Anyone with expeirence...
- Thread starter RoGeTa
- Start date
Russ Braaten
New member
I used 1/2 inch PVC and it worked well but if you want to use a smaller rod, use plastic coat hangers. Very reasonable and works well.
RoGeTa
Member
Awesome. Thanks you both! I have another question if you feel so inclined as to answer 
How are you placing the rock on the rods? Just straight down, or like a coat hanger with other projections coming off of the main body? In case that last part wasn't clear, I meant, having like a few T's in PVC.
How are you placing the rock on the rods? Just straight down, or like a coat hanger with other projections coming off of the main body? In case that last part wasn't clear, I meant, having like a few T's in PVC.
I built mine straight up, just slid the rock on to the pipe. At the base of the pipe was a "T"....the two sides of the t had 3-4 inch of pipe, then another T with 3-4 inch of pipe. That was held in place on the tank bottom with rocks and then the pieces of the pillar just slid on and spun till they wouldnt move on their own.
Its all documented in my thread somewhere...
Paul.
Its all documented in my thread somewhere...
Paul.
Since im in a good mood....
Step 1. Measure the size of the parts you will need and assemble:
step 2. begin cutting holes and assemble for rough idea.
step 3: work with the arrangement a little till you are happy with the look.
Step 4:
Place the pipework in the tank, cover the base with rock and restack the drilled rock on the pipe and push a few corals in the holes/gaps as you go
Let is grow a little.....
And here is my finished product about 6 months later
Does that help any.
Step 1. Measure the size of the parts you will need and assemble:
step 2. begin cutting holes and assemble for rough idea.
step 3: work with the arrangement a little till you are happy with the look.
Step 4:
Place the pipework in the tank, cover the base with rock and restack the drilled rock on the pipe and push a few corals in the holes/gaps as you go
Let is grow a little.....
And here is my finished product about 6 months later
Does that help any.
captbunzo
Premium Member
Two comments.
First, here is a link to a thread of mine where I document my rock pillar building (idea stolen from pwhitby, of course). And there are links there specifically to the pages in Paul's monster thread which discuss the pillar building.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=919054
Second, request: Anyone who proceeds with these ideas, builds pillars, arches, or any other artificial shapes with pvc, acrylic rods, or any other artificial structural aids..... PLEASE document it here in the COMAS forum with some description and pics. And make sure to host the pics in a permanent location, such as photobucket.
Thanks!!!!!
First, here is a link to a thread of mine where I document my rock pillar building (idea stolen from pwhitby, of course). And there are links there specifically to the pages in Paul's monster thread which discuss the pillar building.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=919054
Second, request: Anyone who proceeds with these ideas, builds pillars, arches, or any other artificial shapes with pvc, acrylic rods, or any other artificial structural aids..... PLEASE document it here in the COMAS forum with some description and pics. And make sure to host the pics in a permanent location, such as photobucket.
Thanks!!!!!
There are also a number of considerations one needs to make when considering "exotic" aquascaping. Obviously the first and foremost consideration is how it will look.
I personally would not recommend building a pillar like structure in a tank less than 18 inches wide, and even then, 18 inches is probably on the small side.
For a pillar to look effective it needs to have sufficient space around it to grow corals and allow fish to swim. The pillar itself needs to be substantial as well. So assumiong a pillar is 6 inches wide you are left with 6 inches front and back if it sited centrally. If you place it more towards the back then there will be no space for the fish to swim or for corals and it will be very hard to light correctly (lighting is the second consideration here). If you do go with it towards the back I would personally make it an arch as opposed to a pillar. This has advantages over the pilar (see below).
The aesthetics of the pillar also need to be taken into account: Its not just a case of adding rocks, the pillar needs to look natural, which means it should be larger at the base than at the top. If it is too larger at the base it runs the risk of losing its "pillar" status an become a mound of rock. I experimented with structures coming to the very top of the water. I liked the look, but lost space for corals. So I figured the best height for the pillar that would allow sufficient growth of corals was 10-6 inches below the surface.
My experience working with 18 inch wide tanks is that the pillar is best sited approximately 2/3 of the way back and should have any elongated side run roughly parallel to the front of the tank. It is difficult to place anything behind the pillar without them coming together.
On a 24 inch tank, i would still go 2/3 and have rock behind the pillar
Now to arches. This works really well. If you take a pillar like structure and cap with a large piece (ideally long and relatively thin) you can make an arch that connects the top of the pillar with the remaining rock work. This has advantages in that it stabilises the pillar and removes the requiremnet of growing corals on the back side of the pillar. The top should be selected well to allow space for corals to grow (ideally a flatter piece works well) and should have a slight angle upwards towards the back of the tank. This makes an excellent showcase for the corals on it. By having a pillar central(ish) to the tank and the cap stone being at an angle it will make the tank seem larger as it opens the space for the fish to swim.
Finally........decoration of the pillar. To my mind, the base areas of the pillars are best suited to flat corals such as montipora capricornins. The sides are best suitd to tabling corals and pretty much any frags you may have. The top is suited to staghorns and other finger shaped corals that require high light intensity and good flow.
--just as side note, if you decide to go with any pillar like structure, be carefl to not place it dead center, or it will look artificial.
Good luck with your aquascaping....I offer the above just as ideas. They are by no means the only way to do it but are just my thoughts on how.
Regards,
Paul.
I personally would not recommend building a pillar like structure in a tank less than 18 inches wide, and even then, 18 inches is probably on the small side.
For a pillar to look effective it needs to have sufficient space around it to grow corals and allow fish to swim. The pillar itself needs to be substantial as well. So assumiong a pillar is 6 inches wide you are left with 6 inches front and back if it sited centrally. If you place it more towards the back then there will be no space for the fish to swim or for corals and it will be very hard to light correctly (lighting is the second consideration here). If you do go with it towards the back I would personally make it an arch as opposed to a pillar. This has advantages over the pilar (see below).
The aesthetics of the pillar also need to be taken into account: Its not just a case of adding rocks, the pillar needs to look natural, which means it should be larger at the base than at the top. If it is too larger at the base it runs the risk of losing its "pillar" status an become a mound of rock. I experimented with structures coming to the very top of the water. I liked the look, but lost space for corals. So I figured the best height for the pillar that would allow sufficient growth of corals was 10-6 inches below the surface.
My experience working with 18 inch wide tanks is that the pillar is best sited approximately 2/3 of the way back and should have any elongated side run roughly parallel to the front of the tank. It is difficult to place anything behind the pillar without them coming together.
On a 24 inch tank, i would still go 2/3 and have rock behind the pillar
Now to arches. This works really well. If you take a pillar like structure and cap with a large piece (ideally long and relatively thin) you can make an arch that connects the top of the pillar with the remaining rock work. This has advantages in that it stabilises the pillar and removes the requiremnet of growing corals on the back side of the pillar. The top should be selected well to allow space for corals to grow (ideally a flatter piece works well) and should have a slight angle upwards towards the back of the tank. This makes an excellent showcase for the corals on it. By having a pillar central(ish) to the tank and the cap stone being at an angle it will make the tank seem larger as it opens the space for the fish to swim.
Finally........decoration of the pillar. To my mind, the base areas of the pillars are best suited to flat corals such as montipora capricornins. The sides are best suitd to tabling corals and pretty much any frags you may have. The top is suited to staghorns and other finger shaped corals that require high light intensity and good flow.
--just as side note, if you decide to go with any pillar like structure, be carefl to not place it dead center, or it will look artificial.
Good luck with your aquascaping....I offer the above just as ideas. They are by no means the only way to do it but are just my thoughts on how.
Regards,
Paul.
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