Need help with your aquascape?

[Pupito32]

New to the hobby and definitely want to be off to the right start. Definitely aiming at being able to provide sufficient height and space for different coral types - i know they'll need different amounts of light and flow. How do y'all balance space and utility?? I see these beautiful tanks and im staring at my rock placement confused lol.

Anyways - 21gal Tideline AIO cube. 17 34" x 13 1/5" and 16" tall.

 

[Pupito32]

New to the hobby and definitely want to be off to the right start. Definitely aiming at being able to provide sufficient height and space for different coral types - i know they'll need different amounts of light and flow. How do y'all balance space and utility?? I see these beautiful tanks and im staring at my rock placement confused lol.

Anyways - 21gal Tideline AIO cube. 17 34" x 13 1/5" and 16" tall.

I guess my biggest concern at the moment is space. I like the overall layout. It just feels way too... bulky?

 

[DmitryB]

Is the OP no longer posting here??

I noticed in one of his original videos one tank had a rock coming out of the water. It strikes me as a very original idea! I may try that when I'm setting up my tank.

 

[Newbiereefguy31]

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[Newbiereefguy31]

I
Any thoughts

 

[Newbiereefguy31]

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[slingfox]

I
Any thoughts

Looks pretty good! On the third picture, you may want to put in a little more rock in the bottom left and area. I assume you are trying to do an overhand there but depending on your fish plans you may need more caves and hiding spots.

 

[Newbiereefguy31]

I
Any thoughts

Looks pretty good! On the third picture, you may want to put in a little more rock in the bottom left and area. I assume you are trying to do an overhand there but depending on your fish plans you may need more caves and hiding spots.

Here is a video there are quite a few caves I think? Do you think I should have more

 

[slingfox]

Here is a video there are quite a few caves I think? Do you think I should have more

The right side looks pretty good from a cave and hiding spot perspective. The left side has mostly overhangs which produce some amount of safety/protection but if one fish is getting chased by another the overhangs are not an area the fish can hide in.

One way I gauge whether there are enough hiding spots or at is to walk by the tank late at night and see if all the fish are safety hidden away and hard to find. Some fish don’t hide at night (eg, my clownfish stay in the same corner of the tank all day and night) but most want a secluded spot to sleep for the night. When I didn’t have enough rockwork I had two Chromis who would the to sleep in the back corners of the tank rather than the rockwork. When I added more rock those two fish could not be found at night anymore.