Aquascaping Q&a

fishkid13

fishkid13

Active Member
I will get the boring part out of the way first.....Many moon's ago..ok not that far. My 135 gal (72x18 1/2x 24) I believe has to much rock, or is just not used properly. Problems include huge excess of "garbge" in many places. The flow I currently have (2 returns and 2 maxi 1200 powerheads) is not moving any of this garbge and the rocks are bunched up to "tight" to get any really descent flow through the peices. I probably have 150lb+ of live rock, most of which started out as base, and a 4" sand bed.
Some of my ideas for improving this problem consit of "opening" the rockwork for more flow through the rocks and push the garbge up to get sucked up. What I need help with is deciding how to accoplish, or something else (if so mention please). I have thought about foam work and drilling, tying, or glueing rocks together for arches and towers. Any ideas would be great...and to make this less boring and more helpful for me could you...
1. post a picture of your tank or diagram
2. likes (ex. good hiding spots, good coral placing)
3. dislikes (ex. the way it looks...etc)
4. suggest what I could do.
Thanks.
 
calbert0

calbert0

Member
If your rock work does not bode well for stacking/shelfing you should try to trade in some of it for better pieces at your LFS.
you need to get a solid base that spreads pressure evenly across your bottom piece of glass. its good to have several triangular bases of rocks (the less rock to sand contact the better) across the bottom and then build up and shelf from there. No glueing/tying/drilling is necessary, just give the rock a good twist/push to make sure its sturdy. It's all about trial and error and can become quite frustrating, but once you get the hang of it, the process becomes much easier and you will be satisfied with the result.
its also a good idea to put powerheads on your back and side walls first and then build the rock work around them.. also add more power heads... i have more powerheads/return pumps on my 29 gallon display than you do on your 135 gallon display.
here is a pic of my tank from a few months ago to show you how you should have open spaces for fish and water to flow through.
just make sure you give it a push/pull/twist test to make sure its sturday and will not create a landslide.
you want to have as many open spaces for water to flow through and for fish to swim through escape and hide in.
they are hard to make out in the pics, but on the back wall of my aquarium i have lots of powerheads that push water through the openings in my rockwork

 
fishkid13

fishkid13

Active Member
Originally Posted by calbert0
http:///forum/post/3140884
If your rock work does not bode well for stacking/shelfing you should try to trade in some of it for better pieces at your LFS.
Good Idea but my LFS won't trade anything if they didn't get it from the manufatuer.
you need to get a solid base that spreads pressure evenly across your bottom piece of glass. its good to have several triangular bases of rocks (the less rock to sand contact the better) across the bottom and then build up and shelf from there. No glueing/tying/drilling is necessary, just give the rock a good twist/push to make sure its sturdy. It's all about trial and error and can become quite frustrating, but once you get the hang of it, the process becomes much easier and you will be satisfied with the result.
Should the base have large rocks or smaller ones that work better? Why,not have sand inbetween the glass and rock? If the rock is on the glass won't it ding it? Well the less work the better.

its also a good idea to put powerheads on your back and side walls first and then build the rock work around them.. also add more power heads... i have more powerheads/return pumps on my 29 gallon display than you do on your 135 gallon display.
I have any undersand pump but I keep it turned it off cause the sound. Any ideas to muffel the sound. Tight on money right now for more powerheads.
here is a pic of my tank from a few months ago to show you how you should have open spaces for fish and water to flow through.
Nice tank!
just make sure you give it a push/pull/twist test to make sure its sturday and will not create a landslide.
If you "pull" wouldn't it come out?
you want to have as many open spaces for water to flow through and for fish to swim through escape and hide in.
I have seen rocks with just rock stacked on rock but it doesn't leave much room for the fish to hide. Is their a balance I could do?
they are hard to make out in the pics, but on the back wall of my aquarium i have lots of powerheads that push water through the openings in my rockwork
Thanks. Anybody else?
 
