanks on the forum.

 

[MadReefer]

I am also bad at this. I want to re-scape but worried it will cause a mini cycle ort worse.

 

[Boehmtown]

years ago, I did a scape with holes in the rock and acrylic rod and I will be definitely doing that again on the next tank. It was with real live rock though so it was easier to drill than the man made stuff. I will probably do it with the coral mounts too like coral euphorias tanks. Being able to rescape it move corals will probably help practicing?

 

[DEL]

When I setup my tank, I took measurements, put the rocks in front of the tank, and kept taking pics as I cemented pieces. You get a different view once it's in the tank. So I take pics on the floor in front of the rocks to get a better view.

 

[Rueric]

Here’s my second piece I’ve done..
Some tips you may find helpful..

Buy extra dry rock, grab a chisel and a hammer to start trying to find unique/clean breaks that can contribute

Measure out the space you plan to fill in your tank, be sure to take height measurements too

Use blue painters tape and outline cardboard so that can be used as a “working space”, thus will ensure you don’t build outside of your specs for the space.

Consider the “rule of thirds” in photography

Consider the type of corals you plan to have on it, consider their par requirements with respect to height and positioning.. this wasn’t an exact science, if you plan to have acros, make some space up high that can be positioned to get good par

As you build, take some time away from the piece to give yourself time to think

As you build, take height measurements to make sure you’re not going too high

I broke up a lot of big dry rock and placed a lot of the decent pieces spread out on a table, once I started with the base, I was able to select unique pieces for how I wanted to build up

Have a rough draft of what you have in mind

 

[DYIguy]

Here’s my second piece I’ve done..
Some tips you may find helpful..

Buy extra dry rock, grab a chisel and a hammer to start trying to find unique/clean breaks that can contribute

Measure out the space you plan to fill in your tank, be sure to take height measurements too

Use blue painters tape and outline cardboard so that can be used as a “working space”, thus will ensure you don’t build outside of your specs for the space.

Consider the “rule of thirds” in photography

Consider the type of corals you plan to have on it, consider their par requirements with respect to height and positioning.. this wasn’t an exact science, if you plan to have acros, make some space up high that can be positioned to get good par

As you build, take some time away from the piece to give yourself time to think

As you build, take height measurements to make sure you’re not going too high

I broke up a lot of big dry rock and placed a lot of the decent pieces spread out on a table, once I started with the base, I was able to select unique pieces for how I wanted to build up

Have a rough draft of what you have in mind





View attachment 49960

Great in theory, and better for someone who has been reefing for years and is either starting over ( crash) or adding a new tank. I'm also an old school guy- where more is better - not into negative space- my tank looks more like the reefs I've snorkeled/dived in- basically a wall with caves, passages etc for the fish to swim through and around, as far as corals go- I've made 3 years of mistakes- too soon, lighting/ flow and parameters. The corals that I got from other members - bought, traded or for free have been the ones who have thrived in my tank- so there wasn't much forethought-just some research beforehand- although some I did buy online are also doing well. I don't glue my scape or most of my corals so I'm always rearranging- good and bad at times- move a rock and the wall collapses , and it never goes back to the same place lol. Someday I may actually glue some of my corals that aren't already on rocks
This is what my tan looks like 'today'