Need Help Regarding Aquascaping/Coral Set Up

J

JGARCED1

New member
So i am new to the entire hobby. I have seen multiple videos on YouTube on how to's and no to's. I would love to get some feed back if I am doing anything right as well as anything wrong. As all of you know, I don't have to stress the amount of money that it takes to start it off and maintain so I would love to get it right the first time around. Plus, most importantly, I want to make sure that when I start adding fish and coral, they survive. All of my readings came back perfect. I have checked the Calcium, Ammonium, Nitrate/Nitrite, Phosphate, Water Hardness. Temp of the tank is 76.8*. This tank is going to be a reef tank and about 10-15 +/- fish.

HOW IT FIRST STARTED
old.jpg


HOW IT IS NOW
View attachment 339443

Info:
-56 gal square tank
-Aqueon 06079 QuietFlow 55/75 Power Filter, 400-GPH
-1 Hydor Koralia Evolution 1050/1150 Aquarium Circulation Pump, 1050-1150 GPH
-2 Hydor Koralia Nano 425 Aquarium Circulation Pump, 425 GPH
-Green Killing Machine Internal 9 Watt UV Sterilizer with Power Head
-Current USA Orbit Marine Aquarium LED Light, 24 to 36-Inch
-Coralife BioCube Protein Skimmer for Aquarium Filter

*I have 40lbs of live sand in the tank and about 40lbs+/- of live rock. I know the whole 1lb per gal rule but I cant figure out a way to get more rock in the tank. Actually, I have been struggling with aquascaping since day one. I have attached a picture of the set. Please feel free to provide "constructive" criticism. I don't need anything just flat out putting negative or offensive remarks.

This is how I started
 
You could use epoxy or drill a hole through rocks and use a acrilic/fibergalss rod to support a taller structure. Building with flat ledges to support corals also helps. In the end i think coral placement is more important than rock design to have a natural looking reef. However a taller structure would allow you to place corals closes to lights. 10-15 fish sounds like alot for a 65g tank. Choose them wisely and have fun!
 
10-15 fish does sound like a lot. Whatever you decide to add just add it slow. Don't want to overload the system by adding too much too fast. This hobby is expensive and patience with stocking will help save money by not risking a crash
 
avoidtheboyd said:
10-15 fish does sound like a lot. Whatever you decide to add just add it slow. Don't want to overload the system by adding too much too fast. This hobby is expensive and patience with stocking will help save money by not risking a crash
Click to expand...

thank you very much for your feedback.. I will take it slow and keep that in mind
 
Scoted said:
You could use epoxy or drill a hole through rocks and use a acrilic/fibergalss rod to support a taller structure. Building with flat ledges to support corals also helps. In the end i think coral placement is more important than rock design to have a natural looking reef. However a taller structure would allow you to place corals closes to lights. 10-15 fish sounds like alot for a 65g tank. Choose them wisely and have fun!
Click to expand...


thanks for the feed back! i saw a few people doing that but i was worried it would be harmful for the fish. have you heard of anything like that?
 
JGARCED1 said:
thanks for the feed back! i saw a few people doing that but i was worried it would be harmful for the fish. have you heard of anything like that?
Click to expand...

No harm at all. Drill the rock, place the rod. The beautiful thing with a 65 gallon is the ability to go tall with the rock structures allowing a wide range of corals and placment options / seperation options.

Depending on your fish selection 10 fish COULD be possible in a 65 gallon but that seems like a lot. 15 is certainly too many. Get interesting members of the CUC and that will help.
 
davehead86 said:
No harm at all. Drill the rock, place the rod. The beautiful thing with a 65 gallon is the ability to go tall with the rock structures allowing a wide range of corals and placment options / seperation options.

Depending on your fish selection 10 fish COULD be possible in a 65 gallon but that seems like a lot. 15 is certainly too many. Get interesting members of the CUC and that will help.
Click to expand...

thank you very much for that info. I started looking around and i'll probably have about 6-7 fish at max
 
One thing to keep in mind is that many times when people say 1-2 pounds of rock per gallon this is often in regard to the more dense rock as well as possible WET rock. It looks as though some of your rock is dry Pukani. I have about 90 pounds of what was dry Pukani in my 150 gallon. I actually had to put a decent amount even in my sump. Don't only look at a number when determining how much rock you are short because it isn't always telling of the ability to help filter (Fiji does not have the same pour system as Pukani so it is not an apples to apples comparison). Specifically considering rock type as well as if you measured weight when wet vs dry will need to be considered as well. That being said, I don't think you would be hurt to add a little more rock if you are able to.

If nothing else, I agree with using either rods or epoxy them so that you can have a more interesting rock structure to build your reef on. You will definitely what to have various levels for the corals so only having the lower rock structure will not give you a wide spectrum of coral choice. I really liked the Pukani I used because it was extremely easy to shape with only a chisel and mallet (no effort to break rock away). The other nice things is it provides a great surface to place coral frags because they can kind of be hidden in the rock work's natural holes. Regardless of how you proceed with the rock, you are taking the time to do your research so you are much more likely to be successful.
 
A.Astore said:
One thing to keep in mind is that many times when people say 1-2 pounds of rock per gallon this is often in regard to the more dense rock as well as possible WET rock. It looks as though some of your rock is dry Pukani. I have about 90 pounds of what was dry Pukani in my 150 gallon. I actually had to put a decent amount even in my sump. Don't only look at a number when determining how much rock you are short because it isn't always telling of the ability to help filter (Fiji does not have the same pour system as Pukani so it is not an apples to apples comparison). Specifically considering rock type as well as if you measured weight when wet vs dry will need to be considered as well. That being said, I don't think you would be hurt to add a little more rock if you are able to.

If nothing else, I agree with using either rods or epoxy them so that you can have a more interesting rock structure to build your reef on. You will definitely what to have various levels for the corals so only having the lower rock structure will not give you a wide spectrum of coral choice. I really liked the Pukani I used because it was extremely easy to shape with only a chisel and mallet (no effort to break rock away). The other nice things is it provides a great surface to place coral frags because they can kind of be hidden in the rock work's natural holes. Regardless of how you proceed with the rock, you are taking the time to do your research so you are much more likely to be successful.
Click to expand...

WOW thank you so much for all of this valuable information. I didn't know all of this. I actually have about another 10lbs of rock that I "did not find use for" with what I just read, I will have to go back to the "drawing board" and see what I do. Thanks again a million for helping me out and understand a little more!
 
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