New to Aquascaping

[Tryndle]

hello again! I’ve set up my tank finally and I have two clowns and a fire shrimp with a snail and a crab. So far I love my tank except for the fact that I kind of rushed in to it.

I’m getting really bored of my current rock setup because I literally just placed a big dry rock in the middle and I have two live rocks one on each side.

I need opinions and tips as if it’s okay to remove my current rock and try to chisel it down to make a better landscape. But my biggest concern was if it would affect the beneficial bacteria that is on the rock.

I was told that the bacteria in your tank settles on your rocks and such so if I were to take it out of my tank, my bio filter would degrade.

Other than that, is there a specific rock I can buy online where I don’t have to do any chiseling my self? I would love to have my fish able to swim entirely around my tank rather than just in front of a boring rock.

 

[Big G]

hello again! I’ve set up my tank finally and I have two clowns and a fire shrimp with a snail and a crab. So far I love my tank except for the fact that I kind of rushed in to it.

I’m getting really bored of my current rock setup because I literally just placed a big dry rock in the middle and I have two live rocks one on each side.

I need opinions and tips as if it’s okay to remove my current rock and try to chisel it down to make a better landscape. But my biggest concern was if it would affect the beneficial bacteria that is on the rock.

I was told that the bacteria in your tank settles on your rocks and such so if I were to take it out of my tank, my bio filter would degrade.

Other than that, is there a specific rock I can buy online where I don’t have to do any chiseling my self? I would love to have my fish able to swim entirely around my tank rather than just in front of a boring rock.

Bulk Reef Supply has lots of options: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-dry-live-rock-live-sand/dry-live-rock.html

 

[Reef-junky]

It's been done before with live rock. Dry rock is much easier to work with. Your really asking about something that has no answer because it's a matter of taste. Look at some pictures and find some stuff you like. You can stack rock but I think you already know what that looks like. Rule of 1/3rds.

 

[Reef-junky]

Tips

Use rule of 1/3rds
Use foreground and background
Have rocks that are higher in the foreground then background
Use rocks that are different heights
Use negative space
Put things off center
You can add the illusion of deep
Black or salt and pepper sand adds contrast

A lot of principals in art can be applied to your tank.

Read this
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/tips-and-tricks-on-creating-amazing-aquascapes.97209/

 

[Mandelstam]

But don't add dry rock to an established tank without curing it thoroughly.

 

[Reef-junky]

I think you're going to want to keep live rock wet while you shape it.

 

[Tryndle]

But don't add dry rock to an established tank without curing it thoroughly.

Thank you for that tip, but if I take out my current dry rock, which is the biggest rock in my tank, will that affect my biological filter?

 

[Mandelstam]

Thank you for that tip, but if I take out my current dry rock, which is the biggest rock in my tank, will that affect my biological filter?

But your tank is up and running right? Then your rock isn't dry anymore, at least it's cured. And yes, removing your now live rock from the tank will affect your filtration capability. If you are replacing that with new rock it would be good if you could keep it in your sump for a while until your new rock is completely up and running and able to take care of your bio load.

 

[Tryndle]

But your tank is up and running right? Then your rock isn't dry anymore, at least it's cured. And yes, removing your now live rock from the tank will affect your filtration capability. If you are replacing that with new rock it would be good if you could keep it in your sump for a while until your new rock is completely up and running and able to take care of your bio load.

Ok, and if I were to take it out of my tank, then cut it into smaller pieces. Would that work. Also how long could it stay alive out of water?

 

[40B Knasty]

Ok, and if I were to take it out of my tank, then cut it into smaller pieces. Would that work. Also how long could it stay alive out of water?

If you think about it. They wrap the live rock in a newspaper for your ride home from the LFS. Keep the live rock wet. Maybe do it in a bucket of tank water when doing a water change when you are breaking it apart. Maybe that will give you the best chance of keeping the beneficial bacteria a little better. Get a bottle of good bacteria like Nite-Out II, Dr. Tim's, etc.. to replenish the good bacteria.

 

[Reef-junky]

You have some smaller rocks right? I would keep some of the smaller rocks in the sump and dry out the big one. That way you can keep some bio filter and you can take your time and reshape the big rock. You could also pick up something like a bio block ( https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/mari...MIr7vz2MCL2AIVmbrACh3DigiDEAQYASABEgKjLfD_BwE ) let that sit in the sump for a while so it gets seeded then take the other rocks out and dry them out to work on them.