# Just powerwashed my rocks. Tips for rock stacking? *pics*



## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

Just as the title says, I just got done powerwashing my rocks for my new 90g mbuna tank.



















Pretty awesome rocks, right? :lol:

Anyway, I'm just looking for any newb tips so that I don't make some awful monstrosity or so that my rocks don't come crashing down in catastrophic fashion. I know I should put my base rocks directly on my egg crate before any sand goes in...other than that... :-?


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## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

By the way, anything you see that looks like "dirty" is not dirty. Trust me. Some stuff just was not going to come off in a million years.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Tape off a bench the size of your tank and build/rebuild on the bench until you like it. Take a couple days. Then re-create in the tank.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

My first tip is to not try to stack them as it is human nature to make things too orderly to look natural. Try just "dumping" them. You will find with the various sizes you have, there will be a number of different sized spaces. This is what the fish will like rather than what we as humans call nice.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

PfunMo said:


> My first tip is to not try to stack them as it is human nature to make things too orderly to look natural. Try just "dumping" them. You will find with the various sizes you have, there will be a number of different sized spaces. This is what the fish will like rather than what we as humans call nice.


Exactly, don't think, just put them in. You'll get a more natural looking tank. And you don't need the eggcrate.


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## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

prov356 said:


> PfunMo said:
> 
> 
> > My first tip is to not try to stack them as it is human nature to make things too orderly to look natural. Try just "dumping" them. You will find with the various sizes you have, there will be a number of different sized spaces. This is what the fish will like rather than what we as humans call nice.
> ...


I figured as much and wasn't going to, but I already have it and cut it. Can it really hurt?

I did get a little wary when I didn't' see any labels/signs indicating that the bottom glass is tempered, even though it seems like a given that it would be.

I know my best bet is to just start putting rocks in, but I'd imagine things can get pretty sketchy the higher your pile gets up... i just didn't want to set anything up that is doomed to fall


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

The eggcrate tends to get exposed by the fish and looks pretty bad to me. It can also be a dirt magnet when dirt gets under it and you can't get down to the dirt very handy. I just don't feel it justified the extra work it involved. I converted my eggcrate to tank dividers to help catch fish when needed. I leave an open water space in the middle of the tank and stick the divider down. That way I only destroy half the tank!


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## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

Guess I'll go sans-eggcrate. That'll make dealing with my UGJ system much easier!


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## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

Got started with the "just start putting them in and see what happens" method last night. I'm shocked at how little substrate I'll need with all the real estate being taken up by rocks. :lol: :lol:

Going to be a real trick making sure the placement of each rock is stable.

Oh, and I also went sans-UGJ... I started reading some horror stories on here and, really, as I put more rocks in, I realized there's not going to be much of a chance of them pushing waste toward the filter intakes.


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## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

Also, how high should I be looking to stack?

Preliminary stocking list is a ton of demasoni, 7 or 8 yellow labs, and 6 or 7 acei.

Right now I'm at about a foot high in some areas (just about a foot shy of the top of the tank)... a little worried that if I go higher I'm risking instability, but if that's how it's done, I'll work harder to make sure the stacks are stable enough to go even higher.

When I get home from work, I'll snap a pic of what I have brainstormed up so far.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

That would be as far as I would go. It does get scary when higher and I don't find the fish like it as well as they like the ground floor! Mine are more just a jumble at 6-8" off the bottom.

Moori, yellow labs and hap ahli in a 75


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## des (Mar 30, 2011)

Nice mixture of rocks. Start with a solid base and work your way up.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I usually achieve 1/3 to 1/2 full.


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

What I have done in this one and past tanks is I use small sq bricks to build some height then stack rocks on what I build up then hide the bricks with sand or smaller rocks. In this first pic you can see one end of the brick with the rock on top. It works well by giving some height yet the rock stays pretty stable. Takes a bit, well a lot of tweaking but it allows for more hidden passages you can't see but the fish do. And of course the shape of rocks vary with this as well.










The bigger rocks stacked on the left side and center all have some kind of a brick supporting them.










Not saying this will work for you but you might give it a try? Good luck!


