Building a "tree" scape / mara's reef inspired scape

[sassyonmane]

Hi guys, I am wanting to build a scape similar to the one mara's reef has
( ) - go 5:43 to see the original rockscape without acropora

I was wondering how i can find rocks with that "branching" look, I took a closer look and it the branches she used looks very smooth and almost seamless?, my main concern is how I can attach the "trunk" of the scape to the bottom of the tank, lots and lots of glue? or should I use this "reef tank cement" to cement it down to the glass?, its pretty much this powder that when mixed with water becomes almost this gritty putty consistency and goes hot after a few seconds and in minutes turns rock hard, I found in previous rockscapes ive used with this, that it actually encrusts with corraline algae much faster than other rock/surfaces even around it... but does seem to mysteriously grow ulva algae specifically on it?... Anyways would using the "reef cement" to fix the trunk to the glass be a viable option? or just buy a flat cut base rock and build ontop of that then glue down?
Also would it be easier to build the whole scape outside of the tank then put it in or to start off with a smaller structure (like in the video at 5:43) then build out as I go or build the final scape all in one go, then water in?

 

[Gman83]

You can buy the branches, a lot of sellers have them. Here is some dry rock, I know TBS sells live rock branches, as well as Tank Stop. You may be able to find some cheaper from someone on fb. To glue it all together I’d use some combo of gel super glue and Mortor.

I’d start the “trunk” with a foundation rock, or cut a rock with a flat edge to give it good stability. Then I’d build it up one rock at time, and ad branches based on how it was looking/ what I wanted it to look like

 

[hatfielj]

Mara’s reef is next level. I don’t think anyone else has come close to achieving that level of aquascaping perfection.
I have no idea how she accomplished that but it does appear she somehow cemented the base to the bottom of the tank. That’s only one piece of the puzzle. The next is how did she get the branches attached strongly enough to hold up all the weight of her hundreds of acro colonies?
Best of luck to anyone attempting a challenge like this. I want to achieve a similar look in my upcoming tank but I’m not going to attempt the single trunk design. Instead I plan on using a series of trunks attached to flat Marco rocks so as to elevate the majority of the rock work off the glass. I’m not quite sure how it will work out and I’m not quite to the point of being able to focus on that stage yet. I’ll be checking back here to see if anyone else has any good ideas for achieving this look.

And I have to say, Mara herself is next level too…wowzers!