Greg, thank you very much for the encouragement. I have a few approaches planned from material I have gathered in this thread as well as others. First I think, even with the reservations I have noted from others I will use egg crate to secure the basic structure on the bottom. One way or another I will get the flow that the tank needs so stability must be assured at the outset.
I am going to try and drill plugs as much as I can for securing the coral as I have a specific philosophy regarding coral placement and rotation (more on this later).
Since my tank is only 36 inches deep and 30 inches high my plan is to create a layout that respects the anticipated coral growth and avoids the sides by as much margin as possible. Chingchai, to his credit, suggested at the outset that the depth should be 48 in. Unfortunately the specs had already gone to ATM so I could not correct that.
One huge element that I had planned for and have since got a glimpse of the wisdom of that decision was to lay out the tank in such a way that there would not be a back or front per se. With very careful planning and execution I will have a total of 50 feet of sea scape. That means paying very close attention to all sides of the live rock formation. Two of the four styles I expect to see are the 'cloud mountain' and the 'canyon' architectures. If you imagine standing on the outside of the short arm of the L you have 8 feet of tank to work with. Imagine 6 feet of space on the left side allocated to the cloud mountain formation very similar to the layout of Mafia's tank on this thread. The distinctive character of the canyon style is a sense of depth that feels like it goes on forever. So I'm planning to take advantage of the 16 feet of depth to create a long winding canyon from the perspective of the right hand side of that 8 ft section. Fortunately the branch rock will give me ample opportunity to gain height without excessive mass and still offer stability due to the weight. I plan to use the same underwater compound that Chingchai used to secure the live rock formation. It will take time to get it right but I have learned from Chingchai and others that its truly worth it in the long run. I do have some interesting rock pieces that would have great appeal even if I left them bare (which I will not do
).
My wife has taught me a considerable number of lessons with her gardening skill. Patience, patience, patience. Instant gardens are great for trade shows but in the real world mature gardens take time and a lot of nurturing (unless you are Chingchai):wave:. Planning for growth takes skill and a practiced eye which I do not have.....yet!! But this group does so I am hoping for a combination of insight from you folks with a determination on my part to learn and grow from this to be able to 'garden' more and more on my own.
To get a head start I may collaborate with Chingchai's access to the Aqua farmed products for a shipment to give me a good start.
much, much more on this later..........
Peter
therefore the name "Nine Slopes" .... do ignore the confusion :sad2:.
