Rock Pillar Project

CKreef

CKreef

New member
Ok so after some research I think I am going to make some rock pillars in my 90g tank. The plan is to use some 1/2" acrylic as a base to burying in the sand. Next weldon a 3/4" black acrylic rod to the base. Drill 3/4" holes in my rock and slide them onto the black acrylic rod. Last epoxy any small pieces on the rock to add to the look of the pillars. I dont know how many pillars I will make but I am tired of the rock wall look in my tank. I want a more open flow area in the tank. Anyone with other ideas or suggestions please chime in. When I begin this project anyone and everyone is welcome to come see it or pitch in. Thanks Chris
 
Thats cool. I want to do something like this in my 240 gallon tank but i dont have enought rock yet. Do you think that the weldon will hold all the weight without breaking off from the base?
 
Sorry forgot that part. The acrylic base will be drilled to insert the rod and another small piece of acrylic drilled and put around the rod.This will make a 1" base around the rod. And of course those 3parts will all be glued together with weldon.
 
What about this for the base....could you take a very large piece of rock and drill a hole and glue the rod to it? I had 3 very large rocks that came in my order of hirocks. I was thinking about making 2 pillars for my 29 gal. Wont take much since its not a large tank. But, That's what I was thinking about trying.

Steve
 
Oh I see, so your going to use 2 pieces to give it a deeper foot hold in the acrylic? How tall are you thinking about making the rod? LOL.. sorry about all the questions, Im just trying to sponge ideas from ya.
 
Steve I think that will work as long as you can glue the rock to the rod. By using the weldon with the rod and base I am pretty sure they will be secure. What kind of glue would you use to bond acylic to rock?


Yes a deeper foothold the rod would actually be inserted and glued into a 1" base. The rods will be no taller than24" or 25".
 
I'm interested in the pillars, but I have a bunch of rubble that I'd like to make into bigger rocks -- so I'm going to try and go the Thorite route for bonding the rocks. I have a bead on a local supply that hopefully will work out.

For those who don't know what we're talking about, here is a thread from Sanjay's 500 gallon tank from last fall that I bookmarked. This links to where he was building some LR pillars:

http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=86689&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=59
 
I called the guys you listed last night about thorite. It would be $36.00 plus a frieght charge it is not kept in stock. If you are going to get some let me know maybe we could split it.
 
I called BASF today in MN, and got the regional dude for down here to give me a contact. I didn't get to talk to him today and will try again tomorrow. It was a different place than the link from yesterday.
 
Cool please let me know I just didnt want to pay that much because its a 50-60lb bucket and I wont need that much lol
 
Why would you use thorite for bonding rocks, verses say epoxy or something? Also is there a cureing time for it? Cause most morter repair has a type of cement in it that would mess up the PH. just wondering if there would be a more avail substance for this type of project.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9185418#post9185418 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by CloudIX
Why would you use thorite for bonding rocks, verses say epoxy or something? Also is there a cureing time for it? Cause most morter repair has a type of cement in it that would mess up the PH. just wondering if there would be a more avail substance for this type of project.
Click to expand...

From what I remember (and I need to read up on it again), Thorite doesn't cause pH problems in the tank, and cures really quickly.

Here's a quick quote from a thread on it:
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8596799#post8596799 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TurboSnail8898
Its a special kind, a cement called Thorite Rapid Vertical, made by Thoro. The only place in know to get it is in Newark, California. It has been exclusively used at Wikiki Aquariums and was featured in Sprung's book, The Reef Aqauriums Vol 3 pg 562. Get a hold of a member called Cerreta, you can find him in the Tucson, Arizona forum. He has ordered it and will know the company to get it from.
Click to expand...
 
When I do my upgrade (who knows when this will be), I'm going to model my rock design after "Carl's 150g reef" as in the video at http://www.reefvideos.com/ . I just love the rockwork even though I probably will never have that many sps. A 3 side viewable tank like that just opens all kinds of possibilities. Its not just about straight pillars... but also cave like structures and openness. He also drilled holes all over the place so he could plug all his frags. I liked that idea too. The usage of thorite is great too, so you might want to consider using this maybe in place of epoxy or at least in between the rocks you slide down over the dowel.
 
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Carl's 150g reef is awesome. I have already lost count of how many times I have watched that video. I'd never have a setup like that cause I couldn't do all the SPS. But, I think doing the 2 pillars looks really good. I like how the tangs swim through them.

Steve
 
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