basile
Well-Known Member
I can't decide if i'm putting my rocks directly on the glass and then cover with sand or if i put them on top of the sand, or in between . Any thoughts ; thanks for your time.
How do you put your rocks.
- Thread starter basile
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nervousmonkey
LPS Lover, SPS Enabler
agreed to everyone. If you put sand first and then happen to acquire a sand sifter (read watchman goby, pistol shrimp goby who protects the excavator shrimp), you'll get tunnels under the rock that collapse. With the rocks on the glass, no way for them to shift because of some crazy fish or invert with a background in modern design who thinks a remodel of the tank is in order... 
alanbetiger
Active Member
Some people hate it, some people love it. I put my rocks on eggcrate then add sand. I mainly do it encase a rock falls while gluing them together there is something on top of the glass for it to hit. I like the look of deep sand beds but if you want shallow then sand sifters don't like the eggcrate.
Cary Meredith
Active Member
I made some pvc rock lifts to set the rock on then put in the sand, this way if I needed to I could vacuum out the sand without removing all the rocks and corals. I driller large holes in the pvc so there was no pockets. Here is a picture of them not painted as well as after I painted them. Couple of pictures of some of them in the tank.
Cary Meredith
Active Member
I just used krylon spray paint, it's aquarium safe and these have been in for almost 5 years now.
george1381
Active Member
The problem with putting rocks on top of the said is that you get detritus trapped underneath the rocks you can't clean it properly. It turns into a nitrate factory. Just something to think about.
nervousmonkey
LPS Lover, SPS Enabler
I agree with @Cary Meredith 100%. It is really easy to take some acrylic rods, drill into the base rocks, establish a base and then there you have a rock base that is as tall as you want above the sand. Easy to keep clean and will not tumble when a fish goes Rogue One on you. All safe, clean, ability to rid the area of detritus and it also looks cool, similar to the floating mountains in that movie... LOL. Sci-fi geek here, but super functional. I am with Cary all the way. Best and easiest way to aquascape, just plan it out. Takes 20 minutes to drill and mount the $0.50 rods
I'm a visual person, would someone mind sharing a picture or two that demonstrates either one of these techniques?
nervousmonkey
LPS Lover, SPS Enabler
Great idea Salty! I'm using 1/4" acrylic, but close enough. It's worked for many a tank, and still working. In fact, my pistol and his shrimp goby have created a Taj Mahal under the rocks with no disturbances at all.
How do you like yours? What's the food grade polymer and where did you get it?Polypropylene, melamine, PET, ABS? And is it used to fasten the rods to? Man that's a brilliant idea.
How do you like yours? What's the food grade polymer and where did you get it?Polypropylene, melamine, PET, ABS? And is it used to fasten the rods to? Man that's a brilliant idea.
Does it matter which "line" of Krylon? For instance, is the Satin Touch decorator line just as reef safe as the Fusion for Plastic line? Thanks.
nervousmonkey
LPS Lover, SPS Enabler
Sure! I didn't take pictures of mine, but Synergy Reef (@mixer911 ) has some great ones! I wasn't as exacting as he was, but then again, it's Synergy. I just drilled holes in the bottom of the rock I knew would be on the bottom, and cemented them in place. Marco Rocks has everything you need, rods and cement. My apologies to Salty62, but I also used 3/8" rods. Once again, I was not as exacting and detailed, it can be accomplished with a simple drill, cement and rods. That also works well for locking rocks together so they don't fall or shift. I've used this technique to cantilever an overhang so it won't move or fall, but gives plenty of room for a tabling coral, with plenty of shade under for cyphastreas or other corals that like shade.
Pictures from Synergy Reef:
I hope that helps @Valkyrie !!!
If I can help out in any other way, please let me know. I can take "after photos of my scape if you would like. It creates really cool tunnels and caves for the fish and shrimp, they all like playing in the jungle gym reef tank.
Edit: Link from mixer's build thread:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-synergy-reef-v2-official-build-48-x-36-x-30.221122/page-6
Pictures from Synergy Reef:
I hope that helps @Valkyrie !!!
If I can help out in any other way, please let me know. I can take "after photos of my scape if you would like. It creates really cool tunnels and caves for the fish and shrimp, they all like playing in the jungle gym reef tank.
Edit: Link from mixer's build thread:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-synergy-reef-v2-official-build-48-x-36-x-30.221122/page-6
Yes, thank you!! That helps a ton. I'd love to see after pics, too. I'm getting a pretty good idea how this comes together.
Macro Rocks..hmm, I'll have to check them out!
nervousmonkey
LPS Lover, SPS Enabler
Yeah, there are links to Marco's with the acrylic rods and cement. That's what I use and it's awesome. Cement sets up quickly, so you can create your scape outside of the tank and then move the pieces in that you want. No need to cement unless the rock will have pressure on it. I have some rocks I just drilled and cemented. I'll get pictures tomorrow with lights on so you can see the caves. There really aren't pictures of the rods themselves since the watchman and the pistol shrimp and his very loyal friend/defender like to move sand all over the place, but I can take pictures of the rocks to show you how stable they are. Imagine drilling a hole in a rock, then deciding that you want your structure to be 3" or 4" above the sand. Once you drill, just put the rod in (it can take a bit of maneuvering), measure it for 3" (or whatever depth) and cut it there, then take it back out and apply the cement, put it back in and voila! One word of caution, or awareness... Make sure that your rock is horizontal to the ground, so check it before you cement the rod, otherwise you could have rods that are not perpendicular to the bottom. That's not a problem, I had plenty of those, but like mixer911 did, it helps to place the rods in some holder before you place the rocks to ensure that they will all end up perpendicular to the bottom, but either way it'll work out. I also found that two rods per base rock worked fine, as long as you have a locking base rock next to it, preferably with a rod connecting the two. Otherwise, it's best to use three rods per rock for stability. If you don't want to lock the entire base of your structure together, use three rods per rock.
Oh yeah, one cool effect is to use clear acrylic like mixer did, and set a height taller than the sand bed, so you can elevate the rocks above the sand. It makes them look like floating rocks. Mine stayed like that until the gobies and shrimp came along, then bye bye floating mountains of rock. BUT, mine have not moved a millimeter in a year. It is really worth the time and only takes 30 minutes, probably more for someone better than me.
Oh yeah, one cool effect is to use clear acrylic like mixer did, and set a height taller than the sand bed, so you can elevate the rocks above the sand. It makes them look like floating rocks. Mine stayed like that until the gobies and shrimp came along, then bye bye floating mountains of rock.
BUT, mine have not moved a millimeter in a year. It is really worth the time and only takes 30 minutes, probably more for someone better than me.
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