# ?s on rock



## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

My sand is going to be in week so I have a week to figure out what kind of rocks I want. In order for me to do that I need a better idea of _how_ they work.

I am using the rock in my yard, but I have 2 different kind. A dark, flat rock good for building walls or the round light colored rock.

I have read that rocks cut down on aggression, but how exactly? Do they just need something to swim around, or is it more something they have to swim through, or in?

If I use the round ones, I will use all different sizes so it is nice to look at and gives them a variety of things to swim around. I guess like an obsticle course.

If I use the dark flat ones, I have a lot more struckture I can give it. I can glue them togehter and make caves and bridges, arches etc. But I don't know what to use for glue.

I guess this would all have to do with the type of fish I am getting too. I am doing a species tank with Pseudotropheus saulosi.

Any info would be great!!

Thanks


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## cisc (Mar 10, 2011)

I think they cut down agression by giving the females a place to hide behind..structures to break the line of sight from the male to female when she scoots butt.. 
I may be wrong..

Where are you getting your saulosi? I also am setting up a saulosi tank and have 1 male already, I cannot, and seems my lfd cannot find any females for me..

I need 4 females asap..
thanks!


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

cisc said:


> I think they cut down agression by giving the females a place to hide behind..structures to break the line of sight from the male to female when she scoots butt..
> I may be wrong..
> 
> Where are you getting your saulosi? I also am setting up a saulosi tank and have 1 male already, I cannot, and seems my lfd cannot find any females for me..
> ...


Hopefully from my LFS. He said he can order more breeds than what he had in his store, but only what comes each week on his list. I printed up the page from this site on them and brought it in tonight. I told him I thought my tank would be ready in 2-3 weeks and if he couldn't get them I would order on line.

Two of the sponsors here have fry for sale. ONe is out ( I think livefishdirect) and one has them and is going to e-mail me the shipping cost. But again they are 1" fry.

I am going to order a bunch so I can get the ration I want, then my LFS will take what I don't want for store credit.

Do you have a pic of your tank? I am trying to get ideas for mine. I think I want a darker sand, and then I would want a lighter rock, but I am curious to try and build stuff with the flat rocks, which are darker.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

What cisc said is basically correct, Mbuna need rocks to avoid unwanted aggression. It offers a natural environment that promotes the most natural behavior in the fish. IMO, I think the round rocks would work better and look more natural. You want them placed as tightly as you can, with a lot of entrances and some 1/4" gaps in areas. It may not look like the fish can fit through but they can, and a smaller gap helps them leave larger, more aggressive fish behind.

The way I have my rocks set up is medium or small rocks dug into the sand on the bottom by spinning them, forming kind of a tripod around larger rocks that go on top. This adds more stability and also creates tight gaps and caves.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

Oh I see, that sounds neat. It sounds like little toadstools  I am so excited...and nervous. I have to get my egg crate tomorrow. Then I can start collecting my rocks and cleaning them. I read the article on using rocks from your back yard. So hopefully it's all good.

My husband is a stone mason and he made a beautiful coy pond for some guy. The guy had fish that were worth $100 each, they were beautiful and big. the guy found a pretty rock in his yard and put it in the pond and killed all his fish. 

Thanks for the info!!


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

> the guy found a pretty rock in his yard and put it in the pond and killed all his fish.


Yikes! Im sure there a some rocks which may have been in contact with chemicals at some point, or may leach something into the water, but I think those are few and far between.

I found my rocks in a ditch that ran between a parking lot and a road. took them home, rinsed, scrubbed, and repeated a few times. Haven't had a problem with them at all :thumb:


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## Frenzy (Dec 29, 2007)

I never use a rock from a garden or side of the road without first soaking it in water for at least a week and monitoring the water. I'm mainly looking for Ph and hardness drops that some rocks cause.

I don't think I would rush into gluing the rocks together just yet either. Just in case you have to redecorate to address any aggression issues that may or may not arise.

