How to get/make pillars

[Wijic]

I'm currently building my sump (just need to get my glass baffles from the glass shop when they're ready), but I've been thinking about how I'd like to aquascape the 75g display tank.

I think I'd like to do two islands of LR, similar in shape and placement to the ones in this picture (though being a new tank, and a smaller one, it will not be looking nearly as awesome), but I was kind of playing with the idea of forming the rock islands each around a central cement 'pillar'. Something about 18" tall (the tank is 20"), and maybe 3" in diameter. The idea would be to glue some mushrooms/rics/zoa/GSP/other fast-growing-potentially-inclined-to-take-over-the-tank soft coral frags onto the sides of the pillars and let them grow up and around them. And then, if I plant some other corals down where the pillars meet the LR, that might keep the mushrooms from spreading too rampantly.

I don't know, I thought it might look cool, though it would place them way up into the light.

If this seems like possibly a neat idea (and don't be shy if it doesn't), I'm not really sure how to go about ordering/making these pillars. I've read the 'how to make rocks' sticky, so I know what I could make the pillars out of, but I'm not sure how to set them so they'd actually form nice, symmetrical 'tubes'.

Any thoughts, suggestions or websites I should check out?

Thanks, all!

 

[fenderguy1]

Well what came to my mind was something my grandparents did. They used soup/bean/whatever cans and poured cement into the cans to form "bricks". They used these to surrond their garden. Just a thought

 

[Wijic]

Hmm, that's an idea. I wonder if I could even do something based on that concept, but use a wide PVC pipe as the mold to get the desired length and height... thanks!

 

[impur]

I'd start scouring your LFS and ask around in your local club for pieces of dry rock. Then you could cut them and drill them to get the look you want. Hold them together using acrylic rods and some aquamend.

I'm doing something similar, I just ordered some rock from BRS and i'll be making pilars out of them.

 

[MAKcorals]

Acrylic rod idea is the way to go. My buddy just aquascaped is 90g and went with the pillar idea using acrylic dowels. I think they were tough to find i will ask where he got them and get back to you. It came out looking really good though. Have fun with it.

 

[Wijic]

Acrylic rod idea is the way to go. My buddy just aquascaped is 90g and went with the pillar idea using acrylic dowels. I think they were tough to find i will ask where he got them and get back to you. It came out looking really good though. Have fun with it.

Ooh, sweet. Do you think your friend might send you some pictures to share, here? I'd love to see what his rock pillars look like!

 

[SDguy]

All my rocks are threaded onto acrylic rods. I would never do a reef without them. It's super easy. Just drill holes through the rock with a masonary bit (~$12). Glue the rodsinto acrylic bases or just stick them into large base rocks.

 

[Incoralable]

I have used CPVC pipe to do the same thing. It's cheap and easy to find. Probably bigger in diameter than the acrylic rods, but not too large to drill holes in the rocks to accommodate it.

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h308/owashee/Rock/Rock-01.jpg

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h308/owashee/Rock/Rock-02.jpg

This is the back side and is not visible in the tank.
http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h308/owashee/Rock/Rock-04.jpg

 

[ddwbeagles]

Acrylic rods

You can pick them up cheap off of ebay or retailers like Tap Plastics. I do the same as I've had one too many pieces of LR tip or fall when I was "messing" in the tank.

Acrylic rod idea is the way to go. My buddy just aquascaped is 90g and went with the pillar idea using acrylic dowels. I think they were tough to find i will ask where he got them and get back to you. It came out looking really good though. Have fun with it.

 

[Wijic]

Tangentially, what power drill do you guys recommend for drilling rocks/tanks/acrylic for this hobby? I've been considering buying a power drill, but wasn't really sure how 'heavy duty' it would need to be.

 

[SDguy]

Tangentially, what power drill do you guys recommend for drilling rocks/tanks/acrylic for this hobby? I've been considering buying a power drill, but wasn't really sure how 'heavy duty' it would need to be.

Most live rock is actually pretty soft. My corded 12V (?) drill with rotary masonary drill bit worked like a charm.