Why does this look so odd? Any ideas?

[ramtmac]

Any ideas on why my rock arrangement looks so odd?
I've rearranged it around 4 times and everytime after 1 day it looks strange.
I plan on adding coral to the tank and fish. I can't imagine it with the set up I have.
Any suggestions?

PS- the piece in the middle is a huge odd shaped rock
and my tank is 55 gal; a magnet is my next purchase.

 

[costellow]

I would just add more to stack on top and make some arches and caves. Also try not putting them all side by side but kinda stacking them and put some on their side and lean them next to the others to make caves. Looks good.

 

[Sanagy]

looks a bit stretched out. You may want to take the pieces touching the side glass and stack them on the pieces closer to the center.

 

[mthomp]

to me it doesnt look like you have enough rock, get more rock and start stacking. or do like the above poster said and pull it off the sides and stack it.

 

[75gsalt]

+1 take the pieces away from the glass, you will want to run your magnet through there when you get it. Get a few more pieces, of ramdon sizes and shapes and have fun with it.

 

[tecsavi]

Do youself a favor and make sure there is space between the rock and the glass all the way around your rock structure. This will allow you to clean all of the glass in your tank easily. Even more improtantly it allows for more water flow in your tank and alleviates dead spots.

There are a few things that might help it look more natural. Vary the height of your rockwork so that it doesn't end up looking like a wall. Lean your rock at odd vertical angles. When you stack them avoid horizontal lines. Like costellow says make lots of caves and openings. Looks more natural and allows lots of water movement.

Looks like you have some great pieces of rock to work with there. Make sure you post up some pictures once you have everything the way you like it.

 

[ramtmac]

i have 63 lbs of fiji rock. How much more should i get or is it the way i arranged it that makes it look like i need more ?

most of them aren't really leaning up against the glass in the back, a few are. but on the sides they are. I see what you are saying about making it easier to clean and also avoid dead spots. I'll work on the arrangement and post pictures.

I was thinking the left side looked most "strange". And I agree with making more differences in height comments too. Just having trouble doing it with out making it look ackward. Thanks

 

[crawfish in tx]

i would leave enough room on all sides to clean the glass. not the back..

 

[thegrun]

It will look better if there is a constant direction in the placement of the rocks (most leaning either to the left or right. I would also try to get a little more vertical height to the rock work. Definitely leave 3" or so between the sides of the tank and your rock for cleaning.

 

[blennydude]

You can use zip ties to hold them together to prevent them from toppling over. I also clip off parts w/ pliers to make them peice together better and use the rubble for frag rocks.

 

[tecsavi]

In my opinion you are pretty close to where you need to be with the amount of live rock. Maybe a few choice pieces to get a little more height. Take a look at the minimalist thread for a little bit of ideas and inspiration. Too many times I have seen a tank with way too much rock in it.

Having flow around your rock is very important. Low flow causes problems in your tank with poor water quality. Detritus settles there and then you have a constant battle with water quality.

Remember you will be adding corals so leave plenty of places to place them. Shelves are good and vertical cliffs are hard to attach corals to.

 

[JHall651]

I think for that size and shape of tank it would also look a little better to have a deeper sand bed. I do not use a deep sand bed and I am not recommending you have one, but I do think you need just a bit more sand. I also totally agree with removing the pieces you have against the glass and building the up more towards the center. But all and all it looks pretty good.

 

[jennifish120]

I'd vary the heights of your rock so that it's a bit more interesting. Maybe do a focal point piece (like an island or a particularly interesting piece of rock) a little off center (to the left or the right) which is more asthetically pleasing. You can find lots of inspiration on the threads here or by googling "aquascaping" Just my 2 cents! Have fun with it - that's the most important thing.

 

[lordofthereef]

It looks odd because it looks like you just spread the rocks out in a line. All of your rocks also look to be relatively similar in shape/size, which certainly doesn't help.

 

[ramtmac]

Thanks for all your input. I agree and see that I need to create more height to make it more intersting and make a sort of an "island" in the middle.
I'll work on it tonight and post more pictures.

 

[gbbari]

Good grief - I see animals. It looks like a dog-like animal (just right of center) looking to the right at another animal - see the face on the inside right (see the two eyes looking rightward and the open mouth?). On the left is a large animal rolling on its back, two short hind legs sticking up in the water, head back against the right side glass.

(Yeah I do cloud interpretations too"¦. :spin2:

On a more serious note, I agree with the others - re-stack to conceal the odd shapes an make more natural masses. Suggest a large grouping off-center, a small separation (make sure it's off-center!), then a second, smaller grouping. Avoid symmetry - it's boring and unnatural.

 

[ramtmac]

i feel like an idiot, whatever i do it comes out horrible. I took it off th glass and tried to change the height and everything and its becoming somehow in a symmetry . i dont know if its the rock amount or my tank size but a wall just keeps happening.
is it suppose to take this many hours to get it right

 

[floydie83]

keep trying and stacking higher...you will find something...

 

[mthomp]

you said you have 63 lbs of rock, how big is your tank?

all your rock seems to be pretty large, makes it difficult to do much with.

 

[Salamander]

A few more pieces of rock might help. But first try something like a tall pile on one side, and a taller pile on the other. Make sure you keep enough horizontal surface for coral placement though.