tmantaylor18
Active member
Thank you!
Tips and Tricks on Creating Amazing Aquascapes
- Thread starter Veganbrian
- Start date
Thank you!
aleithol
New member
dh7922
New member
Mine isn't the real wild tonga branch or the dry stuff from brs. It's the man made tonga from Real Reef Rocks. I just had my lfs order it for me through Real Reef. Really nice stuff and easy to work with. I'm not using any epoxy or anything, they're just stacked on top of each other.
GroceryGetterS4
New member
I don't see a lot of folks aquascaping with Tonga branch, personally I think they're easy to work with and can create some awesome looking scapes. Here's a few picture of my tank with some branch rock.
Here's a side view showing how wide the scape is with just 40-45 lbs of rock. The tank is 30" wide by the way.
Never seen tonga branch I liked....till now! That looks awesome!
fessoclown
Dis-Membered
Glad I stumbled onto this thread. Tagging along.
Sharkman999
New member
This is mine this evening, a relatively new tank so needs a lot more corals, plus I had velvet about a month ago which wiped out all but four of my fish....seem to be over it now so slowly re building.
fessoclown
Dis-Membered
What a great thread, I just got caught up. Here is my new tank, I am thinking it is a little too symmetrical.... or maybe not symmetrical enough... any thought? Critiques...
Great thread, and it provided me many ideas for this build.
This is the reef as originally set up October 2013 just after the move from a 180 at the old house to this 300 at the new house. The idea is to have a reef accessible and viewable from all four sides, so the aquarium left and rear are two foot from the walls. The reef structure provides many swim-throughs for the fish, and is built diagonally from what is the left rear in this photo to about 2/3 of the way to the right front. I used a Zooanthid rock as an "exclamation mark" for this structure. I then placed the Euphyllia rocks against the right rear overflow, and later placed M. capricornis on it as well as a few acros, which are beginning to grow quite well on the right side.
This is the reef as of October of 2014. I've shifted a few rocks, replaced the oolite with rubble to maintain a high flow rate, the corals have grown in a bit. All SPS corals in this photo started as 3" or smaller frags in this past year.
The view from the "right end" of the reef looking down it's length. I'm looking forward to replacing these pumps this week to free up the view completely.
Here you can see the reef structure from the "back" overflow to the left front foreground diagonally across the aquarium, and the burgeoning "Euphyllia" rock on the overflow to the right.
I think with the replacement of the large internal pumps with some (much) more inconspicuous models and another years' growth, this should be quite the fish hang-out and invert-bar. The chromis are already beginning to find spots in the acropora colonies to hide/rest/dart in and out from, and everyone else seems to enjoy working the reef.
Thanks to the original posters to this thread for their thoughts and ideas that have gotten this reef to this point!
Cheers,
Ray
This is the reef as originally set up October 2013 just after the move from a 180 at the old house to this 300 at the new house. The idea is to have a reef accessible and viewable from all four sides, so the aquarium left and rear are two foot from the walls. The reef structure provides many swim-throughs for the fish, and is built diagonally from what is the left rear in this photo to about 2/3 of the way to the right front. I used a Zooanthid rock as an "exclamation mark" for this structure. I then placed the Euphyllia rocks against the right rear overflow, and later placed M. capricornis on it as well as a few acros, which are beginning to grow quite well on the right side.
This is the reef as of October of 2014. I've shifted a few rocks, replaced the oolite with rubble to maintain a high flow rate, the corals have grown in a bit. All SPS corals in this photo started as 3" or smaller frags in this past year.
The view from the "right end" of the reef looking down it's length. I'm looking forward to replacing these pumps this week to free up the view completely.
Here you can see the reef structure from the "back" overflow to the left front foreground diagonally across the aquarium, and the burgeoning "Euphyllia" rock on the overflow to the right.
I think with the replacement of the large internal pumps with some (much) more inconspicuous models and another years' growth, this should be quite the fish hang-out and invert-bar. The chromis are already beginning to find spots in the acropora colonies to hide/rest/dart in and out from, and everyone else seems to enjoy working the reef.
