First Reef

[Myka]

Originally Posted by oolichan

2) Go deeper with the tank to gain extra volume and make 'scaping easier
3) I have no idea what a good reef tank looks like lol

A good reef tank looks however you want it!

If you go too tall vs the width then it will become trickier to aquascape. Since you're going for a smallish cube, I would suggest trying to find Tonga branching live rock, and use some zip ties, two-part reef epoxy, and possibly some acrylic rods (drilled in using a masonry bit) to create somewhat of a tree-like effect like the pic of the tank that I posted above. If you can't find branching rock, you can just use a bunch of smaller pieces pinked to eachother. Of course, this is just my own taste. Some people really like a rock wall look.

However, there is method to my madness!! If you create rockwork that has little rock touching the sand, and no pieces of rock touching any of the side panes of glass you create a VERY neasy tank to clean, and to catch fish in. The rock wall style...good luck catching a fish out of there, and just how the heck are you going to get detritus out from behind? With a tree style you can use powerheads to keep detritus from settling. This lowers your bioload, which helps to keep nitrate and phosphates in check.

Here are some different cube styles...try to see past the corals, and look at the rock.


The rock wall:




The tree (as posted above):




The pyramid (with a cave):