120 gallon reef scape

[theclownshow]

Building a 120 mixed reef and I’m working on the reefscape now. This is about 2/3 of it. My goal is to slope up from front to back and right to left. My primary viewing in the room it will be in will be the right when looking at the tank.

How is it looking? Is there enough going on for fish habitat? I will have a pretty standard livestock list and will have all the normal corals with maybe 1 or 2 sps in the future

 

[Reef Wizard Steven]

I think the layout overall is pretty good.

Thinking about corals growing in, and how things will look, it may look slightly lopsided if you keep the right side entirely low like that, but if it's what you are going for, and want a lot of real estate for low light corals, than it's not bad. I understand the viewing angle, which means you will be able to see a little bit of everything from your preferred side. That's a good aspect of the design

A few notes:
- I think the habitat for fish will depend entirely on what fish you put into the tank. More important than anything is the order that you put them into the tank. Territorial and aggressive fish will stake out larger areas if put into the tank early, and smaller territories if put in last. That is your best bet at making the space work best. Then consider where and how the fish sleep and rest, and plan accordingly. I think you may consider adding some sort of physical split to the right side so that it can be a sort of natural boundary to territory.

Again, what you stock, and when, will be incredibly important factors in the sufficiency of your habitat.

I can visualize gonis around the rock structures, and other corals which could help create habitat and territorial boundaries. If you keep all short corals like zoas, plates, and meat corals on the right side, you will have less habitat for your fish to secure, but if you include some branching corals, or something with some upwards growth, you will have habitat that is easier for fish to divide amongst themselves.

- I think your high points are good, but corals on your upper structure should be considered carefully. Plating montis and large branching corals may end up shading your lower structures that I'm positive you'll want some corals on.

I've circled a few areas that I could see becoming detritus traps, depending on your flow. I have no idea what your wave maker selection or positioning will be, but I would consider one on the back and one on the front if you are using powerheads like neros. Better off with a gypre probably to help with the issue of deadspots and detritus traps.

I think the scape is good and has a lot of habitat depending on stock list of corals and fish.

 

[fish_collector]

Looks good to me, in several years you won't be able to see any of the rocks anyways.

I'd bond the main structure and leave it. You can add more rocks as necessary and just leave them loose.

Flat shelves look so un-natural when you first put them in but are so functional for coral placement.

Think about future flow patterns now because it'll become an issue sooner or later. Leave enough space for water to move freely.

 

[slingfox]

Looks like a good start. The overall structure is hard to assess right now since it is unclear whether some of the structures on the right side are temporary (ie, rocks laying around) or part of the final aquascape. You should post clean photos/video with the initially draft of the full aquascape.

One thing to keep in mind: Make sure the aquascape consists of sections which can be added and pulled out of the display tank easily. There will come a time when you will need to pull out some or all of the aquascape to scrub it down or to clear out an area to catch a fish. Therefor, it is best to have the rockscape modular and therefor easy to disassemble and remove.

 

[fish_collector]

Looks like a good start. The overall structure is hard to assess right now since it is unclear whether some of the structures on the right side are temporary (ie, rocks laying around) or part of the final aquascape. You should post clean photos/video with the initially draft of the full aquascape.

One thing to keep in mind: Make sure the aquascape consists of sections which can be added and pulled out of the display tank easily. There will come a time when you will need to pull out some or all of the aquascape to scrub it down or to clear out an area to catch a fish. Therefor, it is best to have the rockscape modular and therefor easy to disassemble and remove.

That's a great idea to be able to remove a section for cleaning or to catch a fish.

 

[theclownshow]

Looks like a good start. The overall structure is hard to assess right now since it is unclear whether some of the structures on the right side are temporary (ie, rocks laying around) or part of the final aquascape. You should post clean photos/video with the initially draft of the full aquascape.

One thing to keep in mind: Make sure the aquascape consists of sections which can be added and pulled out of the display tank easily. There will come a time when you will need to pull out some or all of the aquascape to scrub it down or to clear out an area to catch a fish. Therefor, it is best to have the rockscape modular and therefor easy to disassemble and remove.

I will post better pictures and videos soon thanks. There will be atleast 3 main structures with a few loose rocks

 

[theclownshow]

I think the layout overall is pretty good.

Thinking about corals growing in, and how things will look, it may look slightly lopsided if you keep the right side entirely low like that, but if it's what you are going for, and want a lot of real estate for low light corals, than it's not bad. I understand the viewing angle, which means you will be able to see a little bit of everything from your preferred side. That's a good aspect of the design

A few notes:
- I think the habitat for fish will depend entirely on what fish you put into the tank. More important than anything is the order that you put them into the tank. Territorial and aggressive fish will stake out larger areas if put into the tank early, and smaller territories if put in last. That is your best bet at making the space work best. Then consider where and how the fish sleep and rest, and plan accordingly. I think you may consider adding some sort of physical split to the right side so that it can be a sort of natural boundary to territory.

Again, what you stock, and when, will be incredibly important factors in the sufficiency of your habitat.

I can visualize gonis around the rock structures, and other corals which could help create habitat and territorial boundaries. If you keep all short corals like zoas, plates, and meat corals on the right side, you will have less habitat for your fish to secure, but if you include some branching corals, or something with some upwards growth, you will have habitat that is easier for fish to divide amongst themselves.

- I think your high points are good, but corals on your upper structure should be considered carefully. Plating montis and large branching corals may end up shading your lower structures that I'm positive you'll want some corals on.

I've circled a few areas that I could see becoming detritus traps, depending on your flow. I have no idea what your wave maker selection or positioning will be, but I would consider one on the back and one on the front if you are using powerheads like neros. Better off with a gypre probably to help with the issue of deadspots and detritus traps.

I think the scape is good and has a lot of habitat depending on stock list of corals and fish.

Thanks for the detailed feedback I will keep it all in mind. There may be some dead zones I have to figure out by adjusting some flow. I don’t have wavemakers yet but I think I’m going to need a few on each side to get flow through all the rocks.

While doing this I am roughly thinking about my stock list but I haven’t made final decisions. I’ll start with a pair of clowns and go from there. I will make sure whatever I end up wanting will work well in my tank before buying them.

 

[slingfox]

If you are using all dry rock for the aquascape you should plan to use 100% live sand from the ocean. That will make your life easier in the long run since that will increase biodiversity massively from the start.

It would also be advisable to run the tank with zero to limited light for an extended period of time (and low livestock load) to provide the rock time to build biofilms and stabilize. Once the lights get cranked that is when the uglies will come so it is good to have the aquascape as cured as possible by then.

 

[theclownshow]

This is a little update with the two structures in the tank. I am thinking the right side will get a couple of islands with one having a small overhang but not sure yet