madmarks
Community Member
Here is my just completed aquascape. The project is a year in the making, but not due to patience rather due two moves and associated packing and unpacking. It is comprised of 3 separate sections butted together. I did this incase I ever need to remove a section.
I purchased used rock from people getting out of the hobby. It cost me about $160 for about 130 lbs of rock. If you do mind scrubbing, cleaning, soaking and prolonged drying, it is a good way to build on a budget. All of the rock was badly covered in algae. I scrubbed each piece when wet with a wire brush to clean most of it off and then repeated after letting the rock dry for about 10 days. Wear a mask and do this in a well ventilated area; dry algae particles tend to float in the air.
After I soaked the rock in 3% Hydrogen Peroxide for about 1 hour. I did this in batches reusing , again to keep the cost down. I let this dry for about a week, then did an overnight soak in about 10% bleach. This killed off most remaining algae, and hopefully any pests. I scrubbed one more time with the wire brush. I then let the rock dry for about a month. I wanted it good and dry for adherence to crazy glue and JB Waterweld(tm) epoxy.
I selected some larger pieces to use as base rock and cut a flat bottom on each with a hacksaw; 3 per section for maximum stability. On these I built the individual sections. Each added piece was tested for contact by rubbing/grinding/twisting the pieces where they would join. This marked up the rock so I knew where to put the crazy glue. I tried standard crazy glues with little success and then bought some coral specific crazy glue. This worked much better and I did not need accelerant. I built each section in layers. After letting the crazy glue dry over night on each layer I then epoxied completely around each joint. I contoured the epoxy joints with a wooden shish-kabob skewer to mimic the stone. I let this dry overnight to make sure the joint was solid. I then used the standard crazy glue I had bought previously, to smear over the epoxy and sprinkled natural aquarium sand to camouflage the joint. After brushing the loose sand off, I proceeded to the next layer. Lastly I test fitted the sections by butting them up to each other and add any additional pieces to make a continuous look.
Buy more rock than you need, you will be piecing things together and it is nice to have options. I have between 30-40 lbs left over.
Below are a top, 45 degree angle and front view.
I hope my experience helps others building aquascapes.
I purchased used rock from people getting out of the hobby. It cost me about $160 for about 130 lbs of rock. If you do mind scrubbing, cleaning, soaking and prolonged drying, it is a good way to build on a budget. All of the rock was badly covered in algae. I scrubbed each piece when wet with a wire brush to clean most of it off and then repeated after letting the rock dry for about 10 days. Wear a mask and do this in a well ventilated area; dry algae particles tend to float in the air.
After I soaked the rock in 3% Hydrogen Peroxide for about 1 hour. I did this in batches reusing , again to keep the cost down. I let this dry for about a week, then did an overnight soak in about 10% bleach. This killed off most remaining algae, and hopefully any pests. I scrubbed one more time with the wire brush. I then let the rock dry for about a month. I wanted it good and dry for adherence to crazy glue and JB Waterweld(tm) epoxy.
I selected some larger pieces to use as base rock and cut a flat bottom on each with a hacksaw; 3 per section for maximum stability. On these I built the individual sections. Each added piece was tested for contact by rubbing/grinding/twisting the pieces where they would join. This marked up the rock so I knew where to put the crazy glue. I tried standard crazy glues with little success and then bought some coral specific crazy glue. This worked much better and I did not need accelerant. I built each section in layers. After letting the crazy glue dry over night on each layer I then epoxied completely around each joint. I contoured the epoxy joints with a wooden shish-kabob skewer to mimic the stone. I let this dry overnight to make sure the joint was solid. I then used the standard crazy glue I had bought previously, to smear over the epoxy and sprinkled natural aquarium sand to camouflage the joint. After brushing the loose sand off, I proceeded to the next layer. Lastly I test fitted the sections by butting them up to each other and add any additional pieces to make a continuous look.
Buy more rock than you need, you will be piecing things together and it is nice to have options. I have between 30-40 lbs left over.
Below are a top, 45 degree angle and front view.
I hope my experience helps others building aquascapes.
