- Today's problem, I hate my aquascape.
This video is this solution,
starting with number one, pull some pieces out.
- Yeah, so, you know, maybe you were one of those ones
that just stacked as much rock as you can.
You kind of have this one big wall in the tank.
Maybe you just piled a bunch of rock
into different islands, in which case,
just start by removing some of those pieces,
some of those key pieces.
And you're opening up some negative space.
You're, you know, bringing down some of the bulk
to really free up some area.
But it could completely change
what you're looking at in the tank.
- You can do this without removing
any of the footprint for corals.
In fact, sometimes you can actually,
by taking a couple pieces out, you can add surface area.
Because you get kind of that two dimensional depth to it.
And the reality is, is the aquascape,
especially in the first few years
is visually what you're looking at
and most of the artistic
or visual interest appeal of the tank.
So if you can pull in a couple pieces,
you might intentionally create a little bit of a cove.
You might create a negative space between some of the rocks.
So go look at your aquascape right now
and say instead of what could I add,
what could I take out?
- Number two is the opposite of that
and considering to add a few new pieces.
There's different shapes and sizes and branches
and different, you know, the unique structures
that you can add to the tank
to really throw off
or change that dynamic of your aquascape.
Branches, I can just kind of shove
in random cracks in places here.
Now I've got this whole new dynamic to my tank.
Rocks that come in different shapes
that aren't really naturally made
or might be hard for you to make on your own.
You can just add a few pieces here.
There's bridges, there's little tunnels.
All kinds of unique things that you can add in
to make it more interesting.
- You could swap out a couple of pieces
but the two that you just mentioned there,
if there is one thing you heard today,
probably let it be this one,
which is CaribSea's arches.
- Yeah. - Right?
So rock just does not come that way.
You'd have to make it that way.
And it's a lot of work.
So you can just buy those arches.
You can connect two different pieces of your aquascape,
create negative space, create swim throughs,
create really cool things.
And even some of this stuff where, you know
you really want to create that cove
but it was kind of hard to stack.
And now, you know, these pieces are already coming that way.
So go look at what some of the unique pieces
that you could add to the aquascape, not just take away.
Number three, this works really well
with the Reef Saver or Marco Rock,
which is like don't be afraid to build your own pieces.
You know, most of us have just thought about,
you know how do I stack all the rock that I was given
and, you know, turn into whatever.
But you can actually take the stuff and break it apart.
Now, a lot of times people think of that as,
I'm gonna do one of those unique, like HNSAs
or NSA, negative space aquascape,
but it doesn't have to be that.
It can actually be that I'm just gonna take a hammer
and instead of buying a really expensive bridge,
I'm just gonna take a hammer, break it apart,
and use some epoxy to create my own shape.
And in that case, I can actually snake it around.
I can make it do what I want it to do
instead of being reliant on whatever comes in the box.
So don't be afraid to take that hammer,
break the pieces apart
and then reassemble them into what you want.
- Number four, if you're adding to your aquascape,
chances are your rock's already wet,
in which case use the right tool for the right job.
And super glue is the answer.
If you're adding rock to your existing aquascape,
super glue cures underwater.
It is the strongest, the best at adhesive for this purpose.
So make sure that you're using it for that.
Otherwise, you know, like Ryan just mentioned
I can build my own pieces, my own unique shapes
in which case I'd probably do that
outside the tank with epoxy
and really get it to hold together
and strengthen up and cure.
Then glue that into the tank.
- Number five, I tried adding stuff.
I tried taking stuff out.
I tried moving it all around.
I still hate my aquascape.
Start over. - Yeah.
- The good thing is the corals will survive
inside of that tank.
You can build a brand new aquascape
when you swap the whole thing out.
And in this case, really embrace the creative
or artistic element of the whole thing.
And, you know, we talk about it in two different ways.
There is videos on the HNSA where,
I mean this is the, like my two hands.
I built this, I'm so proud of it, right?
It will take a couple of weekends probably to do
but when you're done with it,
it will be the only one on the planet like this.
And you'll take great of pride in producing it.
So it's that breaking apart the rock with the hammer,
gluing it back together with the epoxy,
and creating something like you probably never
even thought was possible in your tank.
But what about for everybody else
who doesn't want to go through that whole thing?
Randy, you could raise your hand.
In this case, CaribSea has got your back.
They do it, with all of the shapes, the trees
the overhangs, we've talked about.
Now, if you go and pick those things up,
not only are they already done in shapes like that
but they're already purple as well.
