200g Reef Tank - Episode 12 - Aquascaping

Ahoy ship mates well the time has finally came where I get started on the Aquascape for The Black Pearl. I love aquascaping and always find it easier if you have an idea of what you want and what kind of look you're after. Me personally I don't like piles of rock or the rock wall against the back glass but that's just me. I find these types of aquascape lead to problems further down the line with detritus build up which then leads to nutrient problems. So what do I want? well for this tank I wanted to create an Island look sort of like if The Black Pearl was sailing between some tropical islands. I will probably have two main islands with a few smaller ones perhaps..

200g Reef Tank - Episode 12 - Aquascaping sentiment_very_dissatisfied 21

Reef tank 11 years ago 69,831 views

Ahoy ship mates well the time has finally came where I get started on the Aquascape for The Black Pearl. I love aquascaping and always find it easier if you have an idea of what you want and what kind of look you're after. Me personally I don't like piles of rock or the rock wall against the back glass but that's just me. I find these types of aquascape lead to problems further down the line with detritus build up which then leads to nutrient problems. So what do I want? well for this tank I wanted to create an Island look sort of like if The Black Pearl was sailing between some tropical islands. I will probably have two main islands with a few smaller ones perhaps..

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Most popular comments
for 200g Reef Tank - Episode 12 - Aquascaping

Danny Lyle
Danny Lyle - 7 years ago
I hope you don't mind but I want to use your islands as models for my 75 gallon and I may even put a Skull
JDReef
JDReef - 7 years ago
I am really enjoying DMC at the moment but if I ever decide to upgrade well you'll just have to wait n see
JDReef
JDReef - 7 years ago
It's all good Danny, I'm flattered you want to use my aquascapes as inspiration. I love skulls always have done.

Yeah my whole channel and the tank were started with the pirates of the Caribbean theme. The black pearl has came and gone. Currently on Dead Man's Chest but who knows if the story ends there
Ryan Dunbar
Ryan Dunbar - 7 years ago
Spot on!
JDReef
JDReef - 7 years ago
Thank you Ryan
EDK ReefMeister
EDK ReefMeister - 7 years ago
youre damn good
JDReef
JDReef - 7 years ago
Thank you for watching and the kind comment fella.

Cheers
JD
reef guy 92
reef guy 92 - 7 years ago
awesome job on that I'm gunna try do this when I set my tank up looks really nice bro
JDReef
JDReef - 7 years ago
No problem bro... good luck
reef guy 92
reef guy 92 - 7 years ago
JDReef4220 I'm going to order some soon for when I do my tank
JDReef
JDReef - 7 years ago
Thanks fella, the flat rock is reef plate that I bought from my local fish store. But you can get it online easy enough. Just search for reef plate and you will find it. To stick the rocks together I used and have used on my new tank build. Is epo-putty! This stuff is great I love it and use it all the time for aquascaping and securing coral etc.

Cheers
JD
shane richardson
shane richardson - 8 years ago
i tired to do this but failed. rock just fell over
JDReef
JDReef - 8 years ago
You need a good base rock to build off. But yeah it's trial and error until you get it right.

Good luck...
jeff mays
jeff mays - 8 years ago
The best video on this I've seen. Very imaginative and inspiring.. Gonna follow your lead..
JDReef
JDReef - 8 years ago
Thank you fella, always nice to hear things like this. Good luck with your aquascaping...

Cheers
JD
eric olsen
eric olsen - 8 years ago
sweet DAWG
cooljz82
cooljz82 - 8 years ago
Absolutely gorgeous job with creating those structures! ! Super inspiring! ! Any tips or sites that inspired you as far as creating those pieces?
JDReef
JDReef - 8 years ago
Thanks fella, I just got my inspiration from looking at pictures of islands in Thailand and stuff. Then just took my time messing around with the rock until I got something I loved. Best tip I can give you is to not be afraid to break the rock up. Also try to pick interesting pieces with lots of holes and character. Avoid large Boulder pieces as these really are difficult to use. But are good for a foundation. Just don't buy to many of that type. Then really it's just a case of letting your imagination flow. Good luck shipmate!

Cheers JD
patrickfaas
patrickfaas - 9 years ago
Great series. 
Love the Scottish accent, but it doesn't help to understand the phrase: "leave it to dry for a couple of weeks in the sun."

