OneReef
Reef Guru
I have been inspired by some of the cool aquascapes that I have seen on RC lately. I am thinking of redoing mine. I have alot of room and it looks 'open' but the rock has somehow over time ended up stacked against the back wall. I hate that. I am going to redo today if I find the energy and follow some of Steve Weast's rules of aquascaping. He had one of the coolest scapes in his old Oregon reef before it crashed.
Here are some of the 'rules':
Here's Steve Weast comments............he says it well concerning this pic........
"Greg (Bonsainut) posted the best example of aquascaping perfection. It's the one I always come back to for inspiration....and why ? ....because I believe the answer to all your aquascaping questions are right there in that pic..... you just need to notice its philosophies...
1) have just as much positive space (rocks and corals) as negative space (open water and sand)
2) Don't worry about creating nooks/crannies/caves/etc....they just will be eventually covered by livestock. Instead focus on the general rock shape that has both low and high points...perhaps even breaking the surface. Focus on large details...not small crevices (especially if you have a large tank).
3) Maintain an algae free back (and sides if possible) to create an illusion of infinite depth....contrary to what we'd all like to believe, coralline does not create an attractive back drop...only a distracting one.
4) hide all the things of man.....overflows...pumps...pipes....etc.
5) don't clutter the sand bed with a bunch of livestock....a clam or two...maybe...but that's it. Cluttered sandbeds just make the overall display look too busy. You can improve the overall display tremendously by just removing all the frags, zoas, blastos, etc that so many people seem to keep on the sandbed these days......it just distracting.
And finally....the aquascaping will have to be adjusted every so often.....growth eventually will destroy the best of aquascaping. I've seen so many tanks start off so promising, with fantastic rockwork.... only to spiral down into something less so..... just because the aquarist didn't take action to prevent its downfall or simply just over stocked it.. It usually ends up with a solid line of rock....all at the same height....covered in livestock....from end to end. There could be all the purple monsters, acans and superman monties in the world in there....but, if the overall structure is two dimensional and over crowded, it's just blah.....OR you could have the most ordinary of corals....and softies at that....as long as the rock structure follows the above guidelines, it will inspire all who view it and deliver the oooohs an aaaahs......just like the Japanese tank above.
This subject is very dear to my heart....I spent this whole three day weekend re-working my aquascaping.....it was just that time again."
http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_aquascaping.htm
http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_philosophy.htm
Weast's Old Tank:
Here are some of the 'rules':
Here's Steve Weast comments............he says it well concerning this pic........
"Greg (Bonsainut) posted the best example of aquascaping perfection. It's the one I always come back to for inspiration....and why ? ....because I believe the answer to all your aquascaping questions are right there in that pic..... you just need to notice its philosophies...
1) have just as much positive space (rocks and corals) as negative space (open water and sand)
2) Don't worry about creating nooks/crannies/caves/etc....they just will be eventually covered by livestock. Instead focus on the general rock shape that has both low and high points...perhaps even breaking the surface. Focus on large details...not small crevices (especially if you have a large tank).
3) Maintain an algae free back (and sides if possible) to create an illusion of infinite depth....contrary to what we'd all like to believe, coralline does not create an attractive back drop...only a distracting one.
4) hide all the things of man.....overflows...pumps...pipes....etc.
5) don't clutter the sand bed with a bunch of livestock....a clam or two...maybe...but that's it. Cluttered sandbeds just make the overall display look too busy. You can improve the overall display tremendously by just removing all the frags, zoas, blastos, etc that so many people seem to keep on the sandbed these days......it just distracting.
And finally....the aquascaping will have to be adjusted every so often.....growth eventually will destroy the best of aquascaping. I've seen so many tanks start off so promising, with fantastic rockwork.... only to spiral down into something less so..... just because the aquarist didn't take action to prevent its downfall or simply just over stocked it.. It usually ends up with a solid line of rock....all at the same height....covered in livestock....from end to end. There could be all the purple monsters, acans and superman monties in the world in there....but, if the overall structure is two dimensional and over crowded, it's just blah.....OR you could have the most ordinary of corals....and softies at that....as long as the rock structure follows the above guidelines, it will inspire all who view it and deliver the oooohs an aaaahs......just like the Japanese tank above.
This subject is very dear to my heart....I spent this whole three day weekend re-working my aquascaping.....it was just that time again."
http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_aquascaping.htm
http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_philosophy.htm
Weast's Old Tank:
