From the table to the tank...How to preserve your aquascape?

[AbjectMaelstroM]

Tank has been ordered and I'm looking to start cycling the aquascape in a container while I wait.

Now here comes the "fun" part... How to preserve your aquascape that you're finally happy with through all the trial and error? If it's one thing I've learned over the dozen or so times I've rearranged my aquascape, is that no matter how hard you try, the same rock never goes back into the exact same way that it was before you pick it up off of the sacpe. I swear, these things change shape as soon as you pick them up.

This presents a unique problem when time comes to finally move things.

Any suggestions on how to make the transfer as painless as possible? Should I even bother doing so for the cycling container? Or should I just cycle the rocks, then re-aquascape once the rocks cycled and the tank is ready for water, hoping for the best as far as getting it back into the desired arrangement?

 

[Peach02]

IME when I rescaped my tank I had a good idea of what I was going to do from a aquascape outside of the tank but couldn’t exactly replicate it in the tank unfortunately. What helped me get pretty close was splitting the scape into sections so I have two islands I got one perfect the other not so much. Another thing that helped was not putting all the rock in the tank at once sounds dump but it helps a lot

 

[living_tribunal]

IME when I rescaped my tank I had a good idea of what I was going to do from a aquascape outside of the tank but couldn’t exactly replicate it in the tank unfortunately. What helped me get pretty close was splitting the scape into sections so I have two islands I got one perfect the other not so much. Another thing that helped was not putting all the rock in the tank at once sounds dump but it helps a lot

This is what I did. I created three main rock structures outside of the tank. I took pictures to be able to reconstruct inside the tank.

I then just connected them together with the remaining pieces.

Putting the structure together outside:

After piecing it together in the tank:

 

[Fudsey]

I built a cove out of the tank and cemented it together in 3 pieces. This way it couldn't come apart and the 3 pieces could only go together one way.

in the tank

1 year later

 

[lapin]

Label your rocks, magic markers with numbers. Take pictures. Put a mark on each rock where they join so you can line them up. You can use different colors of markers. In a month algae will cover the marks.

 

[Peach02]

Looks great

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

Has anyone been successful in finding acrylic rods/dowels locally? 1/4 and 1/2"?

 

[Fudsey]

Some use Home Depot or Lowes driveway markers.

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

Yeah driveway markers were my plan B, they are 3/8" and I don't have masonry but that size, just the 1/4 and 1/2. I might just grab them off of Amazon.

 

[Titlowda1]

Marco’s rock cement.

 

[DaneGer21]

I labeled/numbered rocks with post it notes took a handful of pics then rebuilt inside the tank

 

[Mike.P]

You can either cement it before hand or, if you want to assemble it inside of the tank, just take some pvc purple primer and brush a line going across all of the rocks. Then you you can see how they all connect. Unless your rocks are already painted. =P

 

[AbjectMaelstroM]

Think I got it mostly figured out. Some of the smaller pieces I will cement (quickrete hydrolic) together. Medium pieces will be cemented and reinforced with acrylic rod(s). The really big pieces, mostly base rocks, will be freestanding unless I need to face them a certain way, in which case I'll go the acrylic rod/cement route. This way won't have 20 puzzle pieces to keep track of; instead I'll have about 10.

But, like all great plans, it'll probably go to crap when I get around to moving hahaha.

 

[SeaJay]

Some use Home Depot or Lowes driveway markers.

Aren't those fiberglass? I know they used to be. Been a long time since I lived so far out in the country that we had to mark the driveway to find our way home at night.

 

[samnaz]

Aren't those fiberglass? I know they used to be. Been a long time since I lived so far out in the country that we had to mark the driveway to find our way home at night.

I do believe they are still made of fiberglass.

 

[maroun.c]

Best is to just scape in the tank so they just stay in the tank when u like the scape.
Or insert some rods, support the scape in position with zip ties and epoxy the joints, wait 24 hours and u can just carry the scape parts as is.