10. comment for 200g Reef Tank - Episode 12 - Aquascaping

Kris Bury
Kris Bury - 9 years ago
a little bit of crushed rock pressed into the putty can make it dissapear
Fish Tales
Fish Tales - 9 years ago
Hi thanks for the video, it has given me some inspiration to
change the way my tank looks.
Was wondering could i use Aquarium sealant to stick my rock together?
It sticks glass so i thought it might do the job!
JDReef
JDReef - 9 years ago
Hi you've got a nice sized tank to start with. It only gets more expensive the bigger you go. I went to big and it ended up that I couldn't afford to stock it. At times I wish I kept my 100 gallon but I've enjoyed my journey with this build anyway and met lots of great people.

I'm enjoying a break from the hobby now and tbh I'm not in any rush to start again. I will probably get back into it but for the time being I'm enjoying my free time and having cash in my wallet again lol

Best of luck with your tank and remember no matter what happens " There is no problems, only solutions! "
Fish Tales
Fish Tales - 9 years ago
Thanks for the info, hope your next project 
goes better. I have a 20 Gallon marine tank
and it is expensive and time consuming,
with all the info out there it is confusing especially with it being my first marine setup.
There heave been times when i wanted to give up, but i am going to persevere. And i thought Tropical aquariums we're difficult! :-)
JDReef
JDReef - 9 years ago
Hi Wendy thanks
Antony487
Antony487 - 9 years ago
lol too funny at 1 minute on the video, listening to a scot talking about sunshine, JDReef be careful you don't blink you may very well miss that sunshine, that rock will never dry out in Scotland, lol great stuff buddy I'm really enjoying to videos. 
JDReef
JDReef - 9 years ago
Thanks fella, yeah sunshine in Scotland lasts two weeks if we're lucky lol..
Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson - 9 years ago
really impressed with how these look, will definitely be giving this a go! How did you actually construct the islands, does the acrylic rod go through all of the rocks, or are most of them just stuck together with the putty around the rod? Much better than faffing about under the water trying to stack rocks! Thanks for sharing :)
Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson - 9 years ago
Thanks JD, will give it a go :)
JDReef
JDReef - 9 years ago
Hi Mark, drill the rocks and then slide them onto the rod. Once you create the look you want, you can add other bits of rock to it using epoxy for the finishing touches. I used 10mm thick rod on all my islands.

Good luck...

Cheers
JD
Mark Johnson
Mark Johnson - 9 years ago
Also, what diameter and length acrylic rod did you use?
neker rivera
neker rivera - 10 years ago
Wow really nice.
Gary
Gary - 10 years ago
Nice aquascape thanks for the fresh ideas, one think I picked up watching a different video was to use a piece of live rock to texture the putty rather than a screwdriver 
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
Thanks fella, yeah it's six and two threes really as it ends up being covered in time when the rock matures. You can't see where I glued the rocks anymore now. But yeah if I had to do it again and was in a rush then I'd just press rock into it..

I've bought another 21kg of rock and busy trying to aquascape it.... Nightmare can't get it the way I want. I've added more because I want more caves and territories available for future fish... But finding the balance is proving tricky... At this rate I'll stick it in the sump and leave it as it was lol..

Cheers
JD
Kevin watt
Kevin watt - 10 years ago
absolutely amazing looking , how long does it take to cycle dry/dead rock as i keep being to its better to use live rock 
Kevin watt
Kevin watt - 10 years ago
ok think ill do the dry rock , as you say it looks better so its worth the extra waiting period
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
It takes around 3 wks sometimes longer sometimes a bit less.
Paul King
Paul King - 10 years ago
I don't understand why you left your live rock in the sun? Doesn't that defeat the point of live rock??

Nice aqua scraping though :)
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
Hi Paul when I was setting up my new tank I didn't want any pests. I new I had a fair bit in my live rock on my old system. So that's why I left it in the sun. I wanted all the rock going into the black pearl to be 100% pest free. Plus with all the rock being dead I could take as long as I liked aquascaping.
All of the rock cycled and is now live rock again but 100% pest free. I added Copepods and amphipods to the system but that's it.

Thanks fella
JD
espagues a
espagues a - 10 years ago
So the the rod is secured through the rocks down to the eggcrate base?  So without the eggcrate, the island would topple over or can the islands stand up on their own with just the acrylic rod?  Thanks!
espagues a
espagues a - 10 years ago
Functional and aesthetic...dayum son.
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
Hi Andrew, the egg crate was only used while it was on my kitchen work top. The islands stand up on there own.