teresaq

teresaq

Active Member
why not post pictures of your tank so we can get an Idea of what it looks like.
You may need to add a powerhead behind the rocks also
T
 
noah's nemo

noah's nemo

Member
I like to have mine all spread out from one end to the other(around 110 lbs).I don't stack too high because it always falls when my kids run around the house.I have 2 corner PH's pointing down and 5 more flows(from one PH) at the bottom pointing up thru the rocks.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
I don't stack too high because it always falls when my kids run around the house.
I mean this in all seriousness if you are having this problem IMO you need to look into the structural integrity of your stand or floor
 
noah's nemo

noah's nemo

Member
LOL!! Well, when they get going and then my 2 dogs get in the mix(avatar 130 and 180lbs) and they are all running and jumping around my windows and pictures rattle.So yeah, There is going to be a rock or 2 shifting then falling!
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Your tank your business but I would guess you are looking at around 1000 lbs (your tank looks to be at least 100g) that’s a lot of weight to be shifting around considering the amount of movement you would need to topple rocks. And the tank seems to be on some form of vibration deadening material again only posting this out of concern
 
noah's nemo

noah's nemo

Member
If you mean carpet ,then yes. Carpet over foam over hardwood floors,supported by joists.You live in florida,so your house is probably on a slab,.No vibration.Thanks for your concern,but i am confident my house is Structurally Sound.Wow ,this topic sure got off track.
 
fishkid13

fishkid13

Active Member
Originally Posted by TeresaQ
http:///forum/post/3141809
why not post pictures of your tank so we can get an Idea of what it looks like.
You may need to add a powerhead behind the rocks also
T
Funny cause I uploaded them from my camera but had to go to school...

I have one pointing behind the center area. The cicles by the sand are my undersand one but some of the caps are on to put more pressure out till I drill holes in the caps and get something to muffel the sound.
Thanks.
Attachment 232171
Attachment 232172

 
fishkid13

fishkid13

Active Member
Originally Posted by Noah's Nemo
http:///forum/post/3141810
I like to have mine all spread out from one end to the other(around 110 lbs).I don't stack too high because it always falls when my kids run around the house.I have 2 corner PH's pointing down and 5 more flows(from one PH) at the bottom pointing up thru the rocks.
Nice tank.
How powerful is your under rock/sand PH? Mine is gut less unless I cap some, as said pervious I am going to drill the tops. Do you have problems with crap collecting in the at the base of your rocks were the PH in the rocks can't reach them?
Thanks.
Yeah off topic stuff!
 
happyfeet

happyfeet

Member
I took an Acrylic dowel that was half an inch thick puttied it to some egg crate to form the base. Then I drilled half inch holes in a couple of rocks and slid them over the dowel. The end effect was a sturdy tower of rocks.
Move the sand away so the egg crate sits on the glass under the sand and you won’t be able to see anything but the rocks. Gives a neat effect.
I plan to make another one and put an arch at the top.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by calbert0
http:///forum/post/3140884
If your rock work does not bode well for stacking/shelfing you should try to trade in some of it for better pieces at your LFS.
you need to get a solid base that spreads pressure evenly across your bottom piece of glass. its good to have several triangular bases of rocks (the less rock to sand contact the better) across the bottom and then build up and shelf from there. No glueing/tying/drilling is necessary, just give the rock a good twist/push to make sure its sturdy. It's all about trial and error and can become quite frustrating, but once you get the hang of it, the process becomes much easier and you will be satisfied with the result.
its also a good idea to put powerheads on your back and side walls first and then build the rock work around them.. also add more power heads... i have more powerheads/return pumps on my 29 gallon display than you do on your 135 gallon display.
here is a pic of my tank from a few months ago to show you how you should have open spaces for fish and water to flow through.
just make sure you give it a push/pull/twist test to make sure its sturday and will not create a landslide.
you want to have as many open spaces for water to flow through and for fish to swim through escape and hide in.
they are hard to make out in the pics, but on the back wall of my aquarium i have lots of powerheads that push water through the openings in my rockwork