Meaning it will maintain that established tank look
that you probably already are accustomed to
with your established tank.
You can get that thing in there and be really happy
with how this whole thing has come together.
You don't have to be pissed off at your aquascape,
it can be better.
- Number six, if you're already thinking about
changing up your aquascape, put rock in the sump today.
So that way it can have time to cure
before you actually get to adding rock or rebuilding.
Even if you were going to rebuild
your entire aquascape from scratch,
you could easily plumb, you know,
a remote system, a trough or something off to the side,
build your aquascape, get it in the same water
as your tank and get it cycling, get it going.
So that way it's a one for one swap when the time comes.
- Yeah, in some cases we tell you,
you know, really cycling all that rock first isn't a value.
In that space, we're telling you that
in a brand new tank.
This thing's never seen water or never cycled.
It doesn't have corals, doesn't have fish in it.
Well, just build it dry and then cycle it in the tank
or cure it in the tank.
Do the water change, get all the stuff out afterward.
But in this case, if you have a tank already running
and you're saying, I hate my scape,
well, you can actually get around that by,
you know, cycling the rock down in the sump.
It'll get that biome on it.
Or like you said, you could build it dry actually,
you know, plumb a horse trough or a big container
right into your sump to share some water.
Cycle that thing while the system's running,
and do that aquascape swap.
Number seven, do portions at a time.
If you're really worried about, you know
protecting the livestock
and maintaining the biome in your tank,
dude, you could literally do a third at a time.
You know, so you can take out some of the rock in there,
build out an aquascape, put it in there,
let it cycle, do the next part.
And do it in series, take your time, enjoy the process.
But like, you really wanna build something
that you're proud of.
When you point to it, like, I made that.
Isn't it cool?
I'm so excited about, it's not just a lump of rocks.
And instead of saying, I hate my aquascape.
I love it.
- Number eight, start researching.
Go look at the forums, go look at the groups,
go look at Instagram and get some inspiration
for the type of aquascape that you want to aim for.
Maybe you'll find a tank that is exactly your size
with the same type of corals.
And that is something you want to emulate.
Emulating is the first step to mastery
and you can find ton of awesome options out there
on all the social medias.
- Go find the ones that like speak to you
and say, I want to create that.
That's super cool.
During the process, it won't be one for one.
You'll take it in your own direction.
But what I would do is print them out.
While you're doing this project, put them on the wall
so you can glance up and say, when I'm looking at this
and saying, hey, this isn't going the way I want,
you can kind of compare the two,
and say, oh that's why.
Number nine, skip all of it, just buy one.
- Yeah. - You can buy them.
People make these things,
on Instagram you can find them.
You can probably find them on eBay.
You can definitely find them at fish stores.
Even my first inspiration to create the first NSA
actually came from TSA.
And the one that Kevin made for me
over at Top Shelf Aquatics.
So sometimes even the pros need a little bit of inspiration,
but right after that, I saw how cool this really was
and went to town trying to build more in my garage.
This is the future of creating something really unique.
But if you don't want to do that,
there are people that do this for a living
and you can just buy one.
- Number 10, the easiest way to get this done
and change your aquascape completely
is just upgrade your tank.
Like maybe it's time.
Now, most of us are on the cusp of upgrading our tanks
at any given point in time.
Maybe you've been thinking about it for a while.
You're in a 40 breeder, or you're in like a 60 gallon cube.
You wanna go to that 120 or 200, or what have you.
This is probably the time to go ahead
and make that decision.
And then you could start all over with a new aquascape.
One that you put your sweat and tears into,
one that you bought, or one that you took
some of these lessons from and applied early.
- I don't know about you,
but on a 1 to 10 scale of, should I upgrade?
I'm in a constant state of 5 to 10.
Something is just always,
just need something to push me over the edge.
In fact, I was surprised to find this out,
but it turns out that 15% of you guys
actually have five or more tanks in your house.
So it doesn't even mean you need to shut down the old one,
it just means you can set up a new one.
Some different type, you know,
take a different species
and use this as an opportunity
to create an aquascape that you really love.
And it's part of that next level.
It's, it's not just a new tank.
It's not just a different type of coral
but I'm practicing different skill sets
and mastering this hobby.
All right, so what didn't we answer today?
Well, before you go rip apart your entire aquascape
there are other elements that matter here.
One of them is flow.
There's a better way,
and you probably haven't considered most of these things,
and they're all right here.