Dream Reef Tank Aquascape

In this episode of my Dream Reef Tank build, we'll look at my new aquascape. Aquascapes are something that is necessary and key in every reef tank, but as you tend to only do them once at the start - they are not something we get a lot of practice at. Therefore, I enlisted the help of my mate who has built some of the most amazing and functional marine Aquascapes I've ever seen.
We'll cover details like:
Design rational
Materials used
Artificial vs Live
Glueing rock techniques
Layout in the tank from front and top down
I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did making it. If you have any questions or feedback, be sure to pop it down in the comments section below.

[@VXReef]

There’s only a few good reef KZbin channels where the creators actually know what they are doing. You sir, know your stuff. Beautiful scape man.

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks so much for the kind words :)

[@Vroomy1986]

Fellow aussie here, the detail you go into you're up there with the best of them mate don't stop the content.

[@ParkersReef]

Thank you! I try my best!

[@bwcritch]

My morning consists of me waking up, making coffee, and sitting down on the couch and fully wake up. Logging on to KZbin and seeing you uploaded a new video lets me day start off on the right foot. Great looking tank.

[@ParkersReef]

Thank you for the kind words, glad you enjoyed the video :)

[@ArunKumar-n]

Rock work came very nicely looks great in tank ... nice cave system more room for water movements love it.......

[@ParkersReef]

Cheers mate!!

[@samhudson8033]

that,s a proper burger with the lot .... nice

[@ParkersReef]

Haha yep you bet

[@fry04u]

Very nice design Sam.

[@ParkersReef]

Cheers Matt!

[@michaelmelnyk3993]

Yes, such a good way to finish a Friday

[@ParkersReef]

thanks mate, hope you enjoy it!

[@fishinwithnick3966]

Hold up y’all a whole day ahead of me?

[@ParkersReef]

Aussies ;)

[@michaelmelnyk3993]

@@fishinwithnick3966 I think the real question is why you're a whole day behind🤣

[@georgevacherlon931]

Absolutely Flawless landscape I like how it's gotta naturally preset holes for the plugs 2

[@ParkersReef]

Much appreciated!

[@pedro8284]

Looks fantastic Sam. I must admit, you have the patience of a saint. I would be itching to get everything in it by now if it was mine. Nearly there though now anyway.

[@ParkersReef]

Despite saving for quite some time, the budget still needs time to breathe after each purchase 😅

[@acotyac]

Love the scape.

[@ParkersReef]

Cheers!

[@jackkain7141]

Yeah, that is looking good!

[@ParkersReef]

Thank you 🙏🏻

[@louise7141]

Looks nice mate. The fish will enjoy it massively. One concern from experience with the same rock. It’s very grippy. Sand and all sorts of detritus sticks to it and isn’t budged by any amount of wave action. I’ve had to go in with a bottle brush on mine regularly. It’s manageable but very annoying long term. Man made rocks downside I guess.

[@ParkersReef]

Interesting, thanks for the heads up - will keep an eye on it!

[@mikeydee7815]

Amazing man, it looks amazing👏👏

[@ParkersReef]

Thank you!!

[@teemer1282]

Nice scape. Been watching your videos from the start of your dream tank build and I've been out of the hobby for over a decade ... such an inspiration.

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks mate, hope you keep enjoying them :)

[@omarcadenas9]

Great choice on the rock. I started my first tank with the same rock on my 30 gal and it works great and will wont go with anything else.

[@ParkersReef]

Good stuff :)

[@shawnhaywood4199]

Love it, but would bring the back wall out just a bit if you plan to keep the back wall clean.

[@ParkersReef]

Yeah that’s fair. I’ve got enough room, but if does get more difficult as corals grow!

[@petesreef1891]

Great Sam can picture the acros on it already 👍👍👍

[@ParkersReef]

You bet!!!

[@aarondus]

Very impressive, mate! Can’t wait to see how the water flows around the scape.

[@ParkersReef]

yeah should eliminate dead spots pretty well!

