DIY Aquascape

[chatyak]

I have spent 3 weeks doing an aquascape in my spare time and it totally fell apart today and broke everywhere. I am so ****ed. I was using industrial epoxy and super glue and it just broke and splintered everywhere today when I went to pick it up.... thinking of throwing the rock away and just using foam..... thoughts?

 

[peppie]

Step back... count to 20... Pop a cold one... admit failure... Tell yourself. ( I CAN DO THIS)
Start plan -B-.. Pop a cold one. Think about plan B.

Buy some acrylic rod. 1/4'' and 1/2'' Buy a couple concrete drill bits, 5/16'', 9/16'' some marine safe two part epoxy.

Pop a cold one. go at it.
Good luck.
Please add pics.

 

[wholelottawater]

Acrylic rod is great. will never aquascape a tank any other way again. It is easier to do then it sounds.

 

[MTWiley]

got suggestions on places to get acrylic rod at a decent price?

 

[wlatino30]

try home depot or lowes. might be as cheap as on-line but since you only need a few pieces you will save on not paying for shipping and not buying in bulk.

 

[seanm001]

If you are building your aquascape in the open air, you can substitute cement for the epoxy as the glue between rocks. I use a thick cement paste for this and I like it better than epoxy because I find the cement has better structural integrity. Technically, Portland cement takes a week to cure with light mistings every now and then and six weeks to six months of soaking to stabilize the pH. If you're just using a small amount here and there as glue, it shouldn't have much impact on your pH. If you want it to be tank ready faster, you can use BASF Emaco s88ci cement which will cure and be pH stabilized in a week.

Oh, and if you decide to go this route, you will still want to use acrylic rods to be the backbone of your structure.

 

[chatyak]

Interesting input everyone.

What is the consensus on this here? I found it online for my local store. I have seen people mentioning using these driveway markers before but most seem to say they are made of fiberglass, even for the exact same model yet this one appears to be ABS?

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/48-inch-2-sided-marker-red/921770#

I would just cut it up into smaller section and use it in conjunction with cement - this one is available near me - http://www.homedepot.ca/product/hydraulic-water-stop-cement-9kg/958155

 

[bid2ask]

plastic clothes hangers work great, just cut to size

 

[Agioniko]

Is there any negative effects on parameters from fiberglass?

 

[chatyak]

plastic clothes hangers work great, just cut to size

I assume you mean stuffing a whole bunch of short-sized/cut plastic pieces into one rock hole? Because I tried the clothe-hanger and it just bends until the rock falls off - was like nothing was there.

 

[antbreon]

i did a combination of a fake foam rock wall and my live rock hving secure shelves to lean on made it much easier than it has ever been...leaving it as open as i could and making terraces for corals ..this tank is only less than 3 months old..most of it came out of my old 37...just dont build your way into a corner make it a sectional..i had to break a couple pieces off to get it in the tank and still managed to put a small scratch on my new tank

 

[chatyak]

i did a combination of a fake foam rock wall and my live rock hving secure shelves to lean on made it much easier than it has ever been...leaving it as open as i could and making terraces for corals ..this tank is only less than 3 months old..most of it came out of my old 37...just dont build your way into a corner make it a sectional..i had to break a couple pieces off to get it in the tank and still managed to put a small scratch on my new tank

Nicely done. For my tank though that won't work with the eggcrate backing idea, since it won't be touching the back or any sides at all.

I found a cheaper rod to use than the homedepot one... so I'm thinking of using the following two:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...iveway+Marker,+46-in,+Red+White.jsp?locale=en

and

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/hydraulic-water-stop-cement-9kg/958155

I have a big masonary drill bit or carbide... I forget which but I used it years ago to drill through rock... so I'll place the rock over that and then put the cement in the hole/space between the rod and the rock to firm things up - then use the epoxy for good measure... not having it break on me again!!!

 

[antbreon]

could you use a flat piece of acrylic on the bottom ...and glue say 1/2 inch rods to it...standing up then drill holes all the way through the rock and make them stack like a kabob...the base will keep them from tipping over..kinds like the bonsai reef tanktank of the month last month...wish i had seen that one before i started..my tank would have been 3 x3 x2

 

[LoJack]

I used the driveway markers from canadian tire. I cut the reflector off the top, and the driveway spike off of the bottom and was left with a 6 foot fiberglass pole. Cut it to length, drill a hole in each piece of rock and voila ... perfect aquascape lol

 

[frank2926]

http://glassbox-design.com/2010/emaco-r-400-archictecural-cement-aquarium-aquascape/

 

[Poeticlydead]

Since your building this outside the tank you want you can scrap the epoxy putty and cement and just use pond foam and if you want extra structure you can still drill the rock and incorporate your fiberglass/abs/acrylic rods. No ph swings, material is light and easy to shape, easy to blend with rock and very adhesive.

http://youtu.be/BqTEmM25XSM

 

[postaldave]

been using fiberglass driverway makers for years without issue. haven't found anyone or any reason not to use them.

only issue i have is cutting them. it's not easy to get a clean cut on the end. it wants to splintery and stuff. do it wrong and the end turns into a mushroom.

the solution i found in dutting them is a zip tool or dremal and get a very fine cutting wheel and run it wide open. has to be more of a razor then a cutting type wheel.

dirt cheap and works great. i also found using 2 is much better then one. two a little bit apart with hold the rock in place. having just one lets it spin around. by using two you don't have to glue it so you can still take it apart later as needed.

 

[Scottple]

I'm kinda in the same boat only I can never get my aquascape right how I want it. It's like build it, look at it, take it down and rebuild!!!

 

[frank2926]

This is the stuff I linked to earlier.
Cures in water . They also sell nylon rod

http://www.marcorocks.com/aquascapesupplies.aspx

 

[Chuongj510]

When I was looking for acrylic rods I couldn't find the at home depot or lowes. I ended getting them from a place called tap plastic. It was only 5-6 dollars for 6 ft of 1/2.