Making progress for a newbie

Pygmy angels (e.g. the Flame) are really only a problem for larger polyped SPS (I know, sounds like an oxymoron, but it isn't ) and not always. For softies and LPS, they almost never cause issues. I've never had one that was a problem with those.

 

So move him to the back of the line. What about a pair of clowns instead? Progress report for today is the ro/di is up and cooking water as we speak. 25% change every few days to replace existing treated tap water was the plan. Agree? Again only live rock present at the moment.

 

Comments:

- The smaller pieces along the top don't have a natural look to their placement. Try and make them fit in each others' nooks and crannies. Some of the smaller more round rocks should be used lower down to prop up bigger, more attractively shaped rocks.

- It's hard to say for sure, but in pic 3 the large whiter colored rock on the lower left looks like a prime candidate for a shelf feature. Instead of having it leaning down with the other rock on top of it, have it cantilevered straight out, securing it to the big base rock it's sitting on now with zip ties, epoxy and, if you're really adventurous, either acrylic or threaded nylon rods - more on this a little later. Shelves and caves give a cool look.

- Try to vary the height of the rockwork along the length of the tank to get a more natural feel.

- With such a thin tank, stacking rock seldoms yield natural looking results on its own. One thing that helps make more natural looks is physically connecting rocks together with either nylon rod or acrylic rods. Basically you set the rocks how they'd look good by holding them in place. Then visually get an idea of where you'd want to connect them, pull them out of the tank, hold them back in place on a tarp on the floor, get a masonry bit and drill holes through the two rocks (while one of you holds them together). Then insert the threaded rod and connect with nylon nuts/washers.

- Additionally, many times in a thin tank, getting a nice big anchor rock is tough to do because it will sit too far out from the back of the tank and protrude too much. You can solve for this by doing two things. First is to get a grinder and flatten one side of the rock so it fits snug (flat) against the back of the tank. The large rock on the right of pic 3 could be a candidate for this. You don't need to take a bunch off, but rather flatten out some protrusions to get more space in the front of the tank. Second, you can also mount the rock "to the bottom of the tank" with large nylon rod or even PVC so it stands in a manner that it never could do otherwise to create the illusion that it's connected to rocks under the sand. The way you do this is to get a small 3/8" thick PVC plate to act as a base, drill it to fit a PVC bulkhead or large nylon rod. Drill the large rock, put the rod/PVC through it and secure to the PVC plate. Cover the PVC with sand and you've got a cool self-standing rock. The rock on the bottom/right next to the large rock could be a candidate for this. Consider putting that on its side and at an angle to the front of the tank.

If you want some more info on my plate and rod method of aquascaping, feel free to send me a private message and I can give you more info. It is definitely more work, but gives far greater results.

 

This might be borderline high. You will need to keep an eye on your nitrates. And you might get some crowding stress. The clown gobies are kind of like freebees because they have a very low footprint all the way around. The chromis might be what puts you over the top. Smaller replacements might be in order - that and Green Chromis don't do it for me unless there are like 10 or more together where they might school.

Consider popping in a Royal Gramma in their place. They have a lower size footprint because they are smaller in size and take up far less swimming room. Alternately, consider a few Black Bar Chromis. Pretty cool little suckers and they stay small.

EDIT: Don't give up on a Pygmy Angel. They are primarily only an issue with SPS.

 

Great ideas all around rocketman. I'll get with you after thanksgiving on some more rock tips as that's something I'm no expert with at all. Also thanks for the fish ideas. I'm open to any and all as this was just our first run through list.