SCAPEspiration!! What are your favorite aquascapes?

[Daniel@R2R]

So I started a thread today on Trends in aquascaping, and now I'd like to get a new thread going to help those of us looking for current aquascape inspiration. Would you take a moment and post some pictures of scapes that you've seen that serve as inspiration for you? What are those aquascapes that you LOVE? And would you take a moment to maybe share WHY you love them (depth, use of rule of thirds, coral layout, minimalist, nsa, etc.)? What is it that makes this scape stand out above the rest?

 

[sp1187]

what are you trying to accomplish with a scape?
what live stock do you intend to keep?

those are (were) the first two questions I would ask when I hung out in the scape forum.

my goal was to hide all of the equipment. I hate seeing pumps/wave makers, heaters, overflow boxes, returns, frag racks and cables in the dt.

when I was making mine I looked for sloping from front to back examples.
it adds depth perception as well as viewability of corals without having to be directly in front of the tank.

I ended up fabbing the whole thing from pvc and two part putty.

my personal experience....
caves are over rated. ledges/over hangs are more important.
the majority of my twenty plus fish don't use the caves to hide/sleep.
they use the ledges and the corals to hide/sleep.

"too high is nonsense, unless you are going sps/sticks maybe. ( I don't keep sps besides a few monti's)
the left side tower breaks the surface of my tank. (150Xhigh 30")
the right side wall is 3" below.
the left tower is a favored spot for my bta's.
the right wall I have leathers, shrooms, zoas/palys, candy canes and welsi blastos.
all are growing great. all break the surface during water changes.
it doesn't affect them. kinda like low tide I guess.

my tank

 

[revhtree]

what are you trying to accomplish with a scape?
what live stock do you intend to keep?

those are (were) the first two questions I would ask when I hung out in the scape forum.

my goal was to hide all of the equipment. I hate seeing pumps/wave makers, heaters, overflow boxes, returns, frag racks and cables in the dt.

when I was making mine I looked for sloping from front to back examples.
it adds depth perception as well as viewability of corals without having to be directly in front of the tank.

I ended up fabbing the whole thing from pvc and two part putty.

my personal experience....
caves are over rated. ledges/over hangs are more important.
the majority of my twenty plus fish don't use the caves to hide/sleep.
they use the ledges and the corals to hide/sleep.

"too high is nonsense, unless you are going sps/sticks maybe. ( I don't keep sps besides a few monti's)
the left side tower breaks the surface of my tank. (150Xhigh 30")
the right side wall is 3" below.
the left tower is a favored spot for my bta's.
the right wall I have leathers, shrooms, zoas/palys, candy canes and welsi blastos.
all are growing great. all break the surface during water changes.
it doesn't affect them. kinda like low tide I guess.

my tank

Picked some good ones there!

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

I like two things in aquascaping: open sandbeds and big ol' piles of rock with small caves. This scape gets both of them in an unconventional way. Not mine, but still a great inspiration to nano aquascapers.

How to Build a Floating Reef Aquascape | Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine

Thinking about creating your own reef tank? Read aquarist David Notter’s tips for building a floating reef aquascape in this exclusive TFH interview.

www.tfhmagazine.com

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Here's one I really like a lot.

 

[revhtree]

I like two things in aquascaping: open sandbeds and big ol' piles of rock with small caves. This scape gets both of them in an unconventional way. Not mine, but still a great inspiration to nano aquascapers.

How to Build a Floating Reef Aquascape | Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine

Thinking about creating your own reef tank? Read aquarist David Notter’s tips for building a floating reef aquascape in this exclusive TFH interview.

www.tfhmagazine.com

I'm a HUGE fan of the floating scapes!

 

[damsels are not mean]

whatever the corals build for me

 

[reefman888]

aquascaping depends greatly on size and shape of tanks. beauty is in the eye of the beholder is very true as to your reef.
my ideal look is less footprint on bottom and sand is a must. no fruit stand look cause sometimes less is more.
here's a huge tank from Manhattan Aquariums from long ago that was very inspirating for me.

 

[kingjames_dc5]

Would love to recreate this on a larger scale on my next project. Lmk what you guys think.

 

[Tstanfill]

If they are that close to the glass then how do you clean it?