Fib's 90 Gallon Maxspect Masterpiece Build Thread.
- Thread starter Fibinotchi
- Start date
Justdrew
Dad with Triplets!
I use starboard also. Just a suggestion, make sure you have rocks on top of the starboard before you add water. As you know the starboard floats. I siliconed mine in also, but when I added water with no rocks on it, it ripped right out of the silicone. It fist back into place nice and tight, it's just not secured to the bottom as originally intended. I siliconed around all 4 edges filling the 3/16" - 1/4" gap, but was not enough to keep it down.
HTH
Drew
HTH
Drew
Fibinotchi
Upstanding Citizen
Wow, thanks for the tip, I had star board down under it, and used a couple of tubes of silicone under the star board and all the silicone around. But I do intend on putting the rocks in first. I also have acrylic rods to put the rocks into shape. I'm not sure how trusting I would be with the epoxy, if your talking about making a large rock hang out in space pretty far, or standing on end. I really like having a sturdy frame.
What do you think about the rock formation as it sits?
What do you think about the rock formation as it sits?
fcmatt
Member
i will be blunt because i have a feeling you expect people's honest opinion.
it looks like a pile of rocks.
what i try to do with my rock work is to have minimal contact to the ground. meaning i want
water to flow all around it easily and not to capture crap inside of it. oh sure, one area
might be more against the sand but the majority should not be. Flow is important. You
ever pick up a rock in an established tank and see just how much crap is released when
it rises? I do not like that.
By using that stick epoxy, which is very strong by the way, you can create interesting
structures that reach up higher, have minimal contact with the sand, and often integrate
nice ledges with smaller pieces for placing coral on. You can also go for a bridge or valley
type setup.
I think you should shoot for two or three structures with open space between them. set
the rock on the ground and play around with it. Putting pieces together and imagining they
are just one. Always keeping in mind what types of coral you want to buy and how large
of pieces you plan to start with.
Also, if you plan to buy coral on plugs.. pre drilling spots for them can make life oh so
easy including those large annoying ora plugs.
oh yea.. one more thing.. if you have an annoying piece that just plains sucks.. a chisel/hammer
can do wonders to it to make it more smaller interesting pieces. Often just busting it in half can
help a lot when you have two part stick epoxy to work with. Plus visit your local fish store for
interesting scrap pieces to make ledges. They should sell that small stuff for cheap. Maybe even
give it to you if you explain what you are up to.
it looks like a pile of rocks.
what i try to do with my rock work is to have minimal contact to the ground. meaning i want
water to flow all around it easily and not to capture crap inside of it. oh sure, one area
might be more against the sand but the majority should not be. Flow is important. You
ever pick up a rock in an established tank and see just how much crap is released when
it rises? I do not like that.
By using that stick epoxy, which is very strong by the way, you can create interesting
structures that reach up higher, have minimal contact with the sand, and often integrate
nice ledges with smaller pieces for placing coral on. You can also go for a bridge or valley
type setup.
I think you should shoot for two or three structures with open space between them. set
the rock on the ground and play around with it. Putting pieces together and imagining they
are just one. Always keeping in mind what types of coral you want to buy and how large
of pieces you plan to start with.
Also, if you plan to buy coral on plugs.. pre drilling spots for them can make life oh so
easy including those large annoying ora plugs.
oh yea.. one more thing.. if you have an annoying piece that just plains sucks.. a chisel/hammer
can do wonders to it to make it more smaller interesting pieces. Often just busting it in half can
help a lot when you have two part stick epoxy to work with. Plus visit your local fish store for
interesting scrap pieces to make ledges. They should sell that small stuff for cheap. Maybe even
give it to you if you explain what you are up to.
Fibinotchi
Upstanding Citizen
That's awesome, I was hoping it looked less like a pile of rocks. But, I see how it might look as though it is a pile of rocks, being that it is, in fact, a pile of rocks.
My wife and I discussed it, this was just an initial stacking, not by any means a finished product, and we thought the small rocks, and the left side in particular, don't look right. We will do some more arranging and see what we come up with. So what is this epoxy you speak of that is so strong? How about a direct link. Thanks.
Thanks for the honest input.
My wife and I discussed it, this was just an initial stacking, not by any means a finished product, and we thought the small rocks, and the left side in particular, don't look right. We will do some more arranging and see what we come up with. So what is this epoxy you speak of that is so strong? How about a direct link. Thanks.
Thanks for the honest input.
fcmatt
Member
here is a quick link of the first brand i found. many companies make it in a wide array of colors.
http://www.marinedepot.com/Two_Litt...iums-Two_Little_Fishies-TL1613-FIMTEP-vi.html
what i meant by a pile of rocks is that it appears you just set some rock as a base and
then stacked some more on top.. thus a simple pile.
try to figure out a way to get some rock 3/4 of the way up and you will begin to see
just how much rock you can fit in a small area.. leaving wide open spaces for fish to
swim and water to move. try to create a cave at the same time.. by using 2 or 3
pieces of rocks on their edges to create a stable base.. then pieces on top of that
working you way up. less contact with the sand.. yet very stable.
looking at your rocks.. as individuals.. i realize you have a few pieces that are just plain hard
to work with.. not being very interesting shapes. i would see how i could break a few in pieces
to see what i could get in the way of different shapes.
http://www.marinedepot.com/Two_Litt...iums-Two_Little_Fishies-TL1613-FIMTEP-vi.html
what i meant by a pile of rocks is that it appears you just set some rock as a base and
then stacked some more on top.. thus a simple pile.
try to figure out a way to get some rock 3/4 of the way up and you will begin to see
just how much rock you can fit in a small area.. leaving wide open spaces for fish to
swim and water to move. try to create a cave at the same time.. by using 2 or 3
pieces of rocks on their edges to create a stable base.. then pieces on top of that
working you way up. less contact with the sand.. yet very stable.
looking at your rocks.. as individuals.. i realize you have a few pieces that are just plain hard
to work with.. not being very interesting shapes. i would see how i could break a few in pieces
to see what i could get in the way of different shapes.
karsseboom
New member
yeah looks great but the rock work needs to be more opened up. I saw your old tank and it was the same problem the rock looked like a pile and unatural. Just open up the rock work and you set-up looks great.
Fibinotchi
Upstanding Citizen
Ya, last one was a huge crappy pile of rock. I only have half the rock in there right now. I'm gonna get some of that epoxy. See what kind of magic I can make.
victornator333
New member
You can save a little money if you just use the epoxy they sell at home depot. Its half the price.
Fibinotchi
Upstanding Citizen
Getting back to it. Bought a house which has put it on hold for a while. Plus I only have internet on my phone and my camera cards are still packed somewhere. Will see if I can post pics with the phone.
Fibinotchi
Upstanding Citizen
Can't figure out posting pics on the dumb smart phone. Can anyone help?
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