Help on aquascaping a 110 (high)

[law086]

Hi folks,

I really have two parts to this.

First, my currently layout is the basic rock wall. It goes up about 3/4 of the way up the tank and pretty much end to end. But, I have room in the back on the wall. This gives the fish a place to hide, which is good and bad. Good in that it might help with stress, bad in that they're out of view. The other downside to this is that the wall is a bit unstable since it's not really leaning on anything. So, I'm wondering, do you typically keep space behind your rocks for fish to hide or should I just nix it?

Secondly, I'm looking for general aquascaping ideas. I think a tall tank is a unique challange since it's high. My tank is 48x18x31. I was thinking about just two piles, one in each corner, against the glass and leave the middle more open.

Thoughts?

Thanks!
Ron

[sesegal99]

somthin like this??? fyi this is 28" deep, - 5-6"dsb


http://image08.webshots.com/8/9/37/53/123093753UPEHJd_ph.jpg


I'd stack it so it is as stable as it poss can be. You don't want to add corals and have any rock slides on them :mad:

That is a deep tank, what type lighting are you going to have???

[Reefmedic79]

That tall a tank with only 18" of depth will be a challenge. I think your idea of the 2 piles in the corners will be your best bet bringing the piles almost all the way to the front pane of glass.

I did the same basic idea for mine, but I filled in the middle.


http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/23739Complete_Tank_cropped.JPG

Because of the 18" of depth I also had, the sand bed was quite small. Only about 6" from the edge of the "reef" to the front glass in the middle and I only left about an inch closer to the sides of the tank.

BTW, i left some room behind the wall with no issues. Even if you leave very little room for fish they always find a place to hide.

[law086]

Thanks guys.

I'd really like the buildup to be as stable as possible. I introduced a pencil urchin last week and stuff is starting to slide around and it's making me nervous. I'd also like to be able to remove rocks without too much trouble so I can glue corals out of the tank.

sesegal99 - Thanks for the pic. I'm currently using 440w VHO. I'm sticking with mostly soft corals with some the idea of having a few LPS higher up. I currently have a hammer doing well.

[sesegal99]

FYI to give you an idea

On my 150 I run 3 250w MH and 2 140w superactinics. I get good growth and color until the bulbs start to get old, then you can tell a difference. I have almost all sps though. You may be fine, but the sps will have to be very high up.

[law086]

Thanks, but I'm not planning to keep any SPS.