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## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

some shots of what I came up with so far... If I get the seal of approval here, next step is trying to make that all happen again once I remove the upper rocks to get the substrate in :lol:


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## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

How in the heck am I gonna pull out the "extra" demasoni? :lol: :lol:


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## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

DavidH said:


> some shots of what I came up with so far... If I get the seal of approval here, next step is trying to make that all happen again once I remove the upper rocks to get the substrate in :lol:


Didn't want this to get missed on the bottom of page one. Hope this bump is ok.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Looks nice. It would not have been missed at the bottom of a page, there is an icon for new posts on a topic.

To remove extra fish, you remove the rocks. May as well get experience now on how to dismantle and reassemble. :thumb:


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## des (Mar 30, 2011)

Looks good on this end. :thumb:


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## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

Thanks, guys!

My only concern is that there is so much (big) rock work and so little open area that I'm not even going to see the fish.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

When folks get too concerned about exact placement of rock, I'm always tempted to mention how often it has to be torn down! If you have a male and female, there is a good chance you will have holding females to catch. Figure how to do that without tearing down and you can make a million. Did I mention one reason for my jumble method is that it rarely lasts for a month or so?


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## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

Yea, I know eventually it won't be anywhere close to what it is now... but to start, I tend to be anal about things.

I did basically take the approach that you advised, though, Pfun. I just picked up rocks and started putting them in.

Hope the end result wasn't too neat. I didn't give much thought to placement other than putting the giant one on the left in first.


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## Cichlid_Expert (Feb 8, 2011)

Those rocks look great. I have lace rock so the way i stack my is just one on top of the other!

- hope it helps 
(Make sure that there is a lot of caves and crevices for them though)


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## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

There are, but the downer is that I can't see into them.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Your fish will spend most of their time chasing each other over, around and through the rocks. You will see plenty of them.


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## cantrell00 (Oct 30, 2010)

> Your fish will spend most of their time chasing each other over, around and through the rocks. You will see plenty of them.


For sure with the Demasoni.. It is literally non-stop.


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## xxbenjamminxx (Jan 22, 2011)

Your the only one who can give it the seal of approval as your the one who has to look at it all the time.

Personally I like it. Might be nice to add a few rocks that are a little different color (black or I found some reddish ones) to provide some contrast but that is my personal opinion speaking there.

If you like it start putting in the substrate, and then grab the hose!


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## cantrell00 (Oct 30, 2010)

Absolutely...

But don't be surprised that as time goes on you become less concerned with "looks" & more concerned with functionality & the ease of keeping...

Where you are now is completely normal. Honestly, the building, designing & decorating phase was the most fun for me until mine got large enough to breed (3-4 months from start-up). That started yesterday with two Labs.. :dancing:

Point being: enjoy it but don't obsess over it.


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## jordanroda (May 4, 2006)

DavidH said:


> How in the heck am I gonna pull out the "extra" demasoni? :lol: :lol:


they all Look alike!


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## Chunkanese (Feb 4, 2011)

Looks great.

Just a note, you dont need to remove the top rocks to put the substrate in. Once you add the water all the sand and substrate will be pushed to the bottom. This way your base rocks cant be moved when your fish start to dig. Which they will.


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## Guams (Aug 21, 2009)

What horror stories did you read about UGJ's? Personally, I love'em. I've had a tank up and running for close to a year and haven't once vacuumed my sand.


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## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

UPDATE - Here's where I ended up (just after putting on my Double Bright LED's - I know some prefer more light, but I love em).... I'm probably going to mess around with the rocks some more to get a higher pile on one side. Don't like the uniformity.

Fishless cycling now.



















The water isn't as cloudy as the pics make it look and the spotlight effect isn't nearly as pronounced.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I like the look. :thumb:


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## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

Thanks! Can't wait to get some colorful fish in there to liven it up. opcorn:


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## Irish Johnny (Apr 2, 2011)

The LED's really bring out the sand nicer. I been thinking about getting them myself. The rocks look awesome :thumb:


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## DavidH (Mar 11, 2011)

Thanks!

Those LEDs may not provide enough lights for planted tanks and reef, but for Mbuna setups with rock and sand only, I think they're perfect.


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