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#1
03-24-2011, 09:18 PM
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Reef Scaping
How does everyone do reef scaping on a setup system?
I was planning on shutting down the flow pulling the rocks, drilling, epoxy and rod them into the shapes I want then putting them back in as desired. I know that the rock needs to be splashed with water every few minutes so the bathtub is going to be my friend (of course when my wife isn't home)  I was planning on having a suction tube to suck up any detrius that may get stirred up when I get to the bottom, which at the end will result in a water change. Any other precautions/advice to make this more seemless? 
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#2
03-24-2011, 09:25 PM
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Quote:
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#3
03-24-2011, 09:31 PM
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I will let you know when I am done
The drilling and gluing can't be that hard, its making it look natural that is the hard part. I have specific ideas that I drew out on paper and I am going to try and recreate with the rock that I have. If that doesn't work I may be buying some dry rock building it out of the tank then sticking it in a seeding it.
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#4
03-24-2011, 09:37 PM
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I personally don't use any rods and glue.
I look at it as your most expensive lego setup. You try to interlock things and make it solid. In some cases where there is a little wobbliness, then I use a bit of epoxy glue. That is it. I guess it depends what you want to do, I have seen some outragous aquascapes. The only way they would work is if rods, glue, ties, etc were used. And have fun with it!!!
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 Setup: 180G DT, 105G Refuge (approx. 300lbs LR, 150lbs Aragonite) Hardware: Super Reef Octopus SSS-3000, Tunze ATO, Mag 18 return, 2x MP40W, 2X Koralia 4's Wavemaker Lighting: 5ft Hamilton Belize Sun (2x250W MH, 2X80W T5HO) Type of Aquarium: mixed reef (SPS & LPS) with fish Dosing: Mg, Ca, Alk Last edited by globaldesigns; 03-24-2011 at 11:03 PM.
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#5
03-24-2011, 10:26 PM
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Drilling the rock isn't difficult, but it is very messy. Wear goggles, old clothes and do it outside if possible. Use a masonry bit and go slow. Too fast and the goo flies everywhere. Drilling too big a hole at once may break your rock apart, so if you need a large hole, step up in drill bit sizes. Have fun!
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225g reef
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#7
03-25-2011, 06:15 AM
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I stacked rocks using acrylic rods in both of my tanks. Before drilling, it's better to build a box exactly the dimensions of your tank using some cardboard. The box only has three wall, leave out one long wall, so you can look at your aquascape at eye level.
Use 3/16 rods if you have a smaller tank and smaller rocks. Use 1/2 rods if you have large rocks. It's very easy if you have a powerful drill. I did my 180g aquascape in an afternoon.
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#8
03-25-2011, 05:35 PM
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I did mine with dry rock and fiberglass driveway markers from HD. Once I was happy with the look, or more importantly, when my wife was happy with the look, they went into the tank with a piece of live rock to seed.
It takes a while because you would be starting from scratch, but you get exactly what you want, and it is very stable. I like using the rods because you can still take out rocks every now and then if you need to do any maintenance.
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#9
03-25-2011, 08:42 PM
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For all my aquascapes I come prepared with a general idea of how the shape of the rock will best fit the size and shape of the aquarium. I then pull all the rock (if it is already in there), fit in my base pieces, and then interlock the rocks together making sure they are as stable as possible. Once I have all the rock in place I'll use some underwater epoxy to secure it. Easy, mess free, and the best thing is it will be easy to change if needed. HTH
 -Diana
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