how to build a rock wall??

[july865]

..designing a rock wall for my aquapod 24g nano. i was planning on using light defuser paneling and making a vertical wall possibley 20"x24" at the very back of the tank.
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i am rather puzzled as to how to attach the rock to the defuser panel. some say, drill holes and use zipp ties, and some say, just stack it, also some suggested to use opoxy with plastic dowels (no idea how to do that one either).
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i setup my 90g just by stacking and its been good, some shifting due to brittle stars and sifters, but the design was basicaly left up to the rocks and the shapes there of.
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i want to try and cut the rock like a slice of kraft cheeze and place the flat portion flat against the light defuser and fasten it to the panel.
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so how do i cut the rock?
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and how do i fasten it to the panel?
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any water flow problems that i might encounter with that design?
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thank you socal.. you have always pulled through.

 

[bassnman11]

I use a diamond masonary blade in a cutoff saw to slice rock. Cuts like butter. Zip ties work well for that application. I would make sure to have a power head or nozzle blowing across the face to prevent stagnant pockets in the rock. If you decide to stack the rock, I have had good luck cutting off the bottom of a rock to make a flat, stable platform for it to sit on.

 

[NicoleC]

Drill holes and fasten to rock with zip ties. Beware pockets for dead spots, as it will build up detritus. Excellent circulation is a must with a faux rock wall.

An alternate method is to embed rock in a bed of Great Stuff insulation foam by 3M. You need a lot of foam per rock to hold it and lots of curing time. Unless you coat the foam with Sweetwater marine epoxy paint, it will eventually (2-3 years) degrade under UV light.

You can attach the completed piece to the back wall of the tank with aquarium silicon if the tank is dry and you can let it cured in place, otherwise I would find plastic C-clamps (or similar alternative) to hold the wall at the top of the tank, since they tend to be topheavy.

 

[july865]

bassnman11
is that the same as a "saws-all"?
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any circulation i have to worry about behind the rock structure?
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NicoleC
will that leach chemicals in the water? i was planning on using base rock for the wall. and not faux rock

 

[NicoleC]

No, the Great Stuff foam is safe once it's cured. It's exactly the same thing as waterfall foam, but $10 a can cheaper and not in black.

 

[laverda]

july865, I don't think I would use the light defuser, it will make impossible to keep it from collecting debris. You can drill holes in the rock with masonry bits and use plastic rods and epoxy or super glue to attach them together.

bassnman11 I like your idea of using a diamond saw blade. I guess I need to add that to my shopping list for Harbor freight next time.

 

[july865]

so if dead spots are going to be my enemy, am i forced to have some sort of circulation on the rear of the wall?
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do i also have to make sure that there is a gap between the rear of the wall and tank?

 

[energy_crisis]

Hey july865. I did it to my NC24 as well. I used dead/dry LR. It's very porus and if you get yourself a really rough grit sand paper you can just sand it down...that's how I got a flat edge, no diamond tools needed. I used epoxy to adhear it to the rear wall.

Here's the thread on nano-reef:
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=63151

Here's the pic of the wall:

 

[energy_crisis]

okay, just go to the link...couldn't get the pic up that's hosted on N-R

 

[july865]

never thought of that. i do have a small right angled hand grinder. maybe icould use that. i do like the, drill and plastic dowel idea also from laverda. are these avail at hobbie shops or do i need something special??

 

[bassnman11]

The saw is a circular saw. The blade I have is 7 1/4 inch and works in a skill saw or a miter saw that is what I use. You can get small ones that will fit your angle grinder, but your depth of cut is not deep. If you space the difuser panel out a inch from the wall and direct a powerhead down behind it you should have no problem.

 

[salt e]

i currently have a rock wall in my 100 gal... only thing is they are just all stacked... i would like to cut them in 1/2 and stack along the back wall but only thing is that it would be more top heavy and im not too sure how to prevent the rocks from tipping forward... any ideas when doing this on a much larger scale?

 

[july865]

salt e:
as i am finding out along the way (so i have no experience here). i have come to the conclusion that i can use special epoxy and achor it to the glass. this is only usefull if your tank were dry. as energy-crisis had said. so far i am leaning towards a tapered wall. (right angle triangle). but i have 1 advantage over you. my tank is only 24 or so gal. (aquapod). but i still need to keep it from falling towards the front glass and have the animals that are on the lower portion still able to recieve light adiquately.
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so here is the trick i "think" will work. cut them like bricks you would see at the home depot. rough on the front (natural shape), but flat on the top, bottom, and sides. then create the wall (right angle triange) fat on the bottom, and taper as i go up. i think i may have to create some ledges here and there so i can add live rock to seed it.

 

[salt e]

are you going to be using dead rock for the original wall... i would be cutting the live rock itself... hmm... the right angle thing seems to be a fairly good idea since i have no plans to empty the tank in order to use the epoxy and having to deal with curing... now all i need is a saw

 

[july865]

yes... dead rock to start..... then seed with live rock