The Rebirth/Rebuild of my 180g sps thread

[jsdancer]

That's too much rock for my tastes. It's too close to the front & back for maintenace also.

Once corals start to get big these type of setups end up being thinned out of some rock

Same here I also think its too close to the front, I would suggest to make 8 iches back to make more room for corals to grow and fish to swim.

I understand completely what you guys are saying. One of my errors with the previous setup was bringing the rock work too close to the glass. It became very frustrating trying to clean the glass with the magnet scraper and not being able to.
I am taking into consideration removing the middle section to end up with just two islands.

Pics can be deceiving though. As of right now the rt island is about 5 inches from the front glass at the closest point. The further most point is appx. 12 inches with variations in between.
The lft island is appx 7 inches from the front glass, 6 inches from the side pane.

Coral placement will also be of prime importance. No softies for me except some Zoe's.

Before I mortar the rocks I will post a pic of the two islands.
Thanks guys for your input!

 

[jsdancer]

Sweet Scape!!! I see all kinds of great placement going on in there...

thanks jbanks. I agree! I have pleny of space for coral placement.

 

[chrishayes]

Thanks again Chris! Can't wait to see your build thread!

I already have a build thread bud! Lol

 

[jsdancer]

I already have a build thread bud! Lol

Lol! No I know! It's when you get your new monster tank thread! How soon do you think it will be?

 

[chrishayes]

Years really. Unless this one springs a leak and I can con my wife into thinking that a large tank will fix the leak! Lol

 

[jsdancer]

This update is a short one
I went ahead and siliconed the star board to the bottom of tank. As luck would have it one of my tubes of silicon bursed from the opposite end and made a big mess.
I took a trip to lowes bought a larger tube of 100% clear silicone and a trigger gun. Boy did it ever make the application easier.

Once that was done I went for rebuilding the aquascape so that I could get it memorized.
For one I made the decision to get rid of middle section. As I was frustrated with the right section I noticed a rock that was shaped just the right way. Shaped enough that when placed at a certain angle, voila made an archway.

Getting the kinks out of the aquascape is very important as once things are mortared you're stuck and pretty screwed. Even though you guys like the rock work I realized that the placement would not work. The rocks would have to be mortared in such a way that it would get too top heavy once the sps's grew. I opened things up a bit and arranged so that the rocks had more stability with each other.

Right side

This is it, FINALLY!! LOL!! FTS

Well this weekend is mortar time and fill up time!

 

[chrishayes]

Dont hate on me, but I dont like the new layout...its all the same height and basic shape. Theres no depth perception to it in pics and lets face it, thats why we make nice scapes, to show your tank better in pics on this site! My buddy whos building a tank was the same way about a bridge or arch, he just wouldnt give up on it. I wish I could talk both of you out of it. THey are just not functional longterm. Theyre fragile nature doesnt work when you have to prune coral and rearange things due to growth. ANd speaking of growth, once sps start to fill in on it, it disapears...if I were you, and Im not, id remove the whole middle section and just taper the left "mound" to the glass just in front of the "right mound". This will give it depth and negative space that makes for better picture taking and viewing.

That said, its your tank and please understand im nitpicking. Its a nice scape and will be fine left as is. It will just look like a rock wall when corals are grown in and I KNOW thats not what youre going for. Youve put so much time into your scape, kinda like I did, so I know what your end goal is. Just trying to help!

 

[jsdancer]

I know Chris, it is just a pain trying unbuild and rebuild. Just when you think you have it then you take down. Then when you rebuild you can't seem to get it just right.
The other as I explained earlier was just to unstable and trying to mortar that would be a HUGE pain. Having the depth preception can also be achieved I believe thru coral placement, don't ya think?

 

[Acronic]

Im also feeling the old scape more... It had more symmetry. But like you said, once coral has grown in nobody would be able to tell the difference so whatever lol

 

[jsdancer]

Im also feeling the old scape more... It had more symmetry. But like you said, once coral has grown in nobody would be able to tell the difference so whatever lol

Lol! I will rethink it out, Like I said before it was my final but as we all know we can change our minds!

 

[chrishayes]

It's your tank so do what u want with it is how I see it but don't settle. Especially now that you have open range on all aspects of your tank. Do it the right way right now that way there are no regrets, ya know? Either way u go u won't be doing wrong as corals grow in you'll lose intricacies of the scape but the overall shape will still be there so keep that in mind.

 

[rogerwilco357]

remember as long as your happy that is all that matters your the one looking at the tank everyday and cleaning the glass my last tank had massive pieces of rock and it was a bit much impeded the flow or so it seemed my next layout will have alot of space and my sump will house most of my rock till i put it back in the main tank piece at a time lol probably end up like it used to look before but hey it will be something to do..good luck your layout looks fine tank looks great cannot wait till you fill her up and get them coral in...
Roger

 

[hogsnapper7]

nice!

 

[jsdancer]

It's your tank so do what u want with it is how I see it but don't settle. Especially now that you have open range on all aspects of your tank. Do it the right way right now that way there are no regrets, ya know? Either way u go u won't be doing wrong as corals grow in you'll lose intricacies of the scape but the overall shape will still be there so keep that in mind.

I hear ya chris, I am completely happy with the left side of the tank but not thrilled with the right so I will keep plugging away till it has the depth and makes me happy.

 

[jsdancer]

remember as long as your happy that is all that matters your the one looking at the tank everyday and cleaning the glass my last tank had massive pieces of rock and it was a bit much impeded the flow or so it seemed my next layout will have alot of space and my sump will house most of my rock till i put it back in the main tank piece at a time lol probably end up like it used to look before but hey it will be something to do..good luck your layout looks fine tank looks great cannot wait till you fill her up and get them coral in...
Roger

lol roger! I know when we set up our tanks we are told more rock and more rock. Then we realize that the tank just looks like a bunch of rocks with coral glued on it.
You r rt as well if it makes me happy then thats what counts. But I did ask for help and I want to make sure as chris says not to settle and just to rush and get water in the tank will ultimately provide a short term satisfaction.

Good luck and post info on your redo!

 

[jsdancer]

Update:
Was able to start mortaring the aquascape today. The process was a bit troubling but working fast was the key.
The product from Marco Rocks is good but definitely you need a spray bottle. Mixing small amounts worked for me and a plan of action.
The places you plan on mortaring together need to be sprayed. The product as directed starts to harden within 10 mins. Working fast is key but as murphy's law things will not go right. LOL! I took the material in hands instead of the trowel and made balls about 2 inches round. You place the material then place your rock. Work the material quickly around the rock and crevices because it starts to dry. If you notice the material pulling away spray it with water and add a little more material and bingo the material stayed in place.
Be ready for possible mishaps and excess material falling off! Its ok next day it easily pics off glass or star board.

Tomorrow is filling up day!!!

 

[Acronic]

lol just so you know, if you only posted the second FTS my response would have been; Wicked scape!

its just the other one just looked soooo cool IMO.... Not to butt heads with you but I like the right side and think you should mess with the left side...LOL

 

[Acronic]

ohh, too late hahahha

 

[jsdancer]

lol just so you know, if you only posted the second FTS my response would have been; Wicked scape!

its just the other one just looked soooo cool IMO.... Not to butt heads with you but I like the right side and think you should mess with the left side...LOL

Lol! U like the one with the shelves on the right? Or do you like the one w/o the shelves?

 

[Acronic]

deff the one with shelves on the right