Rockscaping

[pmb_67]

Hi all, me again.

Just wondering if anyone's got any tips or advice on aquascaping live rock... I've got a few plans in terms of layout, like trying for one or two caves, ledges, arches etc. and it's how to build these that I'm looking for help with, along these lines:

1) I'm taking it as read that the rock goes in first and sits on the tank floor, rather than balancing on the sand bed and being undermined by any burrowing tank inhabitants later on. A few OFS's are suggesting using egg-crate to avoid the potentially sharp rock scratching the base - anyone support this approach, or object to it? Am wondering if small sheets of acrylic would make better bases as they don't have the little square pockets to fill up with sand and create dead spots in the substrate.

2) When building, should I just pile rocks on top of each other? Or once I'm happy with the layout should I stick them together? I have a stick of "Holdfast" which claims to set underwater - not sure what colour it sets though, am looking at D-D's purple-drying one as an alternative.

3) If I'm building a pinnacle or arch, should I reinforce it? Spoke to a guy in my LFS a while back and he said he'd built a frame out of acrylic rod for his rockscape - anyone else tried this? Anyone had any bad experiences along this line?

Thanks all,

Paul

 

[Crazy fishes]

If you use a sheet of acrylic at the bottom debris can get stuck under there and this may push your nitrates and phosphates up. I believe that is why people use egg crate because it is open and allows water movement. I used nothing, put the rock just straight on to the glass. I think that the bottom of the tank is covered by sand usually and no one will notice scratches there. Your rock work should be as stable as possible but that may not require adhesives. I have balanced mine in a way the rock surfaces fit together best and this has been fine. The only time I use adhesives is with coral frags as my urchin has an annoying habit of flipping them up-side-down and therefore damaging them. It is good stuff. Just a point, let it harden quite considerably before sticking it in the water. It works better this way, let it harden just so that it is workable but stiff. It will soften it the water and create a cloud of 'dissolved adhesive' which may take a few hours to clear. It is harmless to the coral and fish though.
Why an arch? That is going to be a pain to secure into position; I should imagine that an addition frame will be required to be really safe and not turn into a rock slide/fall. How big is this arch going to be??

Regards

Have a look to see if there is any flat rock at your LFS or maybe in the collect you have if you have any? I created a smallish cave at the bottom of my rock work using two large pieces as the base and a flat piece for the 'roof' and built on top with more rock to create the ledges and over hangs for corals.

 

[pmb_67]

If you use a sheet of acrylic at the bottom debris can get stuck under there and this may push your nitrates and phosphates up. I believe that is why people use egg crate because it is open and allows water movement. I used nothing, put the rock just straight on to the glass. I think that the bottom of the tank is covered by sand usually and no one will notice scratches there. Your rock work should be as stable as possible but that may not require adhesives. I have balanced mine in a way the rock surfaces fit together best and this has been fine. The only time I use adhesives is with coral frags as my urchin has an annoying habit of flipping them up-side-down and therefore damaging them. It is good stuff. Just a point, let it harden quite considerably before sticking it in the water. It works better this way, let it harden just so that it is workable but stiff. It will soften it the water and create a cloud of 'dissolved adhesive' which may take a few hours to clear. It is harmless to the coral and fish though.

Interesting - not sure how the debris would get under a sheet that was sat right on the bottom, but keen to avoid this so will re-think. As for the potential scratches, it's not so much aesthetics as catastrophic failure I'd be worried about

Why an arch? That is going to be a pain to secure into position; I should imagine that an addition frame will be required to be really safe and not turn into a rock slide/fall. How big is this arch going to be??

I'm not dead set on an arch - and certainly not a very big one (like, enough for the fish to go through with an inch or two to spare) - I was just thinking of trying to make a more interesting layout than a few big lumps of rock. I have Robert M Fenner's "Conscientious Marine Aquarist" and his suggestions (pg 114-5 in my edition) look boring as hell. Incidentally, they also look oddly similar to Michael S Paletta's suggestions on pg 68-9 of "The New Marine Aquarium"...

If anything I'm favouring a couple of pinnacles (or "bommies" as my dive buddies down in Oz called them), one at either end of the tank, then something with a roof (cave or arch thing - or just ledges & overhangs) in the middle. Oh, and at one end of the tank a wall made of LR rubble stuck to egg crate (check out BigC's log - idea stolen!). Sketch attached (if I can get it to work).

Have a look to see if there is any flat rock at your LFS or maybe in the collect you have if you have any? I created a smallish cave at the bottom of my rock work using two large pieces as the base and a flat piece for the 'roof' and built on top with more rock to create the ledges and over hangs for corals.

Haven't got any big pieces yet - so far have just got a 5kg of rubble for the sump and wall construction. Unsure whether to get the rest of the rock mail order (Live Rock UK) or find a decent supplier somewhere in London so I can hand pick some tasty pieces.

Paul

 

[kj23502]

It may be a good idea to hand pick some of the important larger peices that will serve a specific purpose, such as for the arch or any other specific formations. You know what you're looking for and the people that would mail the items to you don't.

 

[SkiFletch]

Dont forget to use epoxy putty to secure rocks if need be. You can also buy some thin carbon fiber rod (usually from a local hobby or R/C aircraft store) and drill out two rocks, stick rod in between them to hold them together

 

[pmb_67]

Dont forget to use epoxy putty to secure rocks if need be. You can also buy some thin carbon fiber rod (usually from a local hobby or R/C aircraft store) and drill out two rocks, stick rod in between them to hold them together

Woah, carbon fibre rod? Sounds well technical - am assuming you can use fairly narrow rods and still get decent strength? I was looking at acrylic rod on ebay and was thinking I'd need something in the region of 20mm - don't really want to go drilling bit fat holes and wasting kilos of LR

Out of interest, how tough is LR to drill? I'm guessing a hammer action drill would just smash it up rather than make holes?

Paul

 

[SkiFletch]

LR is a cinch to drill. When I say carbon fiber rod I mean like 2mm diameter rod. Its used commonly by Remote Control airplane hobbiests as propeller shafts, hence the suggestion to find it there. Very strong and good for getting a rock that doesnt quite want to balance to balance...