Whats the trick to stacking rock?

[Jeff000]

Spent like 4 hours last night trying to stack 65 lbs of rock so it looked good, and got it to somewhere that looks ok, but now its only about half way up in my tank, I was trying to get 2/3's of the way up.

the rock on the left is one 10kg rock, I really like it.
I was thinking a shelf between the two piles. But don't want a dark spot in the tank.

But on the left I can't really stack them higher without it looking forced and out of place, or do I just need to keep stacking?
I was going to try and go higher with a few live pieces next, just not sure what kind of shapes to look for.

Also for flow, what am I looking to do? where should my returns and power head be aimed?

 

[Denbf58]

what looks good to one my not be good to another keep trying till you find what you like. i would say try and stack so there are holes so fish can hind and allow water flow good luck and keep at it [welcome]

 

[JeF4y]

www.tapplastics.com - 3/8" fiberglass rods. That's the trick =)

Go for whatever shapes you want. If you don't want dark spots then you're looking at 2 separate piles or one continuous pile (even then there will be some darker spots than others). Personally, I built in a large shaded section for sun corals and other non-photosynthetic pieces which look very cool in the shade.

Flow really depends on the layout, but considering the rectangular tank you have and the rock layout shown, you should have something on each side pointing across the tank to provide a turbulent flow. Generally in a tank like yours I see people with at least 2 powerheads, one on each end, and sometimes 3-4 powerheads, having one or two on the back wall pointing forward.

 

[Idle Moor]

Basically, it is difficult to get a natural looking formation using separate pieces of rock like you have on the right hand side. I am very picky about this stuff and can spend lots of time fiddling with it to get it right, although I am getting more skillful. But it is an art. You have a head start in that your rocks have similar textures and shapes and you don't have a bunch of round boulders or a mix or round boulders and flat plates and long sticks.

I think you've done pretty well on the right in that you try to get similarly shaped portions of rock to mate up with each other. This worked ok except that you ended up with a solid pile with no open space. Try to get smaller portions of the rocks to mate up, with other portions not touching anything so it is less like a tight fitting jigsaw puzzle. For example, what would happen if you moved the roundish leftmost rock in your pile an inch or two further left so that the long rock on it's right still rested on it, but opened up a hole under and between them? And then maybe move the rock on top of that one to the right a bit and perhaps rotate it a little so that the concave areas on each align and make an open space between them. Make the open spaces varied in size and shape and random in location. You don't want it to end up looking like a lattice of offset bricks. Keep it asymmetric in all three axes - you've got a good start on that. Just keep playing with it over and over until you start to get the idea. It's easier to do now than when there is water and fish in the way.

 

[T Diddy]

Looks to me like you might could use another 30- 40 pounds or so

 

[Idle Moor]

Looks to me like you might could use another 30- 40 pounds or so

Agreed...

 

[Palting]

Rather than laying them all horizontally, you can lay the first pieces vertically. Sort of like making vertical walls, then lay the next layer flat like a roof or a floor, then another vertical wall, then flat. You can create triangular or rectangular walls, pyramids, whatever suits your fancy. Anyway, this way you create openings and "rooms". It's a more open design, and better for flow, more exposed surface area for filtration, and better height with less rock. You can use glass rods or epoxy putty to stabilize them.

 

[tmgrash]

Its in the eye of the beholder. I like what you have right there. Also keep in mind what it will look like with grown out corals. Do you plan on any sps on top, might want to leave room for them to grow.

 

[KafudaFish]

Would you be opposed to having three formations in the tank?

Left side the one big rock

One somewhere in the middle using the top most rock on the right, and the second and third most rocks that are on the bottom.

Right side: now that you have open space your one long rock that is off the bottom can slide to the right and be suspended.

What you are planning on keeping will influence how you stack as well.

I think you did a good job and don't worry you will change it another 50 times until it is just so.

 

[davocean]

I always use acrylic rods, you can get better formations that are very stable.
I was pretty stoked I did this after the last earthquake we had, my eyes were on my tank the whole time!
There is a thread here, "show me your pillars" search that out, should give you lots of ideas.

 

[redfishblewfish]

I agree with others who stated that it is dependant on the look you want.