Cheers
JD
Primo Reef Acrylics
Primo Reef Acrylics - 10 years ago
Nice aquascape bud. 
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
Thanks fella :)

20. comment for 200g Reef Tank - Episode 12 - Aquascaping

Tim Dyer
Tim Dyer - 10 years ago
How did you make the flat shelves?
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
Hi Tim, I used reef plate rock to make the shelves. Just broke it up to get pieces and sizes I wanted for the island.
DopeToys NY
DopeToys NY - 10 years ago
I tried to aquascape my new 200 gallon deep dimension tank last night (new to the hobby, first tank, water is freshly mixed). Not as easy as one might imagine. I thought I'd do it all inside the tank wet with epoxy, but it was very hard to do it this way, going to go back to the drawing board and use the dry/ framed method.
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
No worries good luck..

Cheers JD
DopeToys NY
DopeToys NY - 10 years ago
Yea I will get it in time. The key in this hobby is to have patience. And trial and error is sometimes what it takes. I'm about to order some acrylic rods now. Thanks for the reply, keep up the good work. Subscribing.
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
Hi Mark, yeah I know the feeling fella. Before this tank I aquascaped all my tanks with live rock in the display. Worked out ok but I couldn't create what I really wanted. One of the main advantages using the dry rock is you have all the time in the world to create whatever you want. Best thing I ever did. Wish I'd done it years ago...

Good luck I'm sure you'll get it how you want it soon.

Cheers JD
taile7973
taile7973 - 10 years ago
You know, you can use a small piece of live rock and press again the epoxy make the job alot quicker and look better...
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
Yes I did that on my last island.

Cheers JD
James Ludwig
James Ludwig - 10 years ago
very nice aquascaping. really like the islands !!
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
Thanks James
Guadalupe Delanuez
Guadalupe Delanuez - 10 years ago
I love it! beautiful, i would like to try this for my new 125g tank. hope it comes out as nice as yours = )  thank you for sharing
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
Hi Guadalupe, thanks for the nice feedback :)

Episode 29 I've added another island to the tank which was done in the same way. Makes the tank look bigger.

Be sure to post videos of your 125 build. I'd love to see your tank develop. Good luck and happy reefing :)

Cheers JD
j santos
j santos - 10 years ago
JD, awesome aquascaping.  What kind of reef rocks are those, they look great.
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
I use masonry drill bit very easy! :)
j santos
j santos - 10 years ago
How did you drill into the Fiji rock. What type of drill bit did you use. I heard its very difficult drilling into Fiji rocks.
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
Thanks fella, it's a mix of reef rock and Fiji live rock I dried out.

Cheers JD
Laurie Coleman
Laurie Coleman - 10 years ago
sorry I did mean EpoPutty
regards
Laurie
Laurie Coleman
Laurie Coleman - 10 years ago
Hi, could you tell me where you pick up your plastic rod, I have tried aquascaping  but have had  no luck using Milliput is Epopoxy  better and where do you purchase it.
keep the videos coming.
Regards
Laurie 
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
Hi Laurie, yeah I find epo putty to be much better than milliput. Although both still need to be supported until the epoxy goes off and sets. I get my epo putty and rods from eBay. A quick search on there will give you all you need to create the aquascape you desire. Good luck and thanks JD.
MrPebaa
MrPebaa - 10 years ago
Nice work. My next build is a 65 gallon, this IS exactly what I'm looking for. 
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
Thanks MrPebaa glad you like it and good luck with your 65 gallon build.
JDReef
JDReef - 10 years ago
Hi pops, I used some dead reef rock and the rest was live rock I had in my old system. Which I left outside in the sun to dry out and bleach. I used a hammer and chisel to smash the rocks into shapes I wanted to use.

