tips on aquascaping

[tyler geene]

i have a 55 gallon fish only tank and i am getting ready to put everything in a 90 gallon aquarium. i have a lot of live rock and i know that a 90 isnt that much bigger but it still is enough for the amount of live rock i have and i dont want it to look empty. any tips on how to get a larger structer out of what i got. here is a pic of the amount of rock that i have. none of it is really big

 

[srgvigil]

Are you going to want to go to a reef someday?

 

[ric maniac]

Make lots of shelves for coral and fish that rest on rocks.
NO rocks should be touching glass, this is for ease of cleaning and so it wont scratch/break the glass
Put the rocks in first, then the sand so that it is sturdy.
Use epoxy wherever it might possibly be needed. No need to risk rocks falling and crushing inverts or your favorite coral.
Plan so that flow will get to EVERY point in the tank.
leave a lot of sand bed space, its personal preference but it leaves room for delicate lps corals like brains.

 

[tyler geene]

maybe, but not right now. i dont have the time for it. i am going to get rid of my cc starfish and get a linkia and make my tank atleast reef safe so i can start off with maybe a anemone and few feather dusters stuff like that.

 

[markeo99]

you can drill holes through the rocks and buy clear plastic coat hangers to go through the holes to tie everything together you can do caves and arches and stuff

 

[aquaknight]

To the TOP! No, I'm not bumping the thread, aquascape your rocks higher, all the way to the very top of the water (even sticking out some). That and separate, you don't have to build a solid 'sea-wall' of rocks. Make two or three islands of rocks.
Indeed, get a masonry drill bit and some clear plastic rod and build shelves, overhangs, arches, etc. You do see your current problem in that yea, most of the rocks are pretty small. If you're planning on buying more, look for larger pieces, and some flat shelf pieces. The other thing is you don't have to use all of your live rock. If you were to take some of the small useless pieces out, and create a more open look, it would improve aesthetics greatly. Toss the extra rock into your sump.
BTW, get some surface agitation on that thing, can see the protein build-up!

 

[tyler geene]

i dont really want to drill my rock ive herd about using egg crate i dont really want to use it like they do in the frag tanks were the just make a little mountian but to make arcs and stuff it would let me use smaller peices of rock and i wouldnt have to worry about them falling. do you think that would work

 

[kevin34]

I would just make sure there are plenty of caves and hiding spaces for your fish and inverts and make sure that it is sturdy. You also want to keep plenty of swimming room in front for the fish but I think making it sturdy is the most important thing. I wouldnt want my rocks falling and breaking my tank

 

[jerl77]

2 years later still not happy with mine.

i change it 1 time a week

 

[nycbob]

get a few pvc pipes from home depot or lowes , then stack ur live rocks on top of it. u save on live rocks, and also create places for fish and inverts to thrive.

 

[finksmart]

Originally Posted by tyler geene
http:///forum/post/2636738
i have a 55 gallon fish only tank and i am getting ready to put everything in a 90 gallon aquarium. i have a lot of live rock and i know that a 90 isnt that much bigger but it still is enough for the amount of live rock i have and i dont want it to look empty. any tips on how to get a larger structer out of what i got. here is a pic of the amount of rock that i have. none of it is really big
Hey man what kind of sand do you have in that 55g? It looks nice. Is it hard changing water? Does it get all over the place?