I HATE my rocks and aquascape

[Jolly Roger]

Honestly it isn't hard to aqua scape, all you need to do is have time and patience with an idea on how you want it to look. I literally broke down almost all my larger rock pieces into smaller pieces and spent several hours on my kitchen table making different scenarios until I was happy. Just take you time and piece it together like a puzzle in a box that has no end picture. I would also take some card board to outline the tank to make sure you have sufficient room for the fish around the rock and keep an eye on the height

 

[Susan Edwards]

I have several pcs mixed in with my tank and love it

 

[Slarti]

Funny I was just thinking about changing my rock word but I have a slightly different problem/question. I think I just have to much in the tank so will it be ok if I rip some out? No space in the sump for them though so they will go straight out...

And then another question, if I want to keep the rock for a potential future upgrade what will be the best to preserve the rock i.e. what do I do before drying them?

 

[glyn]

I dont have any artistic talent lol

There is a way of cheating around this, which I've done several times.

Drill the rocks and connect them together with acrylic rods.

This not only makes for a more stable structure, but it also, slightly mysteriously, seems to create more elegant shapes. I think it's something to do with it being easier to create height if the rocks have rods connecting them. So many marine aquascapes I see in the members' forums - all over the world - are too horizontal; they look like a giant's foot has come down and squashed them all flat.

Yes, it slows down the tank-creating process, but it's one of those things, I think, that help the tank in the long run.

 

[glyn]

And this is what the structure looks like a year later. [Apologies for the ancient camera - it was one of those early digital ones powered by steam.]

 

[Susan Edwards]

If it gets completely dry , yes, but hours no.

Might not be worth it then, as when I start my rockscape design, I maybe leave it set up for a week while I'm playing so it doesn't sound like it benefits me. unless it gets rid of some of the PO4 and whatever else crap. I'll be doing Marco and pukani

 

[addo]

I used dried live rock for my rescape. First I did the scape in the dry over a few days so i was happy with it, then I took photos so i could put it back together.
After that I cured the rocks in tap water with starter bacteria, water circulation and water changes until all the real nasty stuff was decomposed. Then I cured the rocks in old water change water, gfo, some liverock, water circulation and water changes for a month. After that i started replacing some rock from my display every week. It worked out great, no damage to any of my sps.

If you have a sandbed you might want to remove it before you start replacing rocks, to avoid stiring up to much dirt during the process.

 

[Tahoe61]

And this is what the structure looks like a year later. [Apologies for the ancient camera - it was one of those early digital ones powered by steam.]

Beautiful results.

 

[Forsaken77]

I cant enjoy my aquarium with the rocks that are in it right now (Caribsea Liferock). I have room in the sump for all the rocks and I was thinking of buying new rocks and putting the old ugly ones in the sump. Is this a bad idea and does anyone have any DRY rock suggestions for a 75 gallon tank?

I want to do this as soon as possible and as stressfree as possible. I just cant enjoy my reef tank with these rocks - after a couple aquascape changes I now know its the rocks that are the issue.

Why don't you like the CaribSea rock? I think it's great, especially the newer "shapes" version that has tunnels and holes in the rock, mixed with the regular version.

Did you just aquascape it badly, or is the rock doing something?

 

[TRNANCE]

How does it aquascape? I have phosguard. Could you post a picture of your tank with pukani?

I was thinking of just putting a 40gal next to the basement shower so it would be very easy to fill and drain, theres also a close outlet where I can plug the powerhead and heater into.

After I cure, I will soak the rocks in RO/DI for a day or two just in case anything was leached into them. (Will that help)

 

[Zoaeasy]

I think pukani aquascapes really nicely. You can look in my build thread... it shows some diffetent aquascape plans i tried before finally settling on a plan. Pukani is ready to chisel and change as well. I had a big ball of pukani that i chiseled into a cave to make it look more interesting.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/idocs-first-reef-tank-build-75g.317135/

Yes scapes well. I use Nyos cement and can basically do anything I want with it.

 

[TRNANCE]

First time posting a picture and I didn’t mean to post it 3 times but we used Pukani and we love it. We cured ours outside in a big trash can for about 8 weeks, it’s light weight and easy to chisel and change. I picked really large pieces in case I needed to pull anything out and work on it.

 

[Legal Reefer]

I like pukani dry live rock on BRS. When I cure it I am just going to put it in my 40g tank and put a towel over it. Can I use tap water and salt or do I have to use Ro/Di water? How long does it take to cure?

I'm definitely going with the pukani dry on my 40 breeder when I set it up, I'll probably add some good live rock here and there also to get the bacteria and coraline algae off to a good start.

 

[savetheocean]

Why don't you like the CaribSea rock? I think it's great, especially the newer "shapes" version that has tunnels and holes in the rock, mixed with the regular version.

Did you just aquascape it badly, or is the rock doing something?

At first I thought they were awesome, but after about a month all the color faded off and I was left with dark brown. They also just dont fit together well.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Here is mine with 2 or 3 pcs of pukani. One bottom rock and one top for sure. Hard to tell now. I had to remove one rock from the right to put my anemone in qt and that was also a pukani I think

 

[savetheocean]

Here is mine with 2 or 3 pcs of pukani. One bottom rock and one top for sure. Hard to tell now. I had to remove one rock from the right to put my anemone in qt and that was also a pukani I think

Sweet tank.

Im either going to get pukani or reefsaver

 

[carlson]

for an aquascaping tip, your tank and rocks are going to look different from the angle you see with your hands in the tank, compared to in front of the tank. Keep a towel with you so you can dry your hands and arms and frequently look at what your doing from angles around the outside of the tank.

 

[Forsaken77]

Sweet tank.

Im either going to get pukani or reefsaver

They both require A LOT of curing though. Just an fyi.

 

[Bdrake]

Anyone have any experience with pukani? Does it aquascape well?

Fantastic. My favorite to scape with.

 

[savetheocean]

Top is old and bottom is new. Which scape do you like more? Why did I even change it?