Can aquascaping lead to insanity???

Shishimon

Reefing newb
I have a 29 gallon Bio Cube with 31 lbs of live rock on a 3" sand bed. I promise not matter how I arrange the rock I hate it. I would pay someone to do this lol. Not really.. I really wished I had you guys skills and know how!! I look at so many tanks and they are beautiful. Mine looks like Charlie Browns christmas tank :frustrat:

Pray for me
 
It can :)

Try creating different levels with the rocks, and make little islands. The eyes like that better than the clump or wall of rock
 
Don't give up!
It gets frustrating at times specially after you spent a lot of time arranging the rocks and wake up the next morning and realize you don't like it after all :)

For me, I find that it helps to sketch things out on paper first. Since you have a cube, try to sketch the representation of the front, left, and right views.

Here's a trick to help with rockwork:
You can use PVC pipes and plastic "egg crates" to act as the frame for your rocks. This gives you a design advantage in that you can crate a facade of live rock on the visible sections of the tank, but the interior is hollow.

You can also incorporate egg crate ledges where you can place live rocks and corals. Arrange it in a way that the plastic materials are hidden from view or at least do not stand out visibly.
This will also create the illusion that you have a larger rockscape without the associated weight. It also gives you the added feature of large hiding spaces for your critters "behind the curtains".

** Just make sure you have a small powerhead in there to keep the water moving.
Or design the rockwork so that the detritus do not funnel into and remain in the said hollow space.

Think of the typical frag racks, but make the shape more organic or at least more randomly staggered.

Post a picture of your current rockwork and we can throw out some suggestions.
 
Lololol...it can drive you crazy, but it's one of the funnest parts of the hobby to me. And being a perfectionist, it's never "right", so I'm constantly moving something around. :)
 
Y-E-S.

I once saw a rock that seemed like it fell.

Like a dummy, I thought "Oh. I should put it back"

Four hours and a cloudy tank later, the rocks are NOT stacked nicely, fish are pissed to high heaven, and the stupid rock that I thought fell DIDN'T REALLY FALL (I looked at old pictures, and realized it was right where it should've been) :mrgreen:
 
Thanks guys for the support and great ideas. Crazy thing I was so frustrated that I piled all the rocks up in random order as a starting point, wouldn't you know it looks awesome as is.. I checked for dead spots using fishing string and didn't find any non moving water. I hate to say it looks like reef. I try to upload a picture and see what you think. Again thanks for the responses. Other forums seem to be loaded with people who don't care about newbies.
 
RockStacker awesome advise. I have a Hydor Koralia 425 gph in there with the stock return pump. I was thinking of upgrading the stock pump with a maxi-jet 1200. That might be to much though. That would give me around 600 gph in a 29 gallon tank. What do you think?
 
600gph would be a good starting point. The rule of thumb is 25x-30x turnover per hour. Some find a little less is better but most will say more is even better.
 
Thanks guys for the support and great ideas. Crazy thing I was so frustrated that I piled all the rocks up in random order as a starting point, wouldn't you know it looks awesome as is.. I checked for dead spots using fishing string and didn't find any non moving water. I hate to say it looks like reef. I try to upload a picture and see what you think. Again thanks for the responses. Other forums seem to be loaded with people who don't care about newbies.

Oooo, tell me more about this fishing string thing to check for dead spots! Haven't heard of this trick before and I could really use it to help in my own tank!
 
i have uploaded a picture of current aquascaping. Let me know what you think?
Kevdogg I think currently My Hydor is 425 and stock return is I believe 239. That should put me at roughly at 664 gph. I could increase that by 39 more gph if I use the Maxi-jet 1200 but at an extra $50 not sure its worth it.
 
FishyReef I read on a forum that you can use lightwieght fishing line to check for flow. The idea is to lower the sting into differant parts of the tank. The fishing line should sway in the cuirrent. I tried it seemed to work.
 
i have uploaded a picture of current aquascaping. Let me know what you think?
Kevdogg I think currently My Hydor is 425 and stock return is I believe 239. That should put me at roughly at 664 gph. I could increase that by 39 more gph if I use the Maxi-jet 1200 but at an extra $50 not sure its worth it.

For 39gph I would say its not worth it. I think you will be fine with what you have, but more flow is always better IMO. :D
 
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