I originally had the Berlin wall look and did not like it. I wanted more open look with plenty of fish hiding spots. A fellow reefer told me the secret. Put down three medium rocks to act as legs, and then put a larger rock on top to span all three legs. Continue building as such. My fish love it.

 

[Idle Moor]

There are also plenty of "show me ur aquascaping" posts available for perusal. Based on these threads I personally think the vast majority of tanks look terrible. Examples would possibly look like what a previous poster suggested by placing a couple rocks vertically then bridging them with a horizontal rock to make an open space. This is fine if u are trying to recreate Stonehenge in your tank, and truly the fish don't care what it looks like and prefer it to no open space at all, but I think it looks terrible. To each his own however.

 

[MarkusII]

Hello,

it is always your own style you like you should execute.
But as I see you have rather smaller and only more or less round pieces for the right side; some larger ones and flat plates would ease the exercise.
Do not build to high as there will come corals on stones and they have to be placed and also will grow, so with this you will also reach a certain hight. And it looks better with more open space and not so high rockwork.
You can also use PVC and or egg crate to build assisting structure where you attach your rocks; this can also help that less rock is needed and giving space and hideaways for the fish.
Here is an example of a tank I relized which shows the mix of flat plates, pillars and different rock size. (but it is a good idea as you are trying to have a "canyon" in the tank.)

And examples how you can use PVC and egg crate to build pillars and other constructions

this one was for a very narrow tank and it had to be a extreme "steep" pillar to fit in - but you can also build it much more overhanging; for example like this one:

And you can also use egg crate to build several stories and then place the rocks on it and hide the structure like the next two pictures; the first is a side image, the second shows the same from the front.

Good luck

regards

Markus

 

[Jeff000]

Bought a few more pieces, and now it looks like this.

Lots more hiding spots although the angle of the picture hides a bunch of them. There is now about 85lbs in the tank.

For live rock to seed it, can I put some in the sump? and what should I look for in good live rock? Should I get a piece or two from all the marine shops around me, I could get 5 different samples in about a half hour.


For corals, I will have lots of palys and zoas, they are my favorite, right now anyways.

 

[Idle Moor]

You are getting the idea I think. I think your bridge looks a little forced, but I've seen worse. Yes, the more sources you get live rock from the better for a larger range of biodiversity (including a higher probability of getting pests on it, but that's how it goes). I would not however put it in the sump. That will work fine for seeding your base rock with bacteria and coraline algae, but any of the macroscopic life forms are likely to be damaged by your return pump and never get into the main tank.

 

[MarkusII]

Hello,

for me it was better before with the canyon as such; I would try to experiment more on the right side, for me it looks more like a wall.
I would reinstall the canyon, try to put the stone which is at the right side in the second level to the floor level in between the left and right stone of the right side and then to further build with the others on that. And take the stone from the big one on the left side and put it before the big one (before the small and big one there).
If you can PN me an email I can send you a picture with your rockwork "redesigned"

regards

Markus

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

Right now but, i would mess around with it until its perfect, i recently re-did my aquascape, but unlike you, i didn't have the opportunity to use epoxy and acrylic rods to make super cool structures. Once you put water ad corals in there you just dont have the freedom you have right now!

 

[Jeff000]

I am unsure about the bridge, it looks more fluid standing in front of it, and the structure on the right is a bit of a u shape now.
I think I might take the bridge out though, or try and add small bits of live rock to fill it in, I dunno. Its tough.

 

[Miller_Time]

Right now but, i would mess around with it until its perfect, i recently re-did my aquascape, but unlike you, i didn't have the opportunity to use epoxy and acrylic rods to make super cool structures. Once you put water ad corals in there you just dont have the freedom you have right now!

Can't you use the epoxy putty to glue the wet rocks together? Or does it not have enough hold power?

 

[Idle Moor]

Can't you use the epoxy putty to glue the wet rocks together? Or does it not have enough hold power?

The putty is great stuff but doesn't have great sticking power, especially wet. Typically you use it to make a mechanical locking bond. It is very tough though and if you press it into the holes and use enough it will lock the rocks together well. I've never used it for that purpose however.