How does my tank look? Can it use some help?

sikpupy

sikpupy

In Memoriam
Just wondering about the rock work. Does it look okay, too busy? I am thinking I need to do something with that shelf peice to the right, where the basslet is hanging under (if you can see him).

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/csmc1013/3652055533/" title="tankshot by jwwgo, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3329/3652055533_fe2da4809c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="tankshot" /></a>



Here is a link to the full size shot

http://www.flickr.com/photos/csmc1013/3652055533/sizes/l/
 
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Looks good, how do you like it? Thats is whats really important! It will look great when everything grows in.
 
maybe take out a few in the middle move the shelf up a little higher. this way you can have a v shape with two islands. i am a big fan of shelfs and over hangs. there are different kinds of critters that grow there and who doesnt like some biodiversity. it looks good, but a little like just stacked rocks. i would try to condense them into a couple of little islands. you have plenty of rock for the fish to be able to still swim through. this will help in keeping little pods alive longer. that is all i can say. the tank does look great, and once you get some more life in there it will look even better!
 
I know that it is my opinion thats important. Thing is, i could go a bazillion ways about it. All the rock is made from hand, has lots of surface area as it is like swiss cheese. It also has many many nooks and crannies for the fish too. I was trying to make something for large and small fish to play in. My main concern is that it looks like it flows together and does not look like blocks of rocks, lol.
 
I might have to take another picture of it at a differant angle. Looking at the picture the looking at the tank, in person it seems to be much more blended. Hmmm, is that a face only a mother could love syndrom, lol?

redhanded77: Yea, I will try to get some pics of that tonight.

es1887: Thats definitly an idea. I did a full on stacking so the fish would have lots and lots and lots of places to hide. I plan on having quite a few gobies, so, I wanted each one to have a place to go if they felt threatened.

Two islands is a possible. That thing in the middle is one big peice i call Jerassic Park, from the scene where the scientists come up on the field of dinasours for the first time. Looks like all the tall brontasourus legs together, lol. My main goal was to blend in rocks to that and make the whole tank look like a ^ shape. Kind of did not work out as well as planned. You have the idea in your mind but when you start making the rock, the rock takes on a mind of its own.

Right now I have what my friend has named "the death star" to the right (she thinks she is funny, lol). Its a big mellon sized catacome of a ball. I forgot rocks are not shaped like a basketball, lol. Then there is Jurassic park in the middle and you can see Castle Grayskull (another name my friend used when it was the only object in the tank and gray, yes, she is real funny) leaning on the right, incrusted with coraline. Those were the three main players when I started up and ended with this. Least while this is growing in with pods and such, I can come up with other options. I think I might even scratch the whole layout and try something differant, but, thats later. Maybe I will put Castle Grayskull up on the auction block for $20 (mmmmm, all that coraline!!) so I can make some room for a new layout? For now, guess I may move a rock here or there, make some islands ect. You know how aquascaping goes, lol.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15240641#post15240641 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spleify
Looks good, how do you like it? Thats is whats really important! It will look great when everything grows in.
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it better myself, what's important is that you are happy with it because you have too look at it every day. Personally i think it looks great. I like how their is a pillar look in the middle, and there are numerous places for inverts to pop in and out and for fish to do the same. I wouldn't change a thing. Depending on your lights, you can put some monti frags on the front of that flat shelf to the right and have them grow out from that. I think that would look sweet! Nice Job!!
 
ONe thing I might have done was paint the back of the tank black or a dark blue. Everything pops so much more and it adds more depth to the tank with a solid back. Plus it will hide all of your piping and wiring. Just a thought.
 
No watter what you do, it isn't gonna look 'right' for a while. You got a bunch of obviously man-made 'rocks' sticking in the sandbed. With a bunch of pipes, and powerhead, with water, and a few fish swimming around. If you scrap it, and make telle-tubbie hill, and power ranger point, and it will still be the same results. Get the structure you want... the feeling... with caves and paths and fun for fishes, then wait for all your work to dissappear behind the life in the tank. In a year, you shouldn't be able to see any of the stuff you made, no matter how 'funny' the name of it is.

