OP
OP
Reefphd
Active Member
Hey Whoop,
Get ready for a small novel.
So it was a fun process that took a day to do.
I bought two diamond drill bits, 1/4" & 1/2".
The lower pieces have the 1/2" rods, 1/4" for the upper.
I placed the rocks on a thick towel and with my Milwaukee in hand, I slowly drilled the rock with one hand while with the other fed a tiny stream of water from a cup onto the bit to keep the it from getting too hot and burning out. I was also afraid the rock would split from the heat.
I drilled about half way through the rock and with a spring action hole punch I cleared the center pieces (cores) left by the drill.
For the upper pieces, I also drilled 1/4" holes into the lower pieces to securely fasten them. Otherwise, you'll have a terrible game of jenga once you start adding corals.
I was going to use Acrylic weld to fuse the rods to the rock, but read on here that crazy glue would hold it as well.
So I cut my acrylic, glued the ends and inserted them into the rock. Twisting the rod in so the glue evenly dispersed.
Btw, when cutting acrylic rod, you only needs to score one side about 1/5 the way with a fine tooth hacksaw. The piece snaps right off when you bend it. You can use fine sandpaper to clean the ends.
I let the glue cure on the rods and inserted the top pieces into the bottom pieces (glued).
It took me a majority of my Saturday morning and afternoon to finish, but the rocks are solidly in place without any issue of toppling.
The last thing I want to mention is the issue of finding so many perfectly flat pieces of rock. I searched LFS's, online, here...
In the end I reached out to Bulk Reef Supply, (I love those guys).
I called them up and explained what I was looking for. They took the time out to select all incredible flat rocks for me. The rock cost me $109. For 35lbs total. I would've paid easily $350 had I bought it local.
So if you're deciding to do this, give them a call. They rock!
(Sorry, I couldn't help myself)
Bill
Get ready for a small novel.
So it was a fun process that took a day to do.
I bought two diamond drill bits, 1/4" & 1/2".
The lower pieces have the 1/2" rods, 1/4" for the upper.
I placed the rocks on a thick towel and with my Milwaukee in hand, I slowly drilled the rock with one hand while with the other fed a tiny stream of water from a cup onto the bit to keep the it from getting too hot and burning out. I was also afraid the rock would split from the heat.
I drilled about half way through the rock and with a spring action hole punch I cleared the center pieces (cores) left by the drill.
For the upper pieces, I also drilled 1/4" holes into the lower pieces to securely fasten them. Otherwise, you'll have a terrible game of jenga once you start adding corals.
I was going to use Acrylic weld to fuse the rods to the rock, but read on here that crazy glue would hold it as well.
So I cut my acrylic, glued the ends and inserted them into the rock. Twisting the rod in so the glue evenly dispersed.
Btw, when cutting acrylic rod, you only needs to score one side about 1/5 the way with a fine tooth hacksaw. The piece snaps right off when you bend it. You can use fine sandpaper to clean the ends.
I let the glue cure on the rods and inserted the top pieces into the bottom pieces (glued).
It took me a majority of my Saturday morning and afternoon to finish, but the rocks are solidly in place without any issue of toppling.
The last thing I want to mention is the issue of finding so many perfectly flat pieces of rock. I searched LFS's, online, here...
In the end I reached out to Bulk Reef Supply, (I love those guys).
I called them up and explained what I was looking for. They took the time out to select all incredible flat rocks for me. The rock cost me $109. For 35lbs total. I would've paid easily $350 had I bought it local.
So if you're deciding to do this, give them a call. They rock!
(Sorry, I couldn't help myself)
Bill
