Aquascape input

[RDReefNYC]

New to reefing. Not sure if this is too much rock not enough rock. Should I have more surface area for corals in the future? Is the placement of rock ok? Any criticism or suggestions would be welcome. Long term will likely be a mixed tank with 1 clown 1 cleaner shrimp and some snails. Want to keep inhabitants limited as its only 15G.

 

[N1tew0lf1212]

That would be enough rock imo scape looks good too awesome build....whats your plans for start up?

 

[Jedi1199]

Th scape itself looks fine. The placement is questionable. Do you have a glass scraper? If you do, can you get your hand between the rocks and the glass while holding the scraper at an angle where the scraper actually works? Some algae is very difficult to scrape off.

 

[seefour5]

I like the look, it just depends on how many pounds of rock it is. I also have to agree with Jedi, I’ve learned the hard way to leave space around the scape, it can be a pain to get algae otherwise.

 

[RDReefNYC]

Th scape itself looks fine. The placement is questionable. Do you have a glass scraper? If you do, can you get your hand between the rocks and the glass while holding the scraper at an angle where the scraper actually works? Some algae is very difficult to scrape off.

The pictures are a little deceptive. I left about 1 1/2” off the glass everywhere but the back. I can probably scoot it in some more to be safe though.

 

[RDReefNYC]

That would be enough rock imo scape looks good too awesome build....whats your plans for start up?

Probably going to fill it and get it cycling in the next few weeks but delay putting any inhabitants into it until after thanksgiving because I’ll be out of town. Figured since I’m new to this I could use that time to try and learn how to dial in the water parameters and get a sense of the rate of evaporation in my apartment and how that will effect things.

 

[N1tew0lf1212]

With it being a nano you can clean the glass everyday it'll only take you 5 minutes and use a magnetic scraper. I do it on my Nano and I've never had issues having to clean the glass with anything else as long as I stay on top of it. I think you would be fine with the scape that you have get a mini flipper magnetic scraper just make sure that it goes through and passes through the rock work on all sides of the glass. That way you don't have to worry about spacing later. I am not one to scrape the back glass so I would just worry about the three viewing panes of glass

 

[argiBK]

I like the dimensionality of the placement from the front view (3rd photo), but not sure if you’re going to orient the tank as it sits on the counter.

I’ll call out that the front rock is blocking a nice open space under the overhang, shouldn’t be a problem for whatever you put there (lighting dependent), but might obstruct some viewing pleasure.

As for surface area, in any tank this small you’ll have to be judicious what you put in, but if you’re going for a mixed reef, you could probably have 3-4 small SPS colonies on the top half of the tank.

You probably have more than enough rock for bio filter, but if you want to completely sure (and are going with a bare bottom), I’d recommend having some Matrix (in a removeable bag for periodic rinsing) in the AIO compartment to increase surface area for bacteria to grow.

 

[RDReefNYC]

I like the dimensionality of the placement from the front view (3rd photo), but not sure if you’re going to orient the tank as it sits on the counter.

I’ll call out that the front rock is blocking a nice open space under the overhang, shouldn’t be a problem for whatever you put there (lighting dependent), but might obstruct some viewing pleasure.

As for surface area, in any tank this small you’ll have to be judicious what you put in, but if you’re going for a mixed reef, you could probably have 3-4 small SPS colonies on the top half of the tank.

You probably have more than enough rock for bio filter, but if you want to completely sure (and are going with a bare bottom), I’d recommend having some Matrix (in a removeable bag for periodic rinsing) in the AIO compartment to increase surface area for bacteria to grow.

It will probably stay about where it is now. Mostly viewed from the front or diagonally based on where it is in the space.

I’ll be adding sand, just placed the rock temporarily to get an idea of what it will look like.

 

[Crazeh]

Looks like more than enough rock to me for bio, especially if you'll have sand too.

It's a nice scape, interesting from a few angles. The locations you can attach corals to are quite steep so you'll need to be careful what you grow near the top so as not to shade out the corals lower down as they grow.

Middle rock could make a nice GSP island.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

New to reefing. Not sure if this is too much rock not enough rock. Should I have more surface area for corals in the future? Is the placement of rock ok? Any criticism or suggestions would be welcome. Long term will likely be a mixed tank with 1 clown 1 cleaner shrimp and some snails. Want to keep inhabitants limited as its only 15G.

Aquascape looks great!