125g Aquascaping (dry rock)

Discussion in 'Live Rock' started by Max125g, May 3, 2012.

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  1. Max125g

    Max125g Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    May 3, 2012
    Messages:
    43
    Hey 3Reef Community!
    Been browsing the forums for a little over 2 months now and I decided to create a username and make my first post.

    Used to be a freshwater guy, now got a nice 125g I have been working on for years (don’t ask). Just set up my aquascaping last night and I guess I wanted to show it off. Originally I had some HUGE goals but due to, well laziness I guess…, I have decided to scrap my “out of the box” ideas and proceed with my own creative and rock instead of the other crazy ideas I had. If for some reason your interested to see my original plan, the second plan and my experiments with melting PVC you can find the story here (sorry to post to another forum, not sure if that is allowed)
    Max's 125g -First Saltwater Tank


    So here I am after about 6 months of collecting select pieces of dry rock from, well all over, this is what I had to start with. (note that some of my smaller and “custom” pieces, meaning mortared together, are not in this picture)
    Sorry-these pictures were all taken in low light with my cell phone.
    The dry rock I used includes:
    4 pillars from Marco Rocks (roughly 12-20 lbs each)
    A few select pieces from random LFS (plenty around here in south florida)
    55lbs of Pukani from BRS (after all was said and done used about 45 lbs due to pieces breaking off during manipulation, hammer/chiseled)
    5-8 pieces of “custom” rocks using Marco’s mortar mix weighing anywere from 1 lb to 5 lbs each
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    Being a 72” long 125g, I don’t have much depth to work with but I still wanted to create the illusion of depth in the tank which was going to be tricks. Again it’s a bit hard to tell from the pictures but you should get a general idea. Also, being a marketing director, I tried to stay close to the rule of thirds.

    Here is an overview of the tank (front)
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    Looking at a closer view of right side (chiseled the hole in the big rock). I was trying to create the illusion of a broken reef so there is a distinct separation in the “right” island vs “middle” island.
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    Looking at the center island and left island. Here is where I really tried to create some depth having the left island go behind the center island and creating a few viewpoints where you can see through the center island
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    Here is the right island, but not really an island. I tried to create the illusion that this was the “main reef” and the middle and right were broken off portions of it. It’s hard to tell but there is a huge cave structure with many different ledges also going for some depth.
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    So that’s it. Just got my tropic eden aragasnow in today so ill be putting the sand in the tank tonight with hopefully water over the weekend. I hope this thread is perceived well so I can continue discussing my build and seek your criticism/advice/comments/suggestions

    Thanks 3Reef Community
     
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  3. skurious

    skurious Sailfin Tang

    Joined:
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    1,720
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    Im really liking it, personally i wouldnt change a thing.
     
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  4. APC

    APC Gigas Clam

    Joined:
    May 23, 2005
    Messages:
    850
    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    I think it looks great. Only question I have is do you have enough room on the sides to be able to get your hand down there to scrape the glass? Once Coraline algae starts popping, it is hard to get off, and you need to be able to get in there and scrub. Coraline is one of the big differences between fresh and salt water when it comes to cleaning. I only ask this question because I had to rebuild my reef once after I placed rocks too close to the glass and could not get in there and clean...and I cant tell in the pictures if you have enough room.
     
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  5. Max125g

    Max125g Astrea Snail

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    May 3, 2012
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    no i don't....
    i'll either have to look for "thin" scrapers/cleaners or... ugh redo the aquascaping that took me 6 hours last night. lol

    Thanks for pointing out the flaw in my design tho, better deal with it now than after it's established.
     
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  6. DBOSHIBBY

    DBOSHIBBY Sleeper Shark

    Joined:
    Jul 27, 2009
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    Location:
    Detroit, MI
    def move the rock so you can scrape the glass or you wil be pretty mad at yourself later down the road.

    in my opionion i would take some of the rock out and have more of a open aquascape with maybe 2 or 3 seperate islands.
    having said that i should remind you that it is your tank and it doesnt really matter what anyone else thinks. personally i like the look of less rock, but some would say my aquascape sucks. to each there own :)
    oh yeah, wlecome to 3reef too!
     
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  7. Brendan Z

    Brendan Z Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2011
    Messages:
    83
    Location:
    Orwigsburg, PA
    Aquascape looks great, but I would second the opinion to make sure there is enough room between the rock and glass for cleaning. I learned this lesson the hard way and still have a couple areas that I cannot scrape and it's a real PITA.

    Good luck on the rest of the build, keeping a saltwater aquarium is a challenging but rewarding hobby and I hope you find that to be the case as well.
     
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  9. jmann124

    jmann124 Feather Duster

    Joined:
    Apr 21, 2012
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    Location:
    Pulaski, TN
    I love the scape. It looks great. +1 on the space for scraping though. Welcome to 3reef.
     
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  10. Todd_Sails

    Todd_Sails Giant Squid

    Joined:
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    4,732
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    A Texan in S.E. Wisconsin
    Welcome to 3Reef!

    Nice job. If you can keep it like that, well, you're more disciplined than me!


    I'm attaching my first AS on my 125, no fish or livestock, still cycling in May 2011.

    Then you can view some or all of my short 3min DT video for recently, about a year later.

    My entire system has had many changes since then, and I'm still making them!
    It just keeps getting better!
     

    Attached Files:

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  11. Max125g

    Max125g Astrea Snail

    Joined:
    May 3, 2012
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    Got my Tropic Eden Aragasnow on Friday and added the sand over the weekend. Bought 4 30lb bags but only ended up adding 3. Looks like i got a solid 2-3.5" of sand across the bottom. Waiting for some saltwater to be delivered sometime this week. Just wanted to update the pictures because i think it looks a LOT better with sand in it. Also moved a few things around creating a bit more swimming space and made it so cleaning the sides will be a lot easier (still 2 spots that will be trouble but oh well)

    OH and thanks 3Reef community for all the kind words and tips/suggestions!

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  12. The Reef Daddy

    The Reef Daddy Astrea Snail

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    May 6, 2012
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