not as full as I thought

[Delphinus]

Ok apparently I have not had enough yet today as I'm about to make another grouchy-like post in response to something that's supposed to be nice..

It's a very nice tank, but what is WITH these tanks that are so packed with corals that the only spots left for clams is in the sandbed in a nice little row up in front? It looks so contrived to me. Might as well put up some picket fences while we're at it!

Can't fault the setup for growing nice coloured corals, it's awesome. I just wish people with tanks like these would do a better job at recreating a more natural looking aquascape.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

It is pretty amazing! But I agree with Tony. It looks to me like a garden. A very nice garden....but a garden nonetheless. I suppose that's the look some people enjoy, and that's great for them.

Edit/Side note: Greg, I think yours looks more natural.

[Snappy]

Originally Posted by Der_Iron_Chef

Edit/Side note: Greg, I think yours looks more natural.

Even with my clams on the sandbed????

[Delphinus]

Well .. at least they're not in a perfect uniform row. I thought you also had one or two up higher in the rock.

[Snappy]

So Tony what corals should I take out to make room for the clams? Usually when I put them up high they jump off.

[wickedfrags]

I agree nice tank- but I think it would benefit from some different shaped corals, especially stags.

Originally Posted by Der_Iron_Chef

It is pretty amazing! But I agree with Tony. It looks to me like a garden. A very nice garden....but a garden nonetheless. I suppose that's the look some people enjoy, and that's great for them.

Edit/Side note: Greg, I think yours looks more natural.

[hawk]

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Ok apparently I have not had enough yet today as I'm about to make another grouchy-like post in response to something that's supposed to be nice..

It's a very nice tank, but what is WITH these tanks that are so packed with corals that the only spots left for clams is in the sandbed in a nice little row up in front? It looks so contrived to me. Might as well put up some picket fences while we're at it!

Can't fault the setup for growing nice coloured corals, it's awesome. I just wish people with tanks like these would do a better job at recreating a more natural looking aquascape.

I couldn't agree more, you definitely need more coffee.
As for the tank it looks pretty nice to me.

[Delphinus]

Didn't say it wasn't nice, but it is definitely a contrived looking tank. It's not just the clams, it's the fact that everything is so uniformly sized and spaced. It doesn't look like a real reef to me. Sorry (AND I'm not even grouchy as I type this More coffee won't change my opinion.)

[Der_Iron_Chef]

He he. Different strokes for different folks? I'm sure many would criticize my tank, but hey.....we all do what makes us happy.

As for the clams cliff diving....can you capture that on film?

[Delphinus]

Really? My tanks make me totally unhappy. Your tanks make you happy? Wow, you're weird.

No seriously, just compared to other nice tanks (and I'm even referring to Canreefers tanks, those who put a little thought/design effort into aquascaping), all it has is splashy colour. Never once did say the colours weren't impressive (I'll give credit where credit is due, and: "wow to that" .. but .. just ..), the overall package isn't.

Guess I've been in the hobby long enough to get a little opinionated as to what makes a nice tank. If a tank looks like a guy just went out and dropped 5k on a whole bunch of Bali aquaculture at once, .. that's going to impress me less than someone who looked at his glass box as a canvas and took a little flair and imagination to the aquascaping.

I should add that I make no claims that I'm some kind of aquascaping genius. I apply the same criticism to my own tanks.

As for the clams.. the thing is, they do like to move around a *little*. So perched on a cliff side odds are good they'll fall off sooner or later. If you look at how clams are in the real reef, they're usually so buried into rockwork that all you see is the mantle extending, and it almost looks like a nudibranch crawling on the rock (until it pulls in if startled).

That's not really practical to replicate in most tanks though. I try to make a sort of "bowl" like impression in the reef for my clams. The two exceptions right now are my squamosa which is too large to fit on the reef and my derasa (which I just didn't have a good spot for). Some clams are found on the bottom but croceas and maximas in particular seem to me are found near the tops of reefs.

Just my $0.02. Flame on...