I am going to be purchasing my live rock and I wanted to know the best way to suppor tmy rock so it doesn't fall over or collapse on to my fish later on. Do I glue the pieces together, or I am just sopposed to leave them in my tank loose. I also do not want glue them in place forever in case I ever want to change the layout or remove a piece for what ever reason. Also, is there a good way and a bad way to lay out the rock. Besides athe obvious you want it look good, and of course good water circulation around them, is there anything that I should knoqw besides this?????:bum:
How do i support my live rock
- Thread starter Lizard333
- Start date
jdieck
New member
If you are using a sand bed you can place the rock in the bottom of the tank first before the sand so if the sand shifts the rock do not fall or you can use PVC couplings to place the rock of the bottom, use 3 per rock.
If you place the rock directly on the bottom note that rocks do not sit flat but instead they only touch three points, at the contact point there could be increased stress due to the weight concentrated in such small area of contact which may break the glass or acrylic. Try small tiles or 2"x2" pieces of PVC or acrylic plate in those points to distribute the weight.
Using the PVC couplings do not require the tiles or plates.
If you place the rock directly on the bottom note that rocks do not sit flat but instead they only touch three points, at the contact point there could be increased stress due to the weight concentrated in such small area of contact which may break the glass or acrylic. Try small tiles or 2"x2" pieces of PVC or acrylic plate in those points to distribute the weight.
Using the PVC couplings do not require the tiles or plates.
Teremei
New member
Obviously, your larger longer rocks go on the bottom. And you stack your arches, ledges, and medium rocks on top. I'm not a fan of too many smaller rocks. Use just large on bottom, and medium on top of those. It's much more stable because you have less contact points between the rocks.
Find "good fits" that feel very stable and feel "set" in place. But also look good. I also like to use the back of the tank to lean the rocks against. That way not only are you finding a stable position over the rock, but also using the back glass as further stability.
I've had "stacked" rocks in my tank for over a year, and no problems.
Find "good fits" that feel very stable and feel "set" in place. But also look good. I also like to use the back of the tank to lean the rocks against. That way not only are you finding a stable position over the rock, but also using the back glass as further stability.
I've had "stacked" rocks in my tank for over a year, and no problems.
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