How important is the right aquascape for you?

[revhtree]

How important is the right aquascape for you?

In terms of:

- Structure Stability
- Health of your Reef
- Look of your Reef
- Fish Security

Rate each one on a scale of 1-4 with 1 being most important.

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[cdness]

1 - Structure Stability - If the structure isn't stable you run the risk of rock slides. This can damage corals, kill fish, or even cause tank failure if it hits the glass. This would not be a good day on the reef...

2 - Look of your Reef - An aesthetically pleasing reef structure will get an aquarist to pay more attention to their tank. If it is pleasing to look at more happiness can be generated by the tank. This in turn keeps the person on top of maintenance to keep the look pleasing.

3 - Health of your Reef - The structure itself doesn't play too much role in the health of the reef other than enough rock for filtration purposes. This could be located in a remote area like the sump to keep a minimal look in the tank.

4 - Fish Security - Fish will find security in different places in the tank. There are going to be only a certain number of hiding places so this is a concern, but as corals grow out more hiding places will develop.

 

[jedimasterben]

Aquascaping is what takes your tank from a glass box with some rocks with coral on them into a reef tank. Without a nice aquascape, tanks just don't really look all that good, even if they're covered with coral.

 

[Eienna]

1. Fish Security - Need to make them feel at home! A stressed fish quickly becomes a sick fish.
2. Health of your Reef - Don't need miserable creatures!
3. Structure Stability - Can't have it falling on anyone, but easy to fix with epoxy, etc.
4. Look of your Reef - When everything else is in order, it's gonna look good. It then only needs a little tweaking to make it great.

 

[AquaticallyDistracted22]

Really a tough questions to answer. If you think of your reef aquarium as I, and I assume most people, do it is a combination of a hobby, a piece of art and a pet. When setting up an aquarium the first obvious start is where am I going to put it, so right away you're already drawn to the aesthetics first. That thought carries over into your initial design because 1. it's already on your mind and 2. there are not yet any fish in your aquarium to have to worry about comfort.

It wasn't until after adding marine life that my reef began to take on a form close to the one it holds today. Once I began adding life I started looking at how I could restructure my rock to become more "homey", creating caves, tunnels, etc.

I guess what it comes down to is that it's more of a progression in which you start with the aesthetics, work in the security and the health just comes as you progress. As far as rock security is concerned, things fall and break in the ocean all the time. Obviously you wouldn't want anything to just give and fall, but it happens and things adapt. Again if you're anything like me, once you've reached a "limit" on what you can/want to add to your tank, rearranging rock is sometimes the only action left to keep me really engaged in my aquarium.

 

[Mhumbach]

1. Structure Stability- As said already rocks falling/sliding can ruin a tank or harm inverts/fish
2. Fish Security - Providing a realistic and happy environment to protect and reduce stress
3. Look of your Reef Security - Trying to make a realistic environment is what we all basically try to do. While I havnt mastered it, it is extremely important to me
4. Health of your Reef- I dont believe placement effects the health of the reef.

I believe all these are important and hard to decide on and balancing whats most important

 

[Reef Fever]

rev do you know what the dimensions of that tank are?

 

[buddythelion]

Aquascaping is such tricky business. My biggest mistake with aquascaping is that I try to make the scape look nice with just the rock but then forget to take into account coral growth and placement.

It's tricky and something I think requires practice.

 

[jodah175]

1)Structure Stability- falling rocks are never good.
1)Health of your Reef - Gotta have enough in there for proper filtration, whether it is in the display or a sump.
1)Look of your Reef - Our tanks are not just glass cages, they are works of art.
1)Fish Security - A stressed fish is never good. Can lead to decreased disease resistance, malnutrition (scared fish don't usually come out to grab their food), and slow death. Which is never fun for anyone.

 

[Rikerbear]

1. Structure Stability- As said already rocks falling/sliding can ruin a tank or harm inverts/fish
2. Fish Security - Providing a realistic and happy environment to protect and reduce stress
3. Look of your Reef Security - Trying to make a realistic environment is what we all basically try to do. While I haven't mastered it, it is extremely important to me
4. Health of your Reef- I don't believe placement effects the health of the reef.

+1 I couldn't have said it better

 

[fragmatic]

- Structure Stability ... it needs to be as secure enough to handle what ever kinds of life forms you have and vibrations and minor earth shimmers (we ALL have them, even if you never feel them)
- Health of your Reef .... having enough of the proper living, sleeping, working spaces, lighting levels, depths, coral placement locations, and caverns for your diverse creatures absolutely does effect the health of your reef
- Look of your Reef ... is important for my personal happiness and pride which effects how well I tend my reef
- Fish Security .. fish are only a small portion of the life forms in a reef... however they need living conditions conductive to their happiness, which effects my happiness which effects... you get it...


now as per importance.. They all count equal... they are totally interactive... to me they are all one and yet each an important member of a team.. it is a house of cards, mess with one and the whole thing fails.

 

[Mr. Microscope]

A good structure fits all of the above in equal proportions.
I think looks are the primary goal (1). If it's built right, then there's no risk of it topping over (2). If there are plenty of overhangs, nooks, crannies, caves, etc. it both adds to the overall look, health of the reef, and happiness of your fish (3,4).
I think the only downfall to certain structures like overhangs, may be blocking out the light. So, less space to put corals. That's about it.

I can't imagine building a reef without spending considerable time thinking, planning, and building the rock structure. That thought actually comes BEFORE (or at least at the same time) I think about the actual aquarium size/shape/dimensions. Dry rock FTW!