drummereef's 180g in-wall build

[drummereef]

You have been doing an incredible job so far. just a little more patience. Go ahead and just try multiple things untill you catch a idea that you like. I am also one for the minimlist approach. Remember big rocks up top block light below. Just take your time.

You might even want to drill some little holes for frag plugs. Do you remember Marc 900 DIY tank his aquascape was awesome. Dig up his thread and see if you can get some more ides. Good luck. Either way like others said you might move it again but a little more patience her can go along way.

His tank was unbelievable Eric. Too bad he had to shut it down. Aquascaping was amazing and very natural looking. Thanks for the tips!

Yeah just keep it simple...the coral layout and growth will probably be more appealing once it fills in anyway. The general layout you just had is pefrect w/ just a simple thining or opening of the right pile you had!

And goes as said above....set it & leave it as u can go nuts re-doing!

Thanks for the advice 110. That last pic was just for scale reference. I really like the idea of the 3 islands, just have to get the large on where I want it. The smaller ones are easy.

Brett ,

tank is looking awesome man. Cant wait to see that thing up and running. I wish I had the patience you did. My tank has officially been up and running for a year now, cant believe its been that long since we both started our tanks.

Is that Marcorock?

Thanks gradth. Glad to hear your tank is doing well! Can't believe it's been that long!!! I really need to get some water going in my tank.

Brett,
Did you have a look at what we did in the new 300?
It's not exactly minimalist, but there is tons of negative space for coral growth and swimming room.

Mike, your 300 is absolutely beautiful! Great job on the aquascaping. Can't wait to see those corals fill in.

Good luck figuring out the aquascaping. I'm not looking forward to that myself.

:lol: Yeah, I have an idea in my head of what i want it to look like but it's really hard getting that to come out into the rock for some reason. It's like there's a magic code to how these things fit together and it will all make sense. haha.

 

[j-dizzle]

ok ok i am a little late but im here now to admire an amazing build!!! your attention to detail bret is unreal and hope to have a tank close to this some day!!!! cant wait to see more! sign me up!

 

[prop-frags]

Yeah, I have an idea in my head of what i want it to look like but it's really hard getting that to come out into the rock for some reason. It's like there's a magic code to how these things fit together and it will all make sense. haha.

OK then lets see it!
Take a sheet of paper, draw it out, and post a pic for us to look at!
Swoop did the drawing approach this way

and boozeman took a 3d approach to design/visualization

 

[drummereef]

ok ok i am a little late but im here now to admire an amazing build!!! your attention to detail bret is unreal and hope to have a tank close to this some day!!!! cant wait to see more! sign me up!

Thank you Jesse. You've come at the right time... need aquascaping help! :lol:

 

[drummereef]

OK then lets see it!
Take a sheet of paper, draw it out, and post a pic for us to look at!
Swoop did the drawing approach this way

and boozeman took a 3d approach to design/visualization

Those are great Mike, thanks for posting. Uploading a couple pics now...

 

[drummereef]

OK, so what have I been learning through this process...? I definitely know my favorite tanks to look at are chocked full of coral, hard to believe right? My eye is drawn to tanks like SunnyX's, ReefBum's and one I just found, BareAre's reef. I know, I know getting your coral to look like that is a MAJOR challenge but that's the fun part of the hobby to me.

SunnyX
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13912713&postcount=477

BareAre
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14765822&postcount=160


So with that, would anyone argue that those rock structures above look like just a big pile of rock? :lol: ...minus Sonny's little caves. It's the amazing coral that gives the structure it's character right? I originally purchased 150lb of rock but am finding the largest pieces are either too big or out of scale for the size tank I have. I'm considering buying another 50lb and specifying I need smaller pieces. Simply because I think I need a little more rock to make it feel balanced in the tank. Thoughts???

Oh, and I added about 60lb of Caribsea Seaflor Special Grade Aragonite Sand. It's amazing what a little sand can do.

 

[Taqpol]

I'm just gonna say... I think those rocks right there are perfect! Perfect flow, perfect shape, and I LOVE the 'cup' shaped rock on the top of the right island and the tiny rock thats barely not touching the biggest island. The sand looks really good to.

Fill 'er up!

 

[crvz]

looks great. I think you're on the right track. Just add coral.

