Ideas for Rock Display

kails83

New Member
We are looking for ideas on how to stack our rock in our new 250 Gal tank. We have 155 lb of live rock and 50 lb of lace rock for a base. These pitchers are a little foggy due to adding sand but I will post more tonight. On top we have two refuge's one 20 gal (right) and one 30 gal (left). Please tell us what you think of our tank. Please add pitchers of your tanks to help us with our rock.


 

jambi0n

Member
That is one crazy looking setup!!! SWEET!!! I dont know if you really need to stack those rocks. They look good as is. Hope to see more pics later tonight. :joy:
 

crazyaqua

Member
Thats a unique setup :happy:
With the live rock i have it setup where it starts from the each end and builds up to the middle trying to give good hiding spaces for all the critters just move stuff around till you find something you like
 

kdfrosty

Active Member
A lot of people would recommend putting the rock on the bare bottom tank, and then adding sand. This will reduce the possibility of the rop/reef toppling over for whatever reason i.e. a burrowing fish or shirmp, etc.
 

snipe

Active Member
I like that you left the fuge's out in the open to see whats going on kinda cool. I for one would like to know whats going on my fuge lol.
For rock its just what YOU
like. If you dont like it then change it. I have what some call a brick wall effect but I like it and its stayin lol.
 

mudplayerx

Active Member
Very nice setup, but are you sure those shelves will hold those tanks? Those shelves look like closet space savers, and I've personally had those fall off the wall over time just from the weight of dry clothes hangin on them :)
Heres a pic of my tank, sorry it is so blurry :(
 

tim_12

Member
In the process of setting up my tank, I had more fun positioning the rocks than with anything else. But thats just me. The only suggestions I can offer are that you should get about another 50 pounds or so of LR for filtration. IMO the tank looks barren with the amount you have anyways. As for the rocks you have now, push your base rocks down through the sand so they're resting on the glass. Try to partially think of it as tetris. By that I mean spin the rocks around, turn them upside down and try to "fit" two or more together to make not only a visually pleasing structure, but also one that has lots of holes and gaps for the fish to swim through. Also, try to keep as many points of contact between rocks and glass, and rocks and other rock to keep it as stable as possible. If you're really imaginative, you can also try to position the rocks in a way that will help manipulate the flow from your powerheads to your advantage instead of causing dead spots (tis should be a breese if you aced the vector units in Physics class). Its easier to move a few rocks around now and save yourself having to buy and extra powerhead just to get rid of a dead spot.
Heres a picture of my tank. I spent a good hour going through all the rock at my LFS to get the best shaped ones. I was even lucky enough to get one that was already shaped like a shelf.
 

celacanthr

Active Member
for me i guess it would depend on the type of fish. i gues for a tank that focuses more on fish that dont stay around the coral then i would leave it like it is now(with several rock islands). Fr s tsnk thsat focuses on corals or fish such as blennies and grammas and alike then i would get lot more rock and make like a wall of rock. just what i would do. But most importantly its whatever you and your fish like. :D
 

trainfever

Active Member
I think your rock looks good the way it is. I have to say that I agree with Mud. That was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw your pics. With a 30 and a 20 gallon tank, that gives you 500 lbs on those shelves. If one of those angle brackets get bumped hard enough,all that weight will crush the others. I think you have a flood waiting to happen. Why dont you buy some decorative chain and attach them to the ceiling joists to help support the weight of the tanks.
 

airforceb2

Active Member
I third the support question. The reason I say this is my closet has the same brackets holding up the shelves and they collapsed last weekend making one heck of a mess to clean up. I couldn't even imagine if I had to clean up 300 gallons of water and not clothes. I do have to compliment the looks though...that would be awesome to look at every day.
 

kails83

New Member
Thank you guys for all of the replies! We are working on getting some more rock so it is not so barren but are taking it a little slow so we can find pieces that we like. Also, as for the shelving, we screwed them into the studs, not into the drywall. Plus the brackets hold 500lbs. each (x 6) so we are not too worried. We ARE keeping an eye on them though just in case!
The pics are really helpful. We are starting the tank as fish only. We have a Vlamingi Tang that we can't wait to get in there, so he can grow and have all the room he needs. We are also looking at a Butterfly so beyond those two we really can't put too much in until we know how big the Vlamingi will be at his adult size. We researched and found that he can get between 18"-36" so if he hits the higher end of that scale he will need the whole tank to himself! But we were trying to figure out the best configuration for hiding spots and ledges and what not, so keep the pictures coming!!!

 

tim_12

Member
Originally Posted by kails83
We researched and found that he can get between 18"-36" so if he hits the higher end of that scale he will need the whole tank to himself!!!
:scared: I hope for your sake thats supposed to be 18 - 36cm. Having a fish even 18in is huge!
 

mudplayerx

Active Member
I see a booster seat in that pic. Congratz on raising that youngin around saltwater tanks kails83, my parents did the same and it showed me a respect and awe for life.
 

snailheave

Active Member
i did this for my new 80g setup. because of my prior expierience with smaller rocks, i made sure this live rock supplier pick large rocks appropriate for my tank. i ended up with several 12"-14" rocks and one giganic 16" which is on the left side of the tank.
 

snailheave

Active Member
then i put in the sand and other things. utilized the rocks i had from my old tank and stacked them up. there are ample hiding space for the creatures. my personal preference is building up a wall in the back and then a lower ledge in front.
 

snipe

Active Member
Alright I was gonna post a pic last night but I couldnt find one saved so I took one this morning. Consider your self lucky my cam was almost dead lol.
 
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