30. comment for 200g Reef Tank - Episode 12 - Aquascaping

BIG DADDY
BIG DADDY - 10 years ago
What kind of rock did you use and did you make your cuts or was it purchased as such.
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Thanks buyseboy, yeah that's a great idea and worth remembering for next time. Cheers fella :)
buyseboy06
buyseboy06 - 11 years ago
Don't know if anyone has said before but if you use a small piece of broken off rock to mark the putty it will look as good as rock and will save you loads of time :) great video, and the platforms look awesome!
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Thanks Juan, yeah it makes getting nice overhangs etc easy plus you know your rock is safe n secure.
Juan's Reef Aquariums
Juan's Reef Aquariums - 11 years ago
looks great, the acrylic rods are definitely an awesome idea
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Hi Dan thanks fella..
Dan Hamilton
Dan Hamilton - 11 years ago
thats some pretty damn good aquascaping mate. once your corals all settled in its going to look amazing. cant wait to see the end product, definitely subscribing to you
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Cheers fella we have the same way of thinking :D Yeah I can't wait to start my coral collection the islands will look much better then too..
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Cheers Liam, go for it fella :) I've got them in the tank now and they look great. Just working on placement now but they look good I'm happy with them. Good luck with yours.
Liam Needham
Liam Needham - 11 years ago
They look ace. Think I'm guna have to have a go at that
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Lol thanks fella your aquascapes are always cool though.
jbliss2000007
jbliss2000007 - 11 years ago
Stunning job with the rockwork. I know have to take a page from your book for the next time I do a tank
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Thanks fella :)
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Great stuff mate I will check it out once you get a vid up :) Yeah I had big rocks but the secret is to not be afraid to break them up. I smashed loads in order to get what I wanted. I'm sure yours will look ace now though and can't wait to see it.. Your tank is stunning :)
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Hi Brett, thanks yeah that's one of the things I wanted was not to have to much contact with the substrate and it turned out well. Good luck with the larger tank once you get it fella.
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Thanks fella :)
Brett'sReef
Brett'sReef - 11 years ago
Great Job! I like the fact, that you have a lot of space for placement for corals. But you have little rock on the sand, which makes for great flow and less areas for dead spots. Again, great job. You have inspired me to do the same once I get my larger tank.
TheGresham1973
TheGresham1973 - 11 years ago
Rock scape looks great man wow.
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
No worries fella :) Bummer about the old light unit but least now you can get something new. Decisions decisions tough choice but those ATI units are sweet mate.
triumphags
triumphags - 11 years ago
Sorry, jumped the gun! Im at the same stage as you with setting up, but my old halide unit has packed up, & can't decide what to save for (ati dimmable, 8x54w would be nice).

50. comment for 200g Reef Tank - Episode 12 - Aquascaping

JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Hi David, lol thank you mate I'm glad you like it. I new I liked what I made but aquascaping is very much a personal thing not everyone likes the same thing. I'm blown away by these comments thank you :)
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Hi Stephen lol thanks fella hope you wasn't to late for work ;) Thanks for the great comments :)
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Thanks Gil I'm glad you liked it mate. Yeah the islands are super sturdy I made sure to have a solid foundation then worked from there. Good luck with your re-scape I bet it will be stunning.
dm002a8686
dm002a8686 - 11 years ago
AWESOME James that's all I can say AWESOME
Stephen West
Stephen West - 11 years ago
Wow work of art there James they really look like a couple of characters off of the flying Dutchman see you've posted two more episodes looks like I'll be late going to work some things just more important great job
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
No worries thanks for the compliment fella :)
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Very handy plus a bit of extra security knowing your rocks ain't going anywhere no matter what tries to budge them ;)
James Macdonald
James Macdonald - 11 years ago
Thx for the full view james looks amazing!!
JamesAquariumz
JamesAquariumz - 11 years ago
Looks class, I wish I used them rods ;(
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Hi bob lol yeah if it's worth doing its worth doing right mate.. Thanks fella.
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Hi triumphags indeed you're correct fella & I will be blasting the rocks first with a hose to free off any loose debris & then the rocks will be placed in the display tank in RO water for a week. During that time I'll have a phosphate reactor running rowaphos to help get rid of as much phosphates as possible. The tank will only be filled with as much water that is needed to cover the islands after a week I'll drain it off then get the whole system running with salted water. Then the cycle begins
JDReef
JDReef - 11 years ago
Cheers Aggy yeah I'm very happy with what i created. Makes me happy knowing you like it as much as I do. Aquascaping is a very personal thing " one man's perfume is another man's poison " as they say. I'm looking forward to getting some life and corals on the islands I'll get there eventually :)
bobbonecrusher
bobbonecrusher - 11 years ago
you got a fine eye for detail nothing wrong with that.
triumphags
triumphags - 11 years ago
Hi JD, don't you need to soak the rock in ro water to get rid of any accumulated phosphate/nitrate etc?
Aggy Vega
Aggy Vega - 11 years ago
Mate I'm so jealous.I wish I has done something like that with my tank. Can't wait to see it finished its going to be amazing! Great job mate

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