 

[drummereef]

Aww, you guys are just saying that. Do you think there's enough rock? I feel like there could be a few more pounds, especially on the right which will be a focal point of the layout. I tried to get a FTS to give you a better sense of scale but it came out blurry. I'll try again...

 

[Taqpol]

As I said, of the two things I don't like about my rockwork is that i made both islands too high and there are not enough room for my acro's to grow into true forests.

Seriously, that looks really good!

 

[drummereef]

As I said, of the two things I don't like about my rockwork is that i made both islands too high and there are not enough room for my acro's to grow into true forests.

Seriously, that looks really good!

Thank you Alex. I tweaked two small things and now I'm pretty happy about it.... Happy enough to add water. Uploading pics now....

 

[drummereef]

UPDATE:


I think the aquascape is complete.... at least enough to start the system. I'm sure I'll be tweaking as time goes on but I like what I see now. Thank you everyone who helped get the idea that was in my head down to the sand. Truly appreciate it.


FTS

More to come..... :fish1:

 

[drummereef]

Couple more angles of the aquascape...

And here's what's left over. You can see the scale of a couple of the pieces by the hammer and tube of caulk. The three pieces on the left were just too big, out of scale to the tank. Once I eliminated those pieces it started to make sense.

What do you think? Is it time for WATER??? :beer:




:fish1:

 

[tegee]

Looks GREAT....only suggestion or very minor tweak is to add one small piece to the right of the middle island. Just a thought. Also, when I did my new 180-gl. build 7-weeks ago I kept all my rock work away from all sides of the tank by 6"+ for maintenance and overall look. Can't tell too much by the pics, but I think you have that nailed down too. I like to keep the back of the tank wall clean at all times and I personally do not like rock work stacked against back wall, etc.

But I think you have it nailed......put water and you can always add and/or make small rock changes later. Let's get H2O in there.

GREAT JOB...............

 

[easydoesit]

Looks great! I like what you've done here.

 

[erics3000]

That is good so far. You might want to try a different type of rock for the rest. Something like tonga branch or something.

 

[j-dizzle]

aquascape looks awesome brett. by seeing what you have done here has changed my mind on what i want to do on my 72g build. some times less is more thats what my wife tells me anyway :lol:

 

[drummereef]

Looks GREAT....only suggestion or very minor tweak is to add one small piece to the right of the middle island. Just a thought. Also, when I did my new 180-gl. build 7-weeks ago I kept all my rock work away from all sides of the tank by 6"+ for maintenance and overall look. Can't tell too much by the pics, but I think you have that nailed down too. I like to keep the back of the tank wall clean at all times and I personally do not like rock work stacked against back wall, etc.

But I think you have it nailed......put water and you can always add and/or make small rock changes later. Let's get H2O in there.

GREAT JOB...............

Thanks tegee! Yeah I kept all my rocks away from the glass, at least enough to get a magnet or razor back there. I hate coralline on the glass too. Do you have a thread with pics of your new setup?

Looks great! I like what you've done here.

Thank you easydoesit.

That is good so far. You might want to try a different type of rock for the rest. Something like tonga branch or something.

That's a great idea Eric! Definitely looks a little (alot) sterile at this point. I suppose I will, reluctantly, seed the tank with a couple pieces of something so I'll look for a different type of rock for that job. I say reluctantly because it's so clean right now, no pests! :lol:

aquascape looks awesome brett. by seeing what you have done here has changed my mind on what i want to do on my 72g build. some times less is more thats what my wife tells me anyway :lol:

OMG! That's just wrong. :lolspin: :hammer: :lol:

 

[Taqpol]

This is the best shot. Look at all that room!! Definitely ready for water.

You don't need much rock to seed your entire system, and you will get corraline over time anyways. I've had two major problems with pests, so if I were to do it over again i would use dry rock and seed with a singular piece of live rock that had been THOROUGHLY quarantined.

 

[drummereef]

This is the best shot. Look at all that room!! Definitely ready for water.

You don't need much rock to seed your entire system, and you will get corraline over time anyways. I've had two major problems with pests, so if I were to do it over again i would use dry rock and seed with a singular piece of live rock that had been THOROUGHLY quarantined.

Thanks Alex... Clams!!!

That's a great suggestion Alex. What pests did you have to deal with? I also considered seeding the tank for a few days (maybe a week) with the piece of rock then pulling it from the tank. Do you think this would work?