Create a reefscape instantly with the perfect Centerpiece!
Those of you who regularly read our columns already know the unique benefits of Ecoscape Reef Rock. It represents an amazingly simple solution to a wide variety of complications that can surround harvested natural rock. While wild-collected rock can be harvested and cultured in an ecologically sensitive way, Ecoscape Reef Rock is still made with a fraction of the environmental impact. In addition, there is no lengthy, dirty, and frankly boring curing process. Perhaps most popular of all, Ecoscape Reef Rock offers the iron-clad guarantee of no unwanted hitchhikers, and no leaching phosphate or nitrate!
Ecoscape Reef Rock has a ton of benefits over other dry rock as well. The rock is really porous, providing copious surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonize, unlike the painted, or even worse, plastic rocks sometimes seen. This porosity is a crucial factor in maintaining water quality. Next up is looks, it’s super impressive; like high-quality reef rock that has been cured and in the tank for 6 months, and because of its natural makeup, biocover such as natural coralline algae and sponges will continue to cover it, increasing its realism. It is also easily covered with encrusting corals and polyps. It’s pH neutral, so you can use it in a variety of different displays: FOWLR, Seahorse, NPS, full-blown reef, but you could also use it for brackish and freshwater stuff if that’s your goal! Some people even use it for reptile tanks!
At Superzoo 2024 in Las Vegas, we unveiled a new addition to the Ecoscape Reef Rock line up, the Centerpiece series. This series is unique in that it comes in size-specific packages. For the packages that carry multiple pieces, they fit together snugly and don’t need any adhesive. For those of you who are uncomfortable not epoxying your rocks together, all the normal reef adhesives will work here too.
The Centerpiece series has all the same benefits as the rest of the Ecoscape Reef lineup. With the complex structure, vibrant hues, and the potential for hosting a diverse array of marine life, it offers an unparalleled aesthetic and potential for ecological richness. In some ways, this rock exceeds anything possible from the “real rock” world both in form and natural beauty. It offers an abundance of hiding places for fish and invertebrates while still being ideal for coral growth and frags because of all the shelves, cracks, fissures and terraces, there’s endless possibilities for placing polyps! All of it is made from naturally occurring, land-based materials.
There are currently four different products in the Centerpiece lineup. Model 01 is the smallest, and the only product with a single piece. While some variation in size is likely as these are all handmade, you can expect a piece that is roughly 10” x 8” x 12”. This makes the 01 about perfect for desktop aquariums on its own, or as an interesting part of a larger aquascape.
Centerpiece Model 02 consists of two pieces that interlock and once this is done, they will take up a space that is roughly (handmade remember), 12” x 15” x 18”. Perhaps predictably, Centerpiece 03 consists of three interlocking pieces measuring approximately 20.5” x 14” x 12”. Last, Centerpiece 04 has four interlocking pieces which measures 29.5” x 14” x 12 when all set up. All Centerpiece sets will visually match the other Ecoscape reef rock sets and can be used in combination to generate the perfect aquascape masterpiece, but those connections will require a marine safe glue or epoxy to set them.
This dry rock is handmade in small batches, cast of all natural materials, in the Indo Indo-Pacific region, and by the same aquarium fishermen who were previously harvesting live reef rock for export. These communities would have been stressed to a breaking point without the replacement of that income stream, and Ecoscape Reef Rock offers these fishers a way to create a sustainable, all-natural product and thus a sustainable income stream for their households in one heck of an amazing win-win story.
If you, like us, are into the ease, speed, and looks of dry reef rock, but have been underwhelmed by a lot of the offerings out there, try out the Ecoscape Reef Rock Centerpiece series. No matter how you put these together, or what pieces you use, they make for an immediately attractive (and easy) aquascape. This really is the best artificial live rock available today. It is available from any local fish store that is a Quality Marine partner; head over there and ask about it today!
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