[@richardportelli1983]

Looks so much better than marco rock.

[@ParkersReef]

Looks a bit more natural from the get go

[@ArrickthaRed]

Great video. You've made the tank I want but can't have. As much as I am an old school live rock guy you could have never made such a creative scape with it without destroying it.

[@ParkersReef]

Cheers mate :)

[@aliceholbert1246]

Valleys......lol....I have two call them the tang highway. Fish love them. Kudos

[@ParkersReef]

Haha nice, that’s what you want!!

[@wigneshwaranganesh7575]

Hey Sam Im happy that you went for CaribSea rocks. Apparently Dave has done a pretty good job I met him last weekend when I visited to Deer park Aquarium. And he showed me the pictures and told me that he spend 5 hours 👌. I too used same type of rocks for my 130.4 they are really great. Perfect choice 😎

[@ParkersReef]

Good stuff mate, great rock - let’s hope it doesn’t cycle too ugly :)

[@SH-wz3jo]

Timely video since I have just started building my dream reef aquascape. Your video reinforces that my ideas are solid. Good luck to you sir.

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks for watching and good luck with your new build!

[@tsurro8086]

I normally wouldn’t say this, that’s an awesome scape, just a perfect size!

[@ParkersReef]

Cheers👌🏻

[@wotarush1]

Wow mate its looking real, can't wait for the updates, its all been worth the wait

[@ParkersReef]

Thank you :)

[@rogerread3452]

Currently doing my main display aquascape - Cannot tell you how many times I have watched this to get inspiriation, I reckon this is stunning - Love the comment, 99.9% Dave, is the 0.1% = Paying for it? Bwahahahahah. Thanks for so much detail as this has helped me choosing this rock. 3/4 the way through my scape and althrough I wanted to be close to yours, The final look will be nothing like it. As everyone has stated - thanks for the detail and effort you put into your vids sam. Time to open the wallet and get some more as I have run out..

[@ParkersReef]

Haha glad it has given you some inspiration! Yep, my 0.1% is paying for it and some minor design requests :)

[@CherryHaze86]

That looks great! A lot of room for corals and fish ... and flow!

[@ParkersReef]

You bet!!

[@sbazain]

very nice its going to look great when it grows out 1400 is steep for me but if you can hey always try for the best

[@ParkersReef]

Rock is one of those things that always ends up costing a fair bit, especially in a large tank!!

[@apunderwaterdistractions9865]

Wow that’s going to look awesome, great job

[@ParkersReef]

Thank you ☺️

[@DillondeVoor]

Looks awesome! I love how you consider the needs of the fish as well, I feel like that's often overlooked 😊

[@ParkersReef]

Agreed! Corals will adapt fairly well, but fish have needs too!!

[@ryansmithers4661]

Parker, the design is brilliant! Think I’m going to borrow it for my dream tank build.

[@ParkersReef]

Please do!

[@vai_ser_marinho]

Great planning and great aquascape!

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks a bunch!

[@Fish_no_chips]

Really coming together now sam, looks amazing 👏🏼

[@ParkersReef]

Cheers Paul :)

[@benswinney]

I’ll have to make sure I congratulate Dave on his excellent scape tomorrow at the shop. The guy never ceases to amaze me.

[@ParkersReef]

He’s a legend! I’ll be in store working most of tomorrow too, so catch you there!

[@dominicaubrey4588]

Love it.

[@ParkersReef]

Thank you :)

[@trureef2319]

😱 dreams lol. Super nice scape. This is going epic.

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks so much :)

[@sierradelta8920]

Noooooo right on school pick up! Oh well kids can wait!!

[@ParkersReef]

Hahaha poor little buggers!

[@joeymerrell8585]

They’ll be alright

[@sierradelta8920]

@@ParkersReef honestly man aquascaping looks AMAZING well thought out and great footprint for a master reef!!! I’m hoping that you’ll be grabbing some of that lovley Dallas acro to have as a center piece!!!! Oh better go get the kids now! 👍🏻

[@eattix]

Beautiful!!