Your tank is gorgeous. I was just going through the thread, and just had to comment...
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member

.....Back to the OP...You have to lock your rock pieces in place not just set them up. Every rock has nooks and crevices gently twist and work at the rock until it actually locks into the other next to it or under it. It may take some time to get it but don't continue until each piece locks in place. You will have a very stable rock work that way.
I have seen video footage of earthquakes splashing water from the tank everywhere and no rocks moving out of place. Your big dogs nor children should ever cause a rock slide.
If you must, ask the LFS, or a friend with stable rock work, to show you how to lock them so you can get an idea of how to do it.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by fishkid13
http:///forum/post/3142782
Nice tank.
How powerful is your under rock/sand PH? Mine is gut less unless I cap some, as said pervious I am going to drill the tops. Do you have problems with crap collecting in the at the base of your rocks were the PH in the rocks can't reach them?
Thanks.
Yeah off topic stuff!


If you have this problem...I have a spray bar set verticaly it pushes wateracross the entire back of my tank and rocks...maybe you can try that. Attach the spray bar to a power head or canister ilter.
 
noah's nemo

noah's nemo

Member

Originally Posted by fishkid13
http:///forum/post/3142782
Nice tank.
How powerful is your under rock/sand PH? Mine is gut less unless I cap some, as said pervious I am going to drill the tops. Do you have problems with crap collecting in the at the base of your rocks were the PH in the rocks can't reach them?
Thanks.
Yeah off topic stuff!

Its an old hagen 901. Still going strong.I thinks its about 950 GPH.Has nice slow flow to all 5 outlets.Also creates a nice little ripple effect at the surface. so glad i did it this way.
 
noah's nemo

noah's nemo

Member

Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3142970

.....Back to the OP...You have to lock your rock pieces in place not just set them up. Every rock has nooks and crevices gently twist and work at the rock until it actually locks into the other next to it or under it. It may take some time to get it but don't continue until each piece locks in place. You will have a very stable rock work that way.
I have seen video footage of earthquakes splashing water from the tank everywhere and no rocks moving out of place. Your big dogs nor children should ever cause a rock slide.
If you must, ask the LFS, or a friend with stable rock work, to show you how to lock them so you can get an idea of how to do it.
 
fishkid13

fishkid13

Active Member
Originally Posted by Happyfeet
http:///forum/post/3142950
I took an Acrylic dowel that was half an inch thick puttied it to some egg crate to form the base. Then I drilled half inch holes in a couple of rocks and slid them over the dowel. The end effect was a sturdy tower of rocks.
Move the sand away so the egg crate sits on the glass under the sand and you won’t be able to see anything but the rocks. Gives a neat effect.
I plan to make another one and put an arch at the top.
Neat. Did you have any problems drilling the rock? Cracking...Breaking??? Picture please.

Thanks.
 
fishkid13

fishkid13

Active Member
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3142970

.....Back to the OP...You have to lock your rock pieces in place not just set them up. Every rock has nooks and crevices gently twist and work at the rock until it actually locks into the other next to it or under it. It may take some time to get it but don't continue until each piece locks in place. You will have a very stable rock work that way.
I have seen video footage of earthquakes splashing water from the tank everywhere and no rocks moving out of place. Your big dogs nor children should ever cause a rock slide.
If you must, ask the LFS, or a friend with stable rock work, to show you how to lock them so you can get an idea of how to do it.
Hear that twice makes me think it is a good a idea.
No LFS hear will take the time to do that and the best way to learn is from mistakes.
EARTHQUAKES!

Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3142974

If you have this problem...I have a spray bar set verticaly it pushes wateracross the entire back of my tank and rocks...maybe you can try that. Attach the spray bar to a power head or canister ilter.
How big is your spray bar how powerful is your powerhead.
Thanks.
 
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