Thanks to the original posters to this thread for their thoughts and ideas that have gotten this reef to this point!
Cheers,
Ray
DivingTheWorld
Active member
What a great thread, I just got caught up. Here is my new tank, I am thinking it is a little too symmetrical.... or maybe not symmetrical enough... any thought? Critiques...
I like it! It seems very Dr. Seuss like. I've been reading those a lot with my son lately...
But it looks cool, almost mystical. I like all the overhangs and caves. To your point, maybe reduce the height of one or two of the pinnacles so it's less symmetrical? But I'm not the artistic one here...
fessoclown
Dis-Membered
Great thread, and it provided me many ideas for this build.
This is the reef as originally set up October 2013 just after the move from a 180 at the old house to this 300 at the new house. The idea is to have a reef accessible and viewable from all four sides, so the aquarium left and rear are two foot from the walls. The reef structure provides many swim-throughs for the fish, and is built diagonally from what is the left rear in this photo to about 2/3 of the way to the right front. I used a Zooanthid rock as an "exclamation mark" for this structure. I then placed the Euphyllia rocks against the right rear overflow, and later placed M. capricornis on it as well as a few acros, which are beginning to grow quite well on the right side.
This is the reef as of October of 2014. I've shifted a few rocks, replaced the oolite with rubble to maintain a high flow rate, the corals have grown in a bit. All SPS corals in this photo started as 3" or smaller frags in this past year.
The view from the "right end" of the reef looking down it's length. I'm looking forward to replacing these pumps this week to free up the view completely.
Here you can see the reef structure from the "back" overflow to the left front foreground diagonally across the aquarium, and the burgeoning "Euphyllia" rock on the overflow to the right.
I think with the replacement of the large internal pumps with some (much) more inconspicuous models and another years' growth, this should be quite the fish hang-out and invert-bar. The chromis are already beginning to find spots in the acropora colonies to hide/rest/dart in and out from, and everyone else seems to enjoy working the reef.
Thanks to the original posters to this thread for their thoughts and ideas that have gotten this reef to this point!
Cheers,
Ray
Looks awesome, I really like the substrate, looks pretty badass!
YOu should check out the Maxspect Gyre. 1 Gyre does the work of 2 MP40's and to my eye is less conspicuous.
@fessoclown - Thanks - I really like how this reef is working out and settling in. The coral rubble really gives it a depth I don't think it had before. Now that it's getting covered with multiple colors of coralline algae, it really sets off the reef.
I'm also definitely working on getting my hands on a couple Gyre; my local provider (sounds much better than "supplier", although the latter may actually be more accurate at times...) told me that he received noticed they've finally shipped to him as of yesterday. I'm hoping to have a much better view this weekend...heh!
I'm also definitely working on getting my hands on a couple Gyre; my local provider (sounds much better than "supplier", although the latter may actually be more accurate at times...) told me that he received noticed they've finally shipped to him as of yesterday. I'm hoping to have a much better view this weekend...heh!
overexposed
Acroholic
Yes you are right - reducing the height on one or two of the pillars would enhance this scape. Not from a point of assymetry though, I already find it quite assymetrical... but it would add depth of field and make it a much more interesting scape.
I love the ideas in this thread btw. Long time follower first time poster.
Lavoisier
Premium Member
What a great thread, I just got caught up. Here is my new tank, I am thinking it is a little too symmetrical.... or maybe not symmetrical enough... any thought? Critiques...
You've created some great structures. The OP's first two posts discuss seeking a 5::3 ratio vertically and horizontally so you may want to consider moving your arch off center. I also like his recommendation to clean up any corals or small pieces on the sand and attach them to the larger structures. I really like the openness of your rock.
fessoclown
Dis-Membered
+1. i'd like to see the build thread on that one too.
Tradewinds
Well-known member
Fessoclown - great rockwork. Are you running a gyre flow?
Last edited:
