Reefer 170 Aquascaping

BradVol · Apr 3, 2020

Hey Everyone! Been lurking a good while now. Finally to the point where I have tangible questions and am looking forward to being part of the community. I kept Discus for a long time but this is my first salt water tank. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time.

I bought a used Red Sea Reefer 170 with a setup that will be a lot better than the owner for some time. I'm planning a mixed reef tank.

I'm aquascaping for the first time. I'm pretty happy with what I've done so far but I'm curious if I'm doing anything that looks obviously wrong or will cause me trouble down the road. Here's what I've done so far and any input is welcome. Thanks!

Rtorres508 · Apr 3, 2020

Lol I hope you’re joking, but if not you should move the rock away from the glass to start

MohrReefs · Apr 3, 2020

All that matters is that you like it, but I would leave yourself room to get to the glass with cleaning equipment.

bjc451 · Apr 3, 2020

I would open it up more. All the rocks that are stacked will allow for detritus to build up. Need holes and caves and crevices for fish to go through and to find a place to sleep.

Rtorres508 · Apr 3, 2020

I literally just bought a 170 today so I can start a small SPS reef. I have a 250 LPS and going with a similar scape. BJC451 hit it on the nose so you might wanna spread it out a little to avoid a mess later. If you’re up to the task you should try something a little more open.
Cheers!

BradVol · Apr 4, 2020

I'm not joking. I'm new. Laugh if you want.

I filled in several holes with smaller pieces so I can open it back up. How far away from the glass does the rock need to be? There's only one place that it's closer than 1.5" aside from the overflow box.

splitting_lanes · Apr 4, 2020

You can go up against the overflow box, because you won’t clean that glass. But you’ll want some clearance on the front and sides to use a magnetic glass scraper, at least an inch or better.

Crustaceon · Apr 4, 2020

It looks like you’re trapped by your rocks, lol. What I mean is, each individual piece is pretty big which is limiting how you can place them. I’ve used dry rock in all of my builds and what I typically do to fix this is to turn the large, squarish rocks into rectangles. I use an old flathead screwdriver and a hammer (yes, not proper tool usage) to break the rocks to form better shapes to stack together. It’s like Tetris. In your case, I would build up instead of sideways, forming arches and caves. This is the perfect time to just lay your rock outside of the tank, pick up each piece and picture it as a lego brick. I’d divide your rock work into 3-4 different “sculptures” and use a stick epoxy to put them together and cure before they go into the tank.

Rtorres508 · Apr 4, 2020

I meant no disrespect✌. I honestly thought it might have been a joke with the rocks touching the glass panels and reading that someone else is trying to trade gold torches for hand sanitizer and a dozen of large eggs . But you’ve come to the right spot! I’m sure we all break our rock up just like, Crustaceon does. Open it all up and let your wave maker Keep detritus from settling and causing you major headaches later. The last thing you want as a newbie is trying to fight a bad case of dinos and phosphates running wild. Here’s some help info.
Aquascaping regret is real! By bulk reef supply on YouTube.

Good luck and following to see how it comes out!

Rtorres508 · Apr 4, 2020

BRS also put out a 5 minute saltwater aquarium guide which is great for a beginner to watch.

JoshO · Apr 4, 2020

I would definitely watch that video shared above, really useful for helping to aquascape.
I'd definitely break the larger pieces up to give you more flexibility.
I don't agree with going up against the overflow box, your ideally want access all the way around the scape to help clear detritus. Similarly having caves will help with flow and also give places for fish to hide out, which in my opinion is key to fish happiness

BradVol · Apr 4, 2020

Thanks for all the input. I emptied the caves back out and took out several smaller pieces. I have it now where I can clean all the glass and think I see a way to get it far enough away from that as well.

I broke one piece yesterday by slamming it into a plastic container. While a screwdriver and hammer sounds crude, it's far more advanced than what I did yesterday. I have more rock since I got extra so I'll try on one of those pieces first.

I'll post pics when I have an update and see if I'm doing better.

Leemcg · Apr 4, 2020

Hello, and welcome to the hobby. I have a similar tank, RS Max E 170. I was in the hoppy for a few years and after a long break just got back in the end of last year. Just take it slow, Research every step and ask questions. The tank dimensions doesn’t give the best options for aquascaping, but just get creative. Move the rocks away from the glass a little, so you can get good flow back there. Try your best to open up some good size caves and pass throughs, one so your fish and clean up crew have good hiding spots and places to swim through, and number two for water flow and more exposed rock surface. Don’t be afraid to keep tweaking it and moving things around for now, you have a month or so of cycling to go through, so plenty of time to get it just the way you like it, and that will make a nice home/ playground for your future fish.
Here is a pic of my initial scape when I set up, the dimensions aren’t ideal, but spread out what you can. In the end, it’s your tank and no matter what, it’s you that has to be happy with the end result.

Rtorres508 · Apr 4, 2020

BradVol said:
Thanks for all the input. I emptied the caves back out and took out several smaller pieces. I have it now where I can clean all the glass and think I see a way to get it far enough away from that as well.

I broke one piece yesterday by slamming it into a plastic container. While a screwdriver and hammer sounds crude, it's far more advanced than what I did yesterday. I have more rock since I got extra so I'll try on one of those pieces first.

I'll post pics when I have an update and see if I'm doing better.

Looking forward to seeing the progress!

BradVol · Apr 4, 2020

What size rocks work well for aquascaping in a 34 gallon? Most of my rocks are 8-10 inches.

Rtorres508 · Apr 4, 2020

Break them down to whatever size you need. If I don’t see any nice small to medium shaped rocks I like. I’ll buy huge pieces and jackhammer away with the flathead & hammer and let the Tetris begin for a few a hours or even days while the tank cycles

Rtorres508 · Apr 4, 2020

You can even use acrylic rods and a drill to help hold pieces in place for a more unique scape. Just make sure you glue them properly!

Rtorres508 · Apr 4, 2020

It’s worth every minute of your time to just play around with different ideas and enjoy the hell out of it when it’s all come together.

BeMoto · Apr 4, 2020

Aquascaping is hard by itself but in smaller tanks it's even harder. Some of it's tactical, everyone has an opinion. I would break some rocks up and play around. You can make a also cut a rock in half with a new hack saw blade. Use the flat surface as your base rock to place on the bottom glass.

Safe all your rubble rock and glue it between rocks to make it look seamless. You can also use some of the rubble for frags later.