Reef Tank: Live Rock Arrives
Today my order of live rock arrived from Live Aquaria, bringing the first real look of a reef to this tank, along with a multitude of life. I had chosen 30 pounds of Lala Select rock harvested in Tonga which has a unique look and coloration. I wanted something different from the pink Fiji rock that is nearly ubiquitous in the modern reef aquarium. This rock did not disappoint, the colors of the encrusting corraline algae were unique and beautiful:
The design I had sketched out on vacation (with a snorkel trip still fresh in my mind) called for creating a slanted pile of rocks from the left side of the aquarium with an isolated island of one rock set to the right. The isolated rock concept was directly influenced by invincible569's 300 gallon system that I had been following on Reef Central for some time. Laying out a reef aquarium design is not easy: I had absolutely no idea what the size or shape of the rocks would be as they were coming via mail order.
I took all the rocks out and set them up on the kitchen table where I had marked off the dimensions of the aquarium, and attempted to reconstruct the design. Although the rocks were much larger than I had anticipated (the 30lbs was primarily comprised of only three large rocks), I was able to come closed than I anticipated to the original design. One rock in particular was well suited to become the solitary island, while the other two fit together nicely to create a larger area complete with cave and peaks.
I snapped enough photos that I could remember how things had been placed, and then dunked each piece of rock in salt water to remove sand and other loose debris before reconstructing the arrangement in the aquarium. Although the left side isn't quite as high as I had originally sketched out, I am quite pleased with the final results. As someone pointed out after the fact, its important to leave room for the corals to grow in. Creating a natural scene in a smaller aquarium can be tough with large rocks, and I'd seen enough poor examples to know both what I wanted to do and what I wanted to avoid.
Now the long wait while life dies off, bacteria becomes established and the tank becomes habitable. Plenty of time to research coral species and get some real world experience with the alchemy of creating and changing salt water.
The design I had sketched out on vacation (with a snorkel trip still fresh in my mind) called for creating a slanted pile of rocks from the left side of the aquarium with an isolated island of one rock set to the right. The isolated rock concept was directly influenced by invincible569's 300 gallon system that I had been following on Reef Central for some time. Laying out a reef aquarium design is not easy: I had absolutely no idea what the size or shape of the rocks would be as they were coming via mail order.
I took all the rocks out and set them up on the kitchen table where I had marked off the dimensions of the aquarium, and attempted to reconstruct the design. Although the rocks were much larger than I had anticipated (the 30lbs was primarily comprised of only three large rocks), I was able to come closed than I anticipated to the original design. One rock in particular was well suited to become the solitary island, while the other two fit together nicely to create a larger area complete with cave and peaks.
I snapped enough photos that I could remember how things had been placed, and then dunked each piece of rock in salt water to remove sand and other loose debris before reconstructing the arrangement in the aquarium. Although the left side isn't quite as high as I had originally sketched out, I am quite pleased with the final results. As someone pointed out after the fact, its important to leave room for the corals to grow in. Creating a natural scene in a smaller aquarium can be tough with large rocks, and I'd seen enough poor examples to know both what I wanted to do and what I wanted to avoid.
Now the long wait while life dies off, bacteria becomes established and the tank becomes habitable. Plenty of time to research coral species and get some real world experience with the alchemy of creating and changing salt water.
Labels: Aquascape, Live Rock, Reef Aquarium
posted by Nat Tarbox at
2:48 PM
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