[@ParkersReef]

Thank you!!

[@leehempson9408]

Looks great mate - I too went with Caribsea life rock, 3 offset arches no more than half way up tank 6 months ago and really happy with the results

[@ParkersReef]

Fantastic stuff!!

[@irolla]

Looks good Sam.👌

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks Jon!

[@kevinw7044]

It’s looking great. A really nice scape.

[@ParkersReef]

Thank you 🙏🏻

[@jahsreef8386]

Love the aquascape man it looks awesome

[@ParkersReef]

Cheers 👍🏻

[@jtmcfarland3512]

Comment to other commenters: I’m hoping to get back into the hobby after 15-20 years of depravity. Since that time, the two major changes in the hobby are in rock and lights. Live rock used to actually have life in it. Now they call painted concrete with bacteria “live rock”. It used to be perfect breeding grounds for all manner of tiny things. Pods, sponges, fan worms, good algae, just to name a few. IMHO, aqua scape should not only be for coral growth, but also for habitation to promote growth of all the symbiotic species. Lights have gotten better. Rocks have gotten way worse. Save the reefs!…but let’s hold the “live rock” suppliers to a higher standard everyone.

[@ParkersReef]

Live rock is still absolutely an option (well, here in Australia anyway) Getting the shapes and sizes you want, ensuring it is pest free and having enough time to work with it are the main reasons people chose artificial. I’d argue there has been a lot of other changes in 15-20 years too, mostly around technology in the hobby - but you’ll come across that soon enough!

[@jtmcfarland3512]

All these artificial things certainly speed up the process of having a clean tank. I didn’t mind dealing with some pests for the first few months because the other side of that coin was fantastic biodiversity. I think ideally, some company would make a better “seeding” solution and much more porous “rock”. If I could get pest-free highly porous artificial rock with tons of growth (all the hundreds of things on real live rock instead of only a dozen from bottles) at a LFS or online [reliably] here in the southern US, that would be ideal. I’ll have to catch up with your videos and see what new tech I’ve missed. Thanks!

[@rosspullen1124]

Impressed. Looks great for water flow

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks mate

[@Nick-lj8ni]

Saw the vid and said “OH LETS GO”

[@ParkersReef]

Hahaha all good things take time :)

[@thierryniaison8711]

I was wondering why you called pistol shrimp « nasties » ? Congrats on the aquascape, looking sharp!

[@ParkersReef]

Ah pistols aren’t too bad, it’s more peanut worms and the like we try to avoid :)

[@graememcleod1751]

Looking good mate 🙂

[@ParkersReef]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@bopeep7806]

Looking great mate !!

[@ParkersReef]

Cheers Peter!

[@cegentry]

Looks dope! Very very nice. I would keep a few of those smaller pieces to place a few corals you may want to control.

[@ParkersReef]

Yeah good thinking

[@KingsAquariumsAndAntWorld]

Great video mate

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks 👍

[@mememayman]

Hi Sam excellent looking scape, I am going to use this as inspiration when I start my dream build. If you’re wanting to keep the back clean I’d pull the scape a bit further forward - I struggle in my current tank with that amount of clearance.

[@ParkersReef]

Yeah may need to, although there is more room than the video alludes to :)

[@lemon2125]

I love all the caves but I have some criticism : idealy an aquascape should help hide flow pumps

[@ParkersReef]

I think my flow pumps are hidden well - do you have a good example I can take a look at?

[@lemon2125]

@@ParkersReef jake @ reef builders has a great video on hiding powerheads with aquascape here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b2etiGmXnad8pM0

[@ParkersReef]

@@lemon2125 ah yep, saw that one. To each there own :)

[@edstar81]

Looks great mate. Keep em coming 👍

[@ParkersReef]

Thank you 🙏🏻

[@edstar81]

@@ParkersReef tank needs a Parker’s Reef logo in it!