I love how my liverock layout turned out, and I dont ever wanna have to move a thing. Aquascaping is one of the first steps, for me, and never touched again. This time it took about 4 hours to jiggle and wiggle it... but it is amazing. Well, the rock itself I lucked out on, cuz IT is very cool... but I digress. My last set-up was 5 years, and I put the rock in, and it stayed for the whole time. I didn't want to disturb anything... expecially the stuff UNDER it. lol
 
Agree with the back black. That overflow is gorgeous now, won't be so much later.

I love the pillars in the left middle. I like my rockwork a little more open than that. Stacked that high is great at the start, but when (hopefully) you get some massive corals there are no room for them.

Jim
 
Looks great! Agree witht he back blackground too, and also that is one DSB! The DSB sure does take away alot of volume, just depends on what your trying to do. I moved my DSB into my sump.
 
Thanks all.

Over flow will be cleaned religiously as everytime I look at it she makes me proud knowing I made her all by meself :D . One thing I want to do is make a light weight thin peice of rock to cover the one section of the over flow drains. As soon as my YWG calms down and stays on the bottom, I will take the goby guard off the coast to coast (all YWG perish in it).

I actually wanted a not so tall tank. With the overflow and sand, its perfect for me. I am going ot have a 5" boarder on the bottom covering the sand which should go along with the boarder on the top for the canopy, which useually is around 5"

I have not decided on the back yet. I am still thinking of a light to dark fading blue, with a light shining down between the tank and background. That should give it hella depth. Especially if i ave someone airbrush some faded rocks in the background too.
 
I cant wait for my overflow to get Coralined up. I don't want to see ANYTHING man-made... even a pretty overflow. I would be worried that doing all the work on the backglass will just make your overflow stand out even more. I wish I hadda used frosted or tinted glass for mine now. Oh well... live and learn. My over flow comes down JUST below the rocks of my DT, so I am hoping there is enough of a masking effect to make it work for me. See, for me, "LOOKS GREAT" means you dont see it at all.
 
Looks good to me. A good mix of flat surfaces with vertical pieces and arches. The open spaces in the rock will allow for good circulation.
 
Imzadi: True, I like that idea, but, I HATE coraline algea. I wish GSP would stay put or I would use that up there. My next option was to just keep it sparkling clean, like......... glass, lol. I almost did smoke color, but decided I wanted the light to filter in through the overflow and to the back of the tank. I guess if you have coraline blocking that, you wil not have any algea issues back there, lol?

Took some pic earlier Redhanded77. If I am not too lazy when I get home, I will post them for you. I am also gonna check the semi side angle shot to see if that came out like I see it when I look at the tank.
 
I love your rock work. I think your idea for a background would be awesome. If you do that, could you show us how you do it?
 
Thanks.

It’s going to be tricky with the piping in the back. There is only like 2" or so between the pipe and back of tank. I believe a retro slim t-5 should do the trick, but, that’s a little down the road.

Okay, here is a side "side" view as almost promised, lol. Notice I made enough room in the back to clean, have circulation and for the fish to swim around. I was thinking of making one big piece so I could control the back rock more, make it totally flat, while making the front look like there was/are separate pieces of rock. Again, while I am making the rock, the image seems to elude me. Its like slot "A" into slot "B" sounds good on paper, but, putting it into principle is a yitch. How in the earth did Michelangelo, Auguste Rodin, Donatello, and Canova hold the image in their mind AND sculpture at the same time? :mad2: :lol: :rolleyes:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/csmc1013/3654823267/" title="DSC02494 by jwwgo, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3653/3654823267_278b2e20e1.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSC02494" /></a>

This look here is more of what it looks like in person no matter what angle in person you look at. The first one was very sterile and fake looking......honest :)

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/csmc1013/3654823043/" title="DSC02492 by jwwgo, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3413/3654823043_bcc382a853.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSC02492" /></a>

339 views and 17 comments? That means there are 322 negatives out there (cause all the ones in here are posotive) since everyone here I am sure does not say anything at all if they cant say anything nice. Come on, need to hear some negative, I know it is out there, its all good! Heck, the snails think it looks horrible! Why else would they be in the overflow trying to get away? One just shot himself because he could not take the embarrassment :lol:
 
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