Re-doing My Tank

[fishheaded]

Hey everyone, its been awhile since ive been on here and well ive kind of been lazy with my tank. But now i've motivated myself to get back into it. So let me get started with some questions, at the bottom is some old pics of my tank (i would take a new picture but im out of town)

Okay so here is my situation,
1) I want to rearrange my rocks, but all i have are those 2 big clunks, and so i was thinking of breaking them into smaller pieces, so i can build the landscape i want. How should i go about in breaking these rocks??
2) If it's possible to break the rocks, how can i do it without harming my xenia, because the xenia is attached to one of the big rocks.

I really want to get back into this, but I want to start out by fixing my rock work, so please any suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks guys!

 

[littleme1969]

You have some nice growth there, very pretty colours on your rock
If you want to break it up i'm afraid you risk serious damage to anything living. The stuff is really tough and takes some force to break it. I wrapped some in a damp towel then dropped a sledge ahmmer on it, took a few attempts to break it. Cant you buy some smaller peices of cured from a shop and use them to break up the scaping with? Just a sugestion.

 

[fishheaded]

Yeah, ill probably just buy some small pieces and add it, but would it be possible to take one of the rocks and like hammer it or something?
Also how do you get corals to attach to the rocks? I see peoples tanks and they have the corals attached to the main rockwork.

 

[littleme1969]

Yes there wont be a problem breaking a piece, choose the one with the least amount of growth or that you like the least. I would wrap it in a saltwater soaked towel, this will stop bits flying off and also help it from drying out too much. But its really touch stuff so be prepared to give it one large wack if your wanting it to break clean.
Most coral comes on bits of live rock and so can be wedged into nooks and crannies in the rocks. There is also a type of cement you can buy especialy for the job, its used for aquascaping and securing rock when building a reef . Not sure what its called so will have a quick scout around and try a find a link for you where to buy it

 

[fishheaded]

Yeah, i'll probably just take one of the rocks and hammer it down to pieces.
But can anyone answer me on how to put the corals onto the rocks?

 

[BigC]

AquaScape Reef Putty
http/www.stm-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Online_..._things_19.html
Scroll down to above product
Regards
BigC

 

[littleme1969]

AquaScape Reef Putty
http/www.stm-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Online_..._things_19.html
Scroll down to above product
Regards
BigC

Thanks for that Big C.. saved me a job..lol Also good for future referance. Shop looks pretty good, will be doing a bit of shopping there myself

 

[BigC]

Thanks for that Big C.. saved me a job..lol Also good for future referance. Shop looks pretty good, will be doing a bit of shopping there myself

Yeah gets great reviews that shop and knowledgable too.
Initally found it in Marine World magazine. (good read and british to boot)
Regards
BigC

 

[steelhealr]

OK..there is no magic here....take the rock without the xenia on it out....hit it with a hammer and chisel to the sizes you want..and reaquascape. As above, you can use aquarium epoxy putty, if needed to shape the reef the way you want. You can..if you want...pull the rock with the xenia on it out and put it into water removed from the tank...in another plastic vessel..and chisel off what you want.

SH

 

[fishheaded]

Thanks SH, ill chisel it down. But with the xenia, can you give me more detail on how to work around it and not harm it? And what is a plastic vessel? Also how long can the xenia be out of the water? Sorry for so many questions, Thanks for the help guys.

 

[littleme1969]

If I'm being honest and that where mine id just buy some smaller pieces, there is plenty of room in there for more rock and you have some lovely growth on there shame to loose it You could place the large pieces in the background and add smaller more interesting lumps in front and to the sides of it.. Sticking my 2 peneth in here sorry ..lol
Just a note.. if using a chisel please make sure you have eye protection of some kind. This stuff can splinter off in some pretty deadly shards, I'd hate for you to put your eye out just for the sake of a bit of rock
Let us know how it goes, I'm interested to see the result

 

[shibby]

i broke my hammer wen i broke mine into pieces for my filter

 

[littleme1969]

i broke my hammer wen i broke mine into pieces for my filter

LOL I know I had to use a sledge hammer in the end its like natural re-enforced concrete..lol

 

[SkiFletch]

TBH, I wouldn't be that concerned about the Xenia... Its one of the hardiest of corals, so as long as you dont leave it out of water for like an hour and let it dry up, it'll be fine

 

[fishheaded]

Thanks Ski. Alright, well I just got back in town and I cleaned my tank up. Bad thing is I was gone for almost 3 weeks and I left my mom in charge of lighting and feeding my fish. But I ran into some problems...so obiously it leads to some questions for help:
1) About a gallon of water evaporated, so I just topped it off all the way up. My question is, is this the same thing as doing a gallon of water change?
2) My xenia closed up all the way, after I turned on the light and topped off the water, it started opening up a little bit. So tomorrow I was planning on buying another coral, but since the xenia doesn't look so great should I wait???
3) My clownfish is the only fish I have in my tank right now, and he is really tiny, and the xenia just hosts him all day. The clown also started eating alot less when he started to host. When my hand was in the tank cleaning up alage and such, he kept trying to bite my hand. SO getting to the point here: I was planning on buying a second clown because his other mated pair died awhile back, but im thinking he might not want another buddy around since he has the xenia, if i were to add another clown, would they pair up and both host the xenia???
4) So basically tomorrow I am planning on buying, more LR, a coral, another fish, and 3 crabs. Would this be way too much to add at one time?

Thanks guys for the help, sorry for sooo many questions.

Oh yeah here is an updated FTS: