Rockscape Thread...

[Sea Turtle]

Since rock/aquascaping shifted in a new direction design wise, from the cluttered "patong-patong" theme to the wild designs of today, it would be better for us to have a thread dedicated to it so that oldies and newbies alike can share opinions, design themes, tips, how-tos etc about aqua/rockscaping...

uumpisahan ko na po...

my all time favorite...
from this:


to this:

[seth]

Gusto ko 'tong thread na 'to!

Here are some inspirations:

Chingchai's Reef:



Bonsai Reef:



This one's a Japanese tank, giving the tank a nice illusion of depth
(one of my favorites, as it houses soft corals and macroalgae)


http://glassbox-design.com/2010/japanes ... s-cp-farm/

This is my recent favorite:

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.p ... 309737&hl=

How to build a similar design:





http://www.captivereefs.com/forum/membe ... ano-12101/

Other minimalist/zen-style scapes:






http://reefbuilders.com/2012/11/07/five ... ano-reefs/

supplemental links:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showt ... ?t=1289056
http://reeftools.com/news/minimalist-aquascaping/
http://glassbox-design.com/2009/aquasca ... -glassbox/


I am a big fan of minimalist designs, even my new build is minimalist and simplistic in its very essence. (From rockworks to livestocks and to equipments)

Minimalist rockscaping has many benefits:

-More water volume
-More swimming space for fishes
-Less resistance for flow = efficiency, more water flow and could mean lesser pumps.
-Illusion of depth
-Cleaner looking
-Ease of access, especially when cleaning or removing something
-Minimalist is sexy

You can easily customize your scape by

- using PVC pipes, nylon strings and/or cable ties
-making shelf-style scapes by stacking the rocks together and sticking them with epoxy or cement
-drilling holes then joining your rocks like legos, gluing them with epoxy afterwards
-stacking rocks using acrylic rods
-making your own DIY rocks

Rockscaping with PVC (a good friend's tank)
http://www.reefphilippines.com/forums/v ... php?t=1697

Old school, but the method is awesome.

Another bonus:
You could also customize your lighting according to your rockscape, spotlighting the corals and playing with the light/shadow blending, turning a disadvantage (spotlighting/disco light effect) into an advantage:


http://reefbuilders.com/2009/09/14/led- ... potlights/



http://glassbox-design.com/2009/dm-goes ... potlights/
http://glassbox-design.com/2009/3-uniqu ... rom-japan/

If you have minimal rockscape, you can focus the lights directly on the rocks/corals thereby minimizing the use of lights. Mas tipid, ika nga. Dahil hindi nasasayang yung ilaw kasi sa corals lang nakatutok, hindi sa buong tank.

[Sea Turtle]

ayos yung chopping board ah! hmm... napaisip tuloy ako dun.

btw, here's something i did a while back...

mostly artificially made using cement and crushed corals.

[seth]

Here's another one I like:

Floating scape:





http://robertus-reeftanks.nl/

Sonofabeaaaach, the guy's rockscape is awesome!

Napaisip din ako sa chopping board, kanina ko lang nakita yan eh. Hahaha

[seth]

From my old tank, floating rocks using old suction cups from a broken sunsun pump.





Here's my current rockwork:







I used a recycled PVC pipe, heated one end then flattened it a bit then attached the rocks using nylon strings and cement with sea salt. Wala akong cable tie, medyo naatat na akong idikit eh.

I'll post some closeup photos tomorrow.

[thurrmac]

ganda ng thread mo pawikan
sana marami magpost para lumaganap
rockscapping frenzy.... si jourdy nag
paplano ata ulit ng rescaping...

[Sea Turtle]

salamat rockster! nabasa ko nga sa thread nya yugn plano nya eh...

@seth... ganda ng floating rockscape ah. may details ka ba nyan?

[trowa]

parang gusto kong tuloy gayahin to galing.
bro sea ano bang magandang iupangdikit sa lr.?kong mag diy ako ng rock ano yung mga kailangan ko?salamat

[thurrmac]

[bangurdead27]

nice thread share ko lang aking rockscape for my 75 gal tank patong patong style hehe kaso hirap maghanap ng flatrocks!!!!!!!

[Sea Turtle]

@trowa... eto ginawa ko:

crushed corals...


then binuhusan ng cement (damp mixture)...


after that, spray ng tubig para manuot yung cement in between the crushed corals. then spray ulit every after 30 minutes para hindi mag-crack yung cement...


then tapos na

@rockster... if i am not mistaken, wala atang pvc yung scape na sinasabi mo. cement and cable ties lang ata yun.

[thurrmac]

[Sea Turtle]

[Sea Turtle]

here's another that i made... collecting dust.



the LRs were bonded together using pioneer watertite instant plug


here's the first scape that i posted with an additional layer...

[seth]