the art of live rock

[superchargedvr]

iv had my tank for about 3 months.. id say it has about 30lbs of live rock and when i buy some im never happy because it looks to "like i put that one there " can you guys give me any tips or tricks on how to make the live rock look like the ocean bed.. pictures would be excellent.. thank you

 

[reefkprz]

I basicly rearange about a bazzillion times untill I am happy. if you want it to lokk natural just make a precarious pile then knock it over (be careful not to break your tank) then just drop additional rock (from about an inch or two) then settle it by pusing it around untill it feels stable. here is a pic of my old 45g I dont have any pics of my 75 yet.

 

[superchargedvr]

wow thats really nice.. i wish i can get my tank to look like some on here.. i get so fustrated .. and now i have limited movement because my snowflake eel has made a home in the ones i want to rearange

 

[rykna]

Yeah awesome tank!!!

Landscaping your tank becomes better as the months go by, and yes you will have to rearrange the rocks a bazillion times before you get the look just right. I spent 2 hours last night fussing with my set up for my sea horse tank, and I still didn't get a set up I liked. I decided to leave the tank alone cause my 2 clown fish had had enough of me mucking up their house! Chloe, the female, was getting irritated enough that she started to nip at my hands.
When I first started I got ideas from pictures of reefs. I found that to be really helpful.
As for the rocks that your eel has chosen for a home, I rearange my snowflake eel tank several times; but a word of caution: the snowflakes need time to resettle in the new design, so make sure the lid is closed tight, so the eel won't jump out while in search for a new cubby hole!
Look forward to seeing pics!!

 

[teviesfish]

Well dont know if this helps you are not but this is my rock placement.
i just wing it..but i can tell you that i use cookie sheets and a folding table to try to lay out all of my peices... then i start with my bigger peices for the bottom and just go from there. i think this tank took me about 45 minutes and it was where it is in the picutre. Good luck oh and by the way... if you have a big peice you can also use a chissle and hammer and split the rock. it breaks nice and helps on occasion when you are in a jam and need one smaller

 

[travis89]

I just start with big peices on the bottom like teviesfish and go from there. I re-arranged my tank several times before I got it the way it is now, the last time I did it, it took a few hours and a lot of patience.

 

[paulcoates]

I am assuming you don't have many fish in there that are too big, however, you'll want to create some passageways for them to swim through and maybe a cave or two if you have shrimp or lobsters.
I'd say put the bigger pieces on the bottom and work your way up until the smaller pieces are at the top. I like the smallest pieces at the top because it makes it easier to move a coral that is attached to a small rock than a larger rock.
Here's mine.

 

[superchargedvr]

thanks guys! ill post pics soon.. i have
2 clowns percs-
a voltian lion 5 -6 inches
snowflake eel
dimono damsel
a hawian alge eater.. its a goby i think tho
a yellow tang and another damsel but i forget its name..
thanks for all the help im gunna post pics soon

 

[paulcoates]

what size tank?

 

[superchargedvr]

55

 

[squishy]

Changed the rock about a hundred times. Started Breaking peices to make it fit better. But thats some of the fun part is to rearrage your rock.

 

[water world]

I'v had my life rock for just over 30 days and it dose not look alive to me.How long does it take for life to appear ?

 

[paulcoates]

It could take a while. Mine took around 6 months before I saw full life on mine (pods, microsbristles)

 

[paulcoates]

Originally Posted by superchargedVR
thanks guys! ill post pics soon.. i have
2 clowns percs-
a voltian lion 5 -6 inches
snowflake eel
dimono damsel
a hawian alge eater.. its a goby i think tho
a yellow tang and another damsel but i forget its name..
thanks for all the help im gunna post pics soon

I gotta tell ya...you are overstocked.

 

[superchargedvr]

yea im not adding anymore fish tho. the eel was a present from my dad passing a really nice fish store thats pretty far from here.. so it was unexpecting but everyone gets along nice.. i rearragne my rocks tonight for about 1 hour .. it came out really nice how i wanted it .. im happy right now.. need about 15 more pounds and it should be finshed.. lights are off now so i will deffintly take pics tomrow though thanks guys for helping!

 

[kzoo]