[@cheveburkinshaw860]

The sump has logo

[@ParkersReef]

Tank has a little laser engraved Parker’s reef logo and the sump has a huge one :p

[@cheveburkinshaw860]

Nice touch 😀

[@kjstorm7601]

I was expecting a longer wait lol.(thought it would be awhile before you did the scape).Super excited

[@ParkersReef]

Na wanted to get it in the tank as quickly as possible. Give it plenty of time to mature :)

[@kjstorm7601]

@@ParkersReef I'm excited to see the future of your tank. Keep up the good work

[@ParkersReef]

Cheers!

[@thuraquatic91]

Greeaaaatt education.. From scapers borneo

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks mate!

[@thuraquatic91]

@@ParkersReef welcome brother, Visit me, thanks

[@allanagregory5155]

Looks fantastic love it great price

[@ParkersReef]

Cheers!

[@sunnygoold9449]

I'm gonna critique it now 8:43 in where I can see both drawings - the top down is amazing - great thinking to have the lower part front right. But having 2 arches the same height is a no no. I would have the left arch like 20% taller than the right one - that would give it perfect flow... back to the show... I bet Dave fixes that.

[@sunnygoold9449]

Oh I'm so sorry to hear about Jane - small businesses have just been screwed in this pandemic - 70% of workers are employed by small business in the US. They make it harder in Australia but hearing about this is just very sad - I hope she does really well in SA - you will have to go Sam ;) We'll need a vid. On the scape it's epic - the side boob is just amazing. I was wrong about the height difference - Because the peaks are at different depths it doesn't matter and the corals will fix it - so good - this build is just EPIC! (there is so much great info on this for us normal reefers too - thanks Sam)

[@ParkersReef]

Haha it’s ok, you don’t have to like it!!! It’s a scape, everyone is entitled to their own opinions! I love it, really suits the tank dimensions and position in the house :)

[@sunnygoold9449]

@@ParkersReef Well... see my second comment - I love it!

[@Re5p3c7]

Amazing Aquascape. Props to the artist and the designer. I really like how you describe the whole thought-process and the logic behind every decision. This is what makes watching the videos and the whole journey sooo worthwhile. Also, a great thought that you should make the aquascape to look cool, when it's covered with corals and not just a cool looking pile of bare rocks. With the time I have come to realise the same thing. The only thing I don't understand is - why you didn't have the scape first in an empty tank, then fill it with water and start the cycle? Isn't it easier to do scaping in an empty tank? In short: what are the benefits in starting the cycle without the rockscape in the tank? Thanks! Thanks again for the nice video!

[@ParkersReef]

Thanks for watching and all the feedback! To be totally honest, the only reason why the rock didn’t go in before the water was because it wasn’t ready yet. The curveball of changing plans and the availability of the rock we wanted held things up. As I want a long cycle, I didn’t want to delay getting water in the tank any longer. So whilst not ideal, is the way things panned out :)

[@MelbourneReefer]

Damn, turned out really nice man, I actually dread aquascaping hahah

[@ParkersReef]

you and me both mate, just isn't in my skillset!

[@joeymerrell8585]

Nice. I’ve been cooking 150lbs of pukani for almost 2 years....I’m a procrastinator apparently and my tank is just collecting dust while I wait for clearance from the commander(wife) to put it in the living room. Just got a nano right now

[@ParkersReef]

hahaha sometimes it is easier to ask for forgiveness than approval :P Or just sell her on the idea of getting the tank out of where it is now!

[@freakygoblin3068]

My fear with cementing rock together is the rare need to actually potentially get at a piece for any reason. Interesting you state it's to support coral and an essential part of that for me is not building too high. I think that is a mistake many people, including me, make. Also interesting to note the "angled channels" which will not necessarily be visible from straight on but will assist flow and provide swim space. Any idea of how much water displacement the rock is? Looks great and look forward to your thoughts on coral placement and allowing for growth.

[@ParkersReef]

Ah thanks mate, Dave and I both put a lot of work into it and are super happy with the result. I actually don’t know the displacement of the rock as I just hit the drain tap and emptied out a bunch of water when we started and then filled it back up with new salt once complete. I’d guess 150-250 litres?

