Stacking of Live Rocks

[derf]

hi,

it may sounds stupid but hw do u guys normally stack ur LR? when i first started setting up my marine tank, i had abt 20kg+ of LR but most of it 'died'. found out it was due to the way i stacked them causing dead spots, hence the living organism in the LR died. now my tank's left wif watever remains that was unaffected. tot of re-doing my tank again so need some help from the experts here.

thks!

[Phang]

Hi Derf,

This is what I will be doing for my new setup...

will be stacking them on DIY ed LR holders...

for my refugium, I will be siliconing down about 3 x 2 inches of glass strips vertically against my front and back of tank..

will them place light diffusers on these plates so as to support the LR..then sand will be added so the presence of the DIY ed racks would be hidden from sight.. the diffusers also served as a barren from large burrowing animals to disturb the DSB...

Hope this helps...

[derf]

Hi Derf,

This is what I will be doing for my new setup...

will be stacking them on DIY ed LR holders...

for my refugium, I will be siliconing down about 3 x 2 inches of glass strips vertically against my front and back of tank..

will them place light diffusers on these plates so as to support the LR..then sand will be added so the presence of the DIY ed racks would be hidden from sight.. the diffusers also served as a barren from large burrowing animals to disturb the DSB...

Hope this helps...

[Phang]

I won't be doing that....

IMO, if LR is placed properly, everything would be secure, besides if amply space or circulation is allowed thru gaps between the LR, then dead areas won't be created... jus don't stack them too tightly together..

Regarding gluing the LR together, you will have problems in the future when comes to maintenance, aquascaping etc....

other solutions also includes using mini powerheads or returns to be placed in strategic areas therefore creating circulation for these LR...

[Achilles Tang]

There should be no problems epoxying rocks together. As the connection can be easily broken later should you need to disassemble them.

The key is to not do a rock pile but to use the rocks to support corals.

Create ample spaces between base rocks so that nothing can be trapped inside.. eg. dead fish, detritus etc and most importantly for maximum water circulation.

I am making LR racks for my new tank as I believe in good circulation for my DSB's health and minimal detritus trappage.

More on this later in my project updates.

[derf]

ok... thks... i'll try it when i re-do my tank...

[bawater]

can consoder using PVC pipes to create steps to place LR on.

1/4 grey/black u-pvc works best - join the length of pipes by T-joints & corner joints(no need to glue so its configurable). In addition,By placing light diffuser on the shelfs of pvc u create a stable platform for heavy pieces of rock.

The pipes should be drilled at intervals to allow for a little circulation within them.

Simple,cheap,configure it to ur preference(the possibilities are endless) & u don't have to use as many rocks.

[kelstorm]

well.. i'm using plastic buckets or containers with holes (used for holding stuff.. available at $1.99 shops) and use them as height raisers.. then i secure them using cable ties.. and then stack the rocks on top of them.. save tons of $$$ on LR and guarantee no dead space.. coz lots of room inside.. and fishes can use them to reside at night..

[Achilles Tang]

Just make sure the plastic doesn't go brittle and collapse or worse still... leach chemicals into the water!!

It's a great idea though...

[Tanzy]

No matter how you stack LR there will always be a bit of die-off. That's normal. Even though it may seem devoid of all visible life. It's the bacteria and microorganisms that makes it 'live'. In fact, there is a lot of live in the shaded areas and in places you can't see. Nature will never waste valuable real estate.

Epoxy is very brittle, so breaking the bond for whatever reason you may have is easy. It's not a glue, it does not stick, even more so when surface is wet, use it sort of as a gap filler that locks the rocks in place. I noticed that super glue grows coralline algae better than epoxy. The epoxy bases of my corals take more than two year to be covered whereas I am cursing at the coralline growing all over the glass and powerhead.

Please do not do a rock wall! It's much nicer to see fish swim through the rocks and around them, it gives you more space for corals and for them to grow, circulation is better, so on and so forth. I use the same LRs from my two footer in my four footer. Corals sometimes come with rocks which they are attached to. The rack idea seems good. You can use cable ties if you have a rack.

Personally, I'll go with the stack and lock method of aquascaping. No glues. Common sense and Newtonian physics only. First build a frame, lean heavy pieces of rocks from the side and use it to compress & secure rocks in the center. Next 'stuff' rocks into groves in the frame, twist them around a bit until they lock into place. Finally add heavy rocks from the top to load the structure for stability. Think of it as building a bridge. I hope you understand what I am talking about. It takes a few days of trial and error to get the equilibrium. Have fun messing around.

[derf]

hi,

thks everyone for contributing ur ideas n advises, esp tanzy who actually posted n attachment to give me a better idea.

will try out these ideas when i start re-doing my tank.

thks again!

[kelstorm]

Tanzy, if that is your tank.. it sure have lots of current generators..

[Tanzy]

My clowns like to surf!