How Much Rock Can I Add

[Gouken]

I am just wondering how many lbs of rock that I can add to my 125g tank for my fish without having to worry about it breaking my tank, does anyone have any info on this it would be really helpful to myself and others I am sure.

 

[dthoffsett]

You'd be amazed at how much rock a tank can safely hold, basically you could fill it to the top with rocks and not have any room for the fish to swim and still be fine.

There's really only two things to avoid, don't place any rock leaning against the sides/front/back walls (the bottom is usually made of tempered glass, the sides rarely are and already are dealing with the pressure of having water in the tank), and try to place the flatest part of whatever rock you are using on the bottom (to avoid causing all the weight of the rock to concentrate on one point).
If you really want to make sure the weight is distrubted evenly, you can pick up some eggcrate to put down before placing the rocks. Eggcrate is a plastic grid that is used as a light difuser for flourescent lights and can be found at most any hardware store that sells lighting. Some people like to use it for peace of mind, but IMO it's not really necessary.

Edit: Oops, forgot to add that you'll definitely want to make sure your tank is level, you want to do that anyway, but with a large tank and lots of rocks being off level could cause it to break.

 

[Snake42490]

I would def. recommend the eggcrate! that is some great stuff. I swear it has saved me a few times. I would add enough rock so that all of your fish can hide or get away from eachother.. I try to have at least 1 area per fish to hide... it might be a little excess.. but its a rule i tend to follow. Good Luck!