[@freakygoblin3068]

@@ParkersReef Displacement of water with rocks is one of those things I mentioned mainly to bring it up. For those who aren't aware many measurements rely on per 100 litres or whatever. Rock can make a substantial difference and it's easier to get a figure when setting up.

[@elSingh106]

You did it again Mate. Phenomenol. Just amazing. Looking forward to more of it. I hope the cycling finishes quickly. Would this be your final scape, or do you have plans to rescape/ build over the existing structure in the future?

[@ParkersReef]

Final scape :)

[@Mikeymikemike]

nice stuff! personally, I still think you could go a bit higher on this scape even if you are panning corals. I also think your left and right island should be closer tot eh front at the edges and then point towards the middle rather than a flat plane. If you enjoy it and like, then its perfect.

[@ParkersReef]

Easy to add to if I decide to, but I’d rather let the coral growth do that for me :)

[@georgebx]

Dont want it to look like an M.... draws a perfect Macdonald’s golden arches 😝

[@ParkersReef]

hahahahaha guerrilla marketing perhaps :P ? My daughter prefers to call it the love heart and if that makes her happy, that makes me happy :D

[@Elev8minh]

Hey Sam did you cycle with the sand and media first then drop the rocks in or cycle with the rocks?

[@ParkersReef]

No I didn’t, popped them in and then cycled in the tank

[@lordbmills]

Forget about the actual aquascaping. How much for those Picasso like drawings?

[@ParkersReef]

Hahahahaha you got me 😅😂

[@fishstix1988]

This is super impressive and I would love to try to get my aquascape like that! How much of each product did you buy (specifics appreciated)!

[@ParkersReef]

It was pretty much built by my local fish shop so I can’t give too many more specifics than what was in the video :)

[@pn7836]

How many kilos of Caribsea rock was this Sam? For something similar in a 4 foot tank, what would your guess be for how many kilos I would need? Obviously at about $18-$20 per kilo, it adds up really quick

[@ParkersReef]

I don’t actually know how many kilos as it was mostly bought in “pieces”. They sell a lot of this shapes in pieces rather than kilos now 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@ParkersReef]

But yes, it adds up quick!!!

[@UltraReefReseller]

Can we get a total cost of this project so far and of course when you are done?

[@ParkersReef]

I'm fairly open with the cost of each component in the series, you are welcome to add it up. I don't want to, will be scary! I'm estimating around $35-$40k once it is ready for fish and coral

[@UltraReefReseller]

@@ParkersReef thanks for your response. Sorry, I'm retired, I don't do math, lol. At any rate, maybe you can do it for us with a video after a few months of adding corals and fish. Good luck!

[@corallabnorway2473]

Your aquascaping skills are much better then your drawing skills.

[@ParkersReef]

That’s because Dave did the aquascape!!! 😂😂

[@si8780]

First 😀

[@ParkersReef]

it was a tie!

[@ouchh100]

Pistol shrimp nasty?! Can you please explain coz i just bought one! You scared me!

[@ParkersReef]

No pistol shrimp are fine, I was probably thinking more along the lines of a mantis or a peanut worm :)

[@ouchh100]

@@ParkersReef 😅thank god! Btw the aquascape is gorgeous 👍🏼

[@ParkersReef]

Thank you!

[@cheveburkinshaw860]

First

[@ParkersReef]

it was a tie!

[@cheveburkinshaw860]

@@ParkersReef 😂😂

[@ParkersReef]

Good enough for a Friday I reckon!

[@cheveburkinshaw860]

Haha coming together very nice

[@laurens6267]

Too little rock, too much dead space imo

[@ParkersReef]

Rather more coral :)

[@laurens6267]

There was a time when people used too much rock, those where called rock walls. After this people used less rock for more coral space and flow. Today however I feel like people overdo the minimalistic rock scapes with so little rock even after coral has grown in there is too much dead space left. Tank will still be great though, what a build!