Tips and Tricks on Creating Amazing Aquascapes

Here is my first draft on my 30x30x20 cube, all from LR...

Kinda like it for a first draft, lots of crevices and place for corals :)

Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated!

Front

<a href="http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Dexterone1/media/IMG_20150327_155840_zpsx9qhqai0.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm198/Dexterone1/IMG_20150327_155840_zpsx9qhqai0.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_20150327_155840_zpsx9qhqai0.jpg"/></a>

Left angle

<a href="http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Dexterone1/media/IMG_20150327_155925_zpspn8zmlpd.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm198/Dexterone1/IMG_20150327_155925_zpspn8zmlpd.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_20150327_155925_zpspn8zmlpd.jpg"/></a>

Under right side

<a href="http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Dexterone1/media/IMG_20150327_155916_zpsx822nrup.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm198/Dexterone1/IMG_20150327_155916_zpsx822nrup.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_20150327_155916_zpsx822nrup.jpg"/></a>

Left side

<a href="http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Dexterone1/media/IMG_20150327_155856_zpsavzzqmym.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm198/Dexterone1/IMG_20150327_155856_zpsavzzqmym.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_20150327_155856_zpsavzzqmym.jpg"/></a>
 
Better angle, front/top-ish...

<a href="http://s296.photobucket.com/user/Dexterone1/media/IMG_20150327_161153_zpsuncods2u.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm198/Dexterone1/IMG_20150327_161153_zpsuncods2u.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo IMG_20150327_161153_zpsuncods2u.jpg"/></a>
 
Dexter, your 'scape looks great, and is one of the best ones I have seen on this thread. I noticed that the rock on the left side of the tank has a vertical side closest to the glass. This will limit the amount of corals you can put on that side, and may cause the tank to look a little unbalanced once corals start growing in. I wonder if you could roll the rock, so the flat side is on the bottom? You may need to add another piece of rock to maintain the height of the structure, which is part of what makes it look so unique. Hope this helps.
 
naterealbig said:
Dexter, your 'scape looks great, and is one of the best ones I have seen on this thread. I noticed that the rock on the left side of the tank has a vertical side closest to the glass. This will limit the amount of corals you can put on that side, and may cause the tank to look a little unbalanced once corals start growing in. I wonder if you could roll the rock, so the flat side is on the bottom? You may need to add another piece of rock to maintain the height of the structure, which is part of what makes it look so unique. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Thx, really appreciate the comment :) The rock you are talking about is almost 2/3 of the left structure, it is really big. It was the best way to place it without breaking it. I guess I will stick to polyp colonies, acan, blastos or something like that for that edge :)

DON NOLAN said:
Very natural look. I like it.
Click to expand...

Thank you!
 
Wow

Wow

What a wonderful thread, so many ideas and the OP has just said exactly what most of us want.. a photo of a bit of reef in our living room, Ive known about the rules of thirds when taking pics.. but didnt even think of doing it with my aqquascape.. well Im in the process of re doing the tank, and now I know its gonna look awesome..
One thing Ive noticed though... A lot of base rock, but not a lot of Live rock.. any particular reason, or just that a custom manmade can fit the bill way better.. obviously cycling will take longer, and that would frustrate the hell outta me..

But Nice tanks peepz!!!!

Troy
 
I think everyone focuses on the base aquascape (what people in the planted community call a hardscape), which in freshwater it is a ginormous part of their end aquascape. However, hardscapes in reefing is a seriously overly thought out process. Yes they are important to an extent, but your coral placement and growth is way more important. For example if you do the rule of thirds with your hardscape but your coral growth makes it look uniform again, you lost the whole point of what you were trying to achieve. Keep in mind that your rock structure could have almost no height and not follow the rule of thirds, but still achieve it from your corals.

I think your hardscape is one of the easiest aspects in the sense that you can achieve an almost immediate gratification. Trying to plan out corals and be able to grow and manipulate them to achieve something is a true art and it takes a lot of time and patience.

Just food for thought, I just think people lose sight of the fact that the end goal is for no bare rock to be visible. Unless you're doing all encrusting moniporas, you shouldn't focus so intently on your pile of rocks.
 
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Thank you everyone for taking the time to share your hard work and ideas on here. New to the hobby and starting with a 40b. When I'm all done I'll start a new topic on my build and see what ya's think.

For now, here is my first attempt at aquascaping. Please let me know what you think.

cabf04f1337099bd26957fcfa671e5e2.jpg
3636c9a86d90dfd2e79fae2a327238e6.jpg
7aec8b282d9602fabe09361333bcda90.jpg
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Hi all. Just started a small ~20g to get things rolling and hold me over until I move in a few months. I really like how it turned out.
IMG_2082.jpg
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This is our 55g fowlr. Still learning so not yet ready to add corals. I'm not 100% happy with my rock layout. I think I need more and to go higher in some spots. Any suggestions?
 
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