Thoughts on my new aquascape?

BaileysTank · Dec 21, 2022

Any pointers / suggestions for my new scape?

blaxsun · Dec 21, 2022

Low profile (my personal preference), lots of caves and hiding spots. Fish should love it!

Mr. Mojo Rising · Dec 21, 2022

Its all about personal preference. As opposed to mr, blaxsun, I would add more rock and go higher, I like high aquascapes

Auquanut · Dec 21, 2022

I like it. And you can always add to it later if you want. The only change I would make is the egg crate. I did the same thing in my 125. Not crazy about it now. Just seems like a detritus trap and makes maintenance harder. If I had it to do over (without tearing the tank apart), I would trim the egg crate to just under the rock or do away with it altogether. On my new build, I just didn't use it. I guess in time I'll learn if I like it better or not.

Just something to think about.

Mikedawg · Dec 21, 2022

Yes, personal choice and I've always like the two island design.
BTW, I've never understood the advantage of using egg crate although I've read some claims that it dissipates rocks' weight, etc. I don't use it primarily because I like the many animals that dig/bury in substrate and want to give them as much room as possible.

BaileysTank · Dec 21, 2022

Mikedawg said:
Yes, personal choice and I've always like the two island design.
BTW, I've never understood the advantage of using egg crate although I've read some claims that it dissipates rocks' weight, etc. I don't use it primarily because I like the many animals that dig/bury in substrate and want to give them as much room as possible.

I built my structures outside of the tank and used the egg creat as a way to move it over it will be covers in sand later, I also saw the thing about it dispersing weight so that was a added bonus

GHOSTLY · Dec 21, 2022

Id prefer wider caves and less rock but I do love it!

FREAKINRICAN69 · Dec 21, 2022

BaileysTank said:
Any pointers / suggestions for my new scape?

Perfect for fish

Zero_Cool · Dec 21, 2022

I also like the 2 islands layout. For me though I would raise the height of one of them, probably the left side in your layout. Breaks up the uniform look and provides a place higher up for corals that require higher PAR levels.

Not a fan of the egg crate as I believe, as has been mentioned, they trap detritus and are difficult to clean. If you are concerned about distribution of weight I woud suggest ABS sheet or Starboard siliconed down to the tank bottom.

dlsorensen · Dec 21, 2022

Think it looks great. As others said, fish will love the room to roam. Plans for corals later? I have kind of the same setup but only keep soft corals so I am not concerned about high up placement for SPS.

BaileysTank · Dec 21, 2022

Zero_Cool said:
I also like the 2 islands layout. For me though I would raise the height of one of them, probably the left side in your layout. Breaks up the uniform look and provides a place higher up for corals that require higher PAR levels.

Not a fan of the egg crate as I believe, as has been mentioned, they trap detritus and are difficult to clean. If you are concerned about distribution of weight I woud suggest ABS sheet or Starboard siliconed down to the tank bottom.

I’ll be covering it in sand so I don’t believe the egg crate will be a problem but correct me if I’m wrong. I’ll absolute take that suggestion on easing up the left side any suggestions on how to do that?

BaileysTank · Dec 21, 2022

dlsorensen said:
Think it looks great. As others said, fish will love the room to roam. Plans for corals later? I have kind of the same setup but only keep soft corals so I am not concerned about high up placement for SPS.

I’m gonnna go for a mixed reef but I do wanna focus in on sps.

Auquanut · Dec 21, 2022

BaileysTank said:
I built my structures outside of the tank and used the egg creat as a way to move it over it will be covers in sand later, I also saw the thing about it dispersing weight so that was a added bonus

I totally get it. The bottom panel of my 125 is completely unsupported. I can literally reach up from the cabinet and touch the bottom panel. I still think it was not a bad decision to use the egg crate. I just think I could have reduced the footprint. On the new build, the bottom panel has a layer of supporting foam. In this case, I think the egg crate is pretty much unnecessary.

Zero_Cool · Dec 21, 2022

Another set of rocks or maybe pull the rock in the left front corner and use the "bridge" piece from the center to put up top. Leave the center rock as it's own small island.

Edit: I have confused my rights and lefts. I would suggest adding a layer to the larger right side (as you face the tank) bt moving the white rock from the front right and the bridge piece to the top of the formation.