Ok... new aquascape... whatcha think?

[NeveSSL]

Hey all!

Ok, so I redid my rocks. I've still got a few more I think I'll add, but what do you think about this?

Here's before:

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa280/NeveSSL/Salt%20Tank/100_3660.jpg

And here's after todays rearranging:

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa280/NeveSSL/Salt%20Tank/100_3695.jpg

There are some things I like about the first one better, and somethings I like about the second one better. Ultimately, I need an 18" deep tank... lol. 12.5" is a pain to try to arrange the rocks in.

So what do you guys think?

Thanks!

Brandon

[DMBillies]

Brandon- I feel you on the skinny tank. I started with a 60 gallon (55 gallon footprint), so it was long and skinny. Now that I have a 90 and the beautiful 18", I'm thinking that whenever my next tank happens, it is going to be 24". Definitely looks like you have more room for corals on the second layout... so I'd say it's better :)

[NeveSSL]

Thanks Brian. :)

I tried to make a bit more room for corals. The right side feels a bit crowded. Wayne suggested some Tonga on bottom to open it up a bit, and I think I may do that. It definitely "feels" closed. Especially on the right side.

Yet again, all in due time I suppose. :D

[crumbletop]

The second one looks better to me, but I liked the cave on the left in the first one. Can you move those smaller rocks just to the right of center and make that into a cave?

[Nashvegas]

i think you need some kind of height in the back like a tower or swell...building up in the back will give you more room in the front

[streetracinsrt]

Looks like you have some really nice rocks that would lookg great if you had more room. Looks good as is though

[NeveSSL]

Exactly... these rocks would be great if I had a bigger tank! :D

Nashvegas... unfortunately, those are in the very back... lol. Its only 12.5" deep. ;)

Jack I'll look and see if I can move those... thats a good idea... I think they may be helping support that big overhead rock, but I may play with that and see if I can get it to be another cave... thanks for the tip!

Brandon

[gflat65]

Think somewhat jagged for a skinny design tank. Extend the points of some of those rocks towards the glass (leave enough room for your magnet), away from the main structure. Adds a nice 3D effect and gives more ledges for corals. I like sloping the rock rather than stacking, per se, too, as it seems to give more spots for corals (stacking leaves some corals directly under others if you try to cram em in like me;)).

[streetracinsrt]

I think t 45 tall is the same footprint as my 30 was here is how I had mine
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t202/streetracinsrt/fishtank4.jpg
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t202/streetracinsrt/fishtank.jpg

[NeveSSL]

Thanks for the tips, Gary. I may do that. The only thing that kills me is that there's only a little bit of room between them and the glass now. :( I should have done an 18" tank! hehe... Wonder how many more times I'll want a larger tank? lol For now, I do know the 45 tall is perfect for our <1000 sq. ft. apartment. :) Maybe a 90 after this one when we get a house in a few years.

Anyways, thanks for the pics streetracinsrt. I really like the way your tank looked. Maybe I'll just not use as much rock as I had planned on. Maybe the three big pieces in a couple of shapes and some accent rocks or what not.

Thank you guys so much for the tips. I feel a bit more inspired now. :) When I first started today, it was really daunting... I didn't know what to do! Its still difficult with the overflow and 12.5", but I WILL make something work! :)

Thanks again!

Brandon

[Nashvegas]

what is am saying is raise the back up with rocks not to go deeper because you cant..use rock to go higher in the back toward the water surface ...maybe a tower or swell upwards..those corals who will really need light will like those places as well

take a look at my gallery...i have a few shots where i placed the rock in a 37 gallon tall..it had 13 inches width...real tight spot..a few spots were a half inch from the front glass and the back had tall towers

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/90250fulltank.jpg

[NeveSSL]

Oh, ok... gotcha.

I think ultimately I've got too much rock. I think I'm going to sell/trade some of this off, get something that fits a bit better for my tank and less of it. :D

I'm not 100% sure just yet. I'm tired and not thinking super clearly... lol.

Thanks again for everything guys.

Brandon

[gflat65]

Less is better in a lot of cases... I had a 40H for about 6 years. Wider is better, too:). If you're like me, you'll never stop wanting a bigger tank. I tried convincing the wife to let me replace the 120 and 125 with an L shaped tank to fill their current space. Not enough margeritas for that;).

[NeveSSL]

Yeah, less is definitely more in a lot of cases...

I know I won't ever stop wanting a bigger tank... as long as I can afford it, at least... lol.

I do feel content with this tank for now for the fact of how small our apartment is and keeping the monthly costs down. I just keep talking to myself about how big the new tank will be when we get a house... :lol:

Brandon

[NeveSSL]

Ok, so I think I've found something I can live with for now... and with only 30lbs of rock left over... lol.

I don't really like the tonga in the middle on top of the big rock, but my wife does so it stays for now... heh.

http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa280/NeveSSL/Salt%20Tank/100_3697.jpg

Sorry its a little crooked. It "feels" much better than the other ones... and I feel as though the fish will actually have somewhere to swim! :D

Brandon

[gflat65]

I think they'll be happy with that one;).

[gsusfreak]

looks good!...have you decided on what fish you want to keep?

[crumbletop]

That looks the best. You could get more room in the display if you move the heater to the sump (if you have a sump). You also might want to think about putting strainers over the overflow drains to keep snails, etc, from blocking them and causing a flood.

A word of caution on heaters -- I recommend you use 2 undersized heaters to heat the aquarium rather than one rated for your size. When heaters fail they tend to fail ON and can cook your tank. If you have 2 undersized heaters and one fails, it won't have enough juice to cook the tank.

[streetracinsrt]

looking good man

[virginiabreeze6]

very nice

[NeveSSL]

gary: I think I'm also liking this better... lol.

John: I'm not 100% sure just yet. I've got two percs right now... I'm thinking about adding a flame angel, purple firefish, blue chromis, and maybe a mandarin after 6 months to a year. :) That should round it out nicely I think. I like dull fish... :lol: ... j/k

Jack: I am planning on putting the heater in the sump... and I'm also getting an ACIII as soon as I sell my guitar amp. ;) That should help with heater reliability. Assuming the ACIII doesn't go whack... heh.

I've got new bulkheads coming for the drain, so I thought about putting a strainer on them. I would kind of like for things to get in the overflow to clean it a bit, but maybe not the pipes... so I'll at the very least put something over the pipes... maybe gutter guard.

Thanks for the compliments, guys. I can't tell you how badly I wanted to pull my hair out during this... :lol:

Brandon