Move tank but keep current rock formation.

[jtZoo]

Hey Guys,

I will be moving a 72g bow front in about a month. The move will be short, the hitch is that the wife wants the rockwork to look the same as it looks now.

Anyone have a technique for doing this? All of the rock is currently balanced, and there are...lets say 20 - 30 pieces I have to account for.

Current best thought tumbling around in my head is to take top down photos of each piece of rock before it comes out, as well as when it's right below the surface (so I can get a clear picture of orientation). The major downside to this idea is that it's at least a 2 person job and will severely hamper the teardown process.

 

[aquaph8]

lie to her and say everything will be alright
then say sorry I tried

 

[VacavilleFC3S]

ya, not going to happen, as soon as you pick up a rock and rotate it the first time you'll never find that exact angle, especially if your trying to do this with a pile of rocks

 

[jtZoo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15386914#post15386914 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aquaph8
lie to her and say everything will be alright
then say sorry I tried

:lol: I'm a big fan of the apologize later tactic. I think I use it a little too often though.

Should I mention that I *also* really like the current layout?

I'm ok with close since we are talking about a loose pile of rocks after all.

 

[KafudaFish]

Take each rock out, wrap it in newspaper and put a tape on it with a number. Go from top front left to top front right, bottom front left to bottom front right, then repeat moving from the viewing side to the backside.
When you set it all up just reverse the numbers.

Oh and one more thing, no matter how careful you will be it will not look like the old rock work. However she will see how careful you were and how hard it was to get everything back in place.

Better yet let her be in charge of this process so when it fails she has no one to blame (as in you).

Good Luck.

 

[jtZoo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15389480#post15389480 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by KafudaFish
Take each rock out, wrap it in newspaper and put a tape on it with a number.

Hmm, I think I like this method better than my picture idea. Much faster and potentially easier to recreate the basic theme of the current layout.

This is now the leading contender! Thanks KafudaFish.

 

[KafudaFish]

Wow I was always told I could be one if I worked really hard and ate all my veggies at night!

Good luck.

 

[acrylic_300]

I just spent all day trying to get one rock back into place. It didn't happen...

12 hours later I was trying to put half a dozen rocks back.... It didn't happen.

I did however, knock the whole side of a ledge over and broke my Elkhorn Monti into several pieces.


All this because a 1/2 inch space between two rocks was bothering me.


There is no way it's going back the way it was because my base rock shifted and little.

 

[Leonardo_]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15400870#post15400870 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by acrylic_300
I just spent all day trying to get one rock back into place. It didn't happen...

12 hours later I was trying to put half a dozen rocks back.... It didn't happen.

I did however, knock the whole side of a ledge over and broke my Elkhorn Monti into several pieces.


All this because a 1/2 inch space between two rocks was bothering me.


There is no way it's going back the way it was because my base rock shifted and little.

Sounds familiar

jtZoo; See the move as a chance to redo the rockwork and make it look even better Otherwise, take as much photo's and try to redo it... But I think it will be a very hard to do...

Leonarddo

 

[aquaph8]

I told you to lie
now your in big big trouble
Just kidding, good luck

 

[mmotown]

Once you move it, the next time will be better. You think you got the perfect rock formation now but the next time you are going to put a little umph into it.! Rock formations are like women....at least they are suppose to be. The next one is supposed to be better than the last!:smokin:

 

[addicted2reefin]

heres an idea.... if there is no coral on the rock work, and u dont mind killing everything on the rock. fill the aquarium with fresh water. freeze it, place the frozen block in the new aquarium and let it thaw out. vioala! instant rockwork!!!

 

[jtZoo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15406502#post15406502 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by addicted2reefin
heres an idea.... fill the aquarium with fresh water. freeze it, place the frozen block in the new aquarium and let it thaw out. vioala! instant rockwork!!!

That's a big block of ice!! Then I'd have to find a team of movers.

 

[jtZoo]

Acrylic_300, bummer on the unintentional fragging event. I guess you can look at it as an opportunity to redesign your colony growth

Well I was hoping for a magic bullet, but it sounds like close enough is as good as it's going to get. Good thing neither of us are perfectionists! :lol:

 

[rapture]

You could glue. Thee rock together in a few sections, that way you will have only 3 or 4 large chunks to put back together and it is still reasonably easy to move

 

[OwenInAZ]

I'm in the "it's not going to look the same" camp. But, you can do your best, so that you can reasonably say you tried. It will probably look better in the end, anyway.

Or freeze it into a giant block of ice

 

[jenglish]

Take a picture, try your best, say "I'm sorry" when it looks different.

 

[jeffreylesser]

You could try a hybrid aproach and take a photo of the entire tank, and print it out and number the rocks in the photo and then bag and tag them with the corresponding number.

 

[goldmaniac]

futile

Just make it better than before and everyone will be happy

 

[PrinceMist]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15386914#post15386914 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aquaph8
lie to her and say everything will be alright
then say sorry I tried

Hahah! Yeah... said that before too!