I used white 3/8'' fiberglass rods on my last build. Built it as I liked. Drilled the holes through it on the work bench put in the rods and made a few small marks with a permanent marker on the touching points. Took a few pictures and put it back together like a puzzle in the tank.
Rock fusion: How do you connect your reef rocks?
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- Thread starter Peace River
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jonnyglass
New Member
I will be building my aquascape "wet" using aquacultured live rock... The current thought is to use a masonry bit to drill sockets in the rocks and use fiberglass dowels on the foundational rocks as well as anything cantilevered. Planning to use Z-Spar Splash Zone to anchor everything together.
jonnyglass
New Member
Where did you source the fiberglass rods?
I've used many different types of two-part epoxy with success. The oddest of which is used to fill leaks on boats underwater.
My "other" is Zip Ties. They work, but you need to use the most heavy-duty ones you can find. If you use thin ones, you'll find that saltwater is not kind to flexible plastics. I've had cheap ties last 8 to 10 years. They get brittle over and will snap under the weight of the rock they're keeping in place. As with toast falling butter-side down, the tumbling rock will smash your all-time favorite coral. (Also don't buy any with metal teeth that hold the strap because they rust.) I prefer using ties that are "releasable" like these: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5795. They're easier to do-over when you make a mistake.
My "other" is Zip Ties. They work, but you need to use the most heavy-duty ones you can find. If you use thin ones, you'll find that saltwater is not kind to flexible plastics. I've had cheap ties last 8 to 10 years. They get brittle over and will snap under the weight of the rock they're keeping in place. As with toast falling butter-side down, the tumbling rock will smash your all-time favorite coral. (Also don't buy any with metal teeth that hold the strap because they rust.) I prefer using ties that are "releasable" like these: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=5795. They're easier to do-over when you make a mistake.
Dude64
Community Member
I really like the cyano glue w/ force quick dry and a good epoxy cement combo for large projects. This one has been up and running for 2 years now...
Mogwai
Active Member
Agreed. I picture it in my head but when I get hands on, it's nothing like I pictured it. I am not artistic or crafty enough when it comes to rockscapes. I just made 4 large structures using epoxy and 3 loose pieces to fill in the empty spots.
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AquaticVisualPleasures Al
New Member
Those look great, good idea the "Ricky" appearance.I started using these 3D printed creations then decided to develop new ones that look more like rocks.
footprint of the pink foam is 94 inches x 22 inches for an 8-foot 300g glass cage. Super Glue gel and insta-set accelerator. I also have a 4ft 75g with Live Rock in it that be added to what I have here. I really Liked Happyhourhero's rock, but thought it looked like a Nano Tank set up, so thought I'd add something longer than we are all tall!
SueAbu
Active Member
Mogwai
Active Member
Looks nice! Adding Fiji Pink and Special grade sand combination or bare bottom? That will look nice with a 3/4 in sand bed but really nice either way.footprint of the pink foam is 94 inches x 22 inches for an 8-foot 300g glass cage. Super Glue gel and insta-set accelerator. I also have a 4ft 75g with Live Rock in it that be added to what I have here. I really Liked Happyhourhero's rock, but thought it looked like a Nano Tank set up, so thought I'd add something longer than we are all tall!
Actually planning 2 inch deep aragonite substrate. I get so much enjoyment out of all of them critters IN the substrate, snails, stars, cukes, sand sifter goby, etc. So I thought I'd give them a really nice playground. 300g gives me a ton of room for fish and things, but I am going to keep it kind of minimalist, only plan on adding 3 or 4 fish to the 7 I have now.
Currently have 2 clowns (occelarus)
diamond watchman goby
blue-eye kole tang
pygmy cherub angel
royal gramma
neon dottyback.
I plan to add a yellow tang, 6-line wrasse, and possibly a scopus tang. That's really it for fish. Any additional fish I should consider, I base most of my choices off their utility to the environment, and which types of algae I need to manage.
short term goal 6 months out is to have a visual pleasing mixed reef mostly softies and LPS. Gonna to hold off on a lot of the SPS for now.
Heading into my busy work season so weekly water changes is where I am going to try and keep Maintenace until fall, then I will look into possibly adding some SPS and potential dosing to keep it all healthy instead of regular routine water changes.
Redemptioner
Community Member
Cement (marco 400) with an acrylic rod inserted into the a hole drilled into the rocks being connected. The acrylic rod is melted on the ends before being jammed in so it conforms to the ends of the holes and can't come out even without the cement. This acts both to hold the rock solid during drying as well as adds a bunch of extra strength and some flexibility (like reo-bar).
trevorhiller
Reefing Nurse
I think many get these from Lowe's/Home Depot/Walmart or similar:
Mrtakeoff53
Active Member
same here! Thin superglue and powdered dry rock is incredible and looks so natural. Never doing anything else again n
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