Brand new to the hobby and need advice - 75 gal

Thanx. I'm racking my brain to try to come up with some aquascaping ideas. I've got about 51" in length to work with. I don't want the tank to look overcrowded with rock, but I don't want it to look sparse either. I'm in the process of setting up a Photobucket acct to put up the rest of my pics. I'll post the link when it's up.

 

Here it is. Its got all the photos of the process so far. http://photobucket.com/joeymanning_75g_SW_Tank

 

Jmann the looking good so far. Two questions. Are you going to use eggcrates to elevate your rocks so they are not sitting all on the sand? Also on your stand are you running a sump or fuge? If you are you might want to consider removing one of your center braces for so that you can have better access. I see you used 4x4 so you have plenty of support. Just a thought. Keep it up. It's coming along good

 

I will drill the rocks and support them with pvc or arrange them so that they will set nicely on top of each other without falling. I will put the rocks in the DT first and then add sand so than no sand sifting livestock that I may get can burrow under them and make them fall.

As for the stand. I will be running a sump with a middle section fuge. I haven't put the right side panel on yet so that I can get the sump in there, but I also may hinge the right side to have another access point. I checked it out and I'll have pretty good access through the front side openings. The stand isn't done yet though. I still have the doors and trim to put on.

 

Sounds good J. I just didn't want you to end up getting stuck without maintenance access. As for for the rocks you mentioned PVC and stacking, are you planning on using glue for the smaller rock? I have some snails that sift but they don't move a lot of sand.

 

I will probably use some glue for the little rocks, but I don't want to that way I don't have to break them if I choose to rescape. Can you recommend a good glue for the rocks?

 

I like the new smaller rocks you got! You could always use those to grow out zoa or acan frags on, I know I wish I had a few smaller pieces like that I could arrange around the bottom of my scape for that.

Also great idea hinging the side. I bought my stand used and it has a middle brace, so my sump is stuck in there, only way out is up

 

I would suggest a reef epoxy, stuff works great and many different brands. You can make a bond as strong or weak as you like depending how much you apply.

As for rock do you have any larger pieces yet? I see a lot of pictures of reef tanks that use a lot of smaller rock and end up looking more like a rock pile covered the whole substrate. Whenever I see this all I can think about is the detritus that is goign to get trapped underneath all of this rock! Just remember when scaping the less rock actually touching or sitting on the substrate the better.

 

Yeah I have some larger ones.

So I had an aquascape idea today. Me and my daughter put it together and I took a few pics and a video. Critique away!



Video-

 

My pump came in today. I'll try it out later and let you guys know how it goes.

Is there any particular type of rubber that I can/can't use as a rubber pad under it, to absorb vibrations? I just don't want to put anything in the water that would be detrimental to the tank.