When you do want to glue them use an aquarium safe silicon. Do you have Selley's products in the US? They make a good one that is used in Oz a lot.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

Frenzy said:


> I never use a rock from a garden or side of the road without first soaking it in water for at least a week and monitoring the water. I'm mainly looking for Ph and hardness drops that some rocks cause.
> 
> I don't think I would rush into gluing the rocks together just yet either. Just in case you have to redecorate to address any aggression issues that may or may not arise.
> 
> When you do want to glue them use an aquarium safe silicon. Do you have Selley's products in the US? They make a good one that is used in Oz a lot.


Soaking them for a week is a good idea. I really am nervous about it. I figured I'd let my sand settle for a bit before adding them anyway. I will test the water to see if adding the sand caused a mini cycle.

I decided to go with the round rock. I still might do the flat rock idea for my fish pond. I'm kinda crafty and been thinking of all kinds of things I can make for them to swim through, so thanks for the glue suggestion. I think they do sell that stuff at The Home Depot.

Thanks


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## Kanorin (Apr 8, 2008)

I prefer round rocks as well and have used several that I have "harvested" from the yard. Just stay away from ones that have big metallic deposits in them (for example fool's gold) - those are the kind that can kill fish.

Soaking for a week is overkill, but it will certainly do the job. Often I'll just take a brush and scrub them under the faucet to get most of the dirt off, then pour a pot of boiling water over them. There are definitely some rocks (like limestone) which will raise the KH and pH of water a little bit, but this is actually a good thing for malawi cichlids. I've never encountered a rock that lowers hardness / pH .

If you get silicone for some in-tank projects, make sure you get the kind that doesn't have fungicide in it. Double check this, but I think GE Silicone II is the kind you want. Your LFS or petsmart may also sell an aquarium-safe silicone, but it will be marked up 300%.


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## polÃ…Â¾ (Oct 8, 2010)

well I am still new to this, but i also found round rocks more intersting - for their looks and they do offer a lot with a little effort. when i was doing the variants for mine setup, the flat rocks did not look so natural. i would say it's not a rule, but mine general impression. and i do agree that the fish will always find some room in between no matter how close those rocks are, of course if they are round in shape. i found it out (but having my ciclids fora week only) that hey can go in the crevices that i did not even look at them as crevices at all. moreover in one of those little crevices, one of my fish sleeps every night (i did not know that cichlids go in crevices during nights though - well at least mine goes  
but for the colour of stones and sand, I don't think that the fish will care, but would think that the color combination is important for the observers eye, as well as for how good your fish look on the background (taht of course is subjective, but depending on the fish species/species mix that you have). 
From my little experience, (i have read that the cichlid like to have dark grounds more), I picked dark stones, but as I also wanted to have a good looking combination also, with lots of contrasts), I added sand which is almost (but not really) white... i guess your picking the same contast just with the difference of picking bright stones and dark sand...

for the chemistry i am not the right person to answer... (i guess i have read the same articles you did so not much contribution from me here  )

nevertheless, you should also wait for the second opinion, i might have written sth wrong ...

good luck.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

So I played with some rock today. I have a pile of stone dust left over from my barn so I drew the deminsons of my floor and set the rock on that. I will show the whole 4' length shot, the top view so you can see how the paths work, and a close up of the caves.

THE ROCKS ARE NOT CLEANED, NOR ARE THEY GOING IN THE TANK IN THIS CONDITION.
This is merely to show the difference between the two types of stone that I have and help picking out the best one for my fish.

My husband said I could not use too much rock because of the weight to my tank.  I found that with the dark, flat rock I could use more.

Dark, flat rock
4' shot









closeup of cave









closeup of other side









top view









Lighter rounder rock:

4' shot









closeup of cave









closeup of other side









Top view









And keep in mind I just threw this together, it will look nicer in my tank


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

Looks good :thumb: , The rounder rock looks a lot better IMO. I wouldn't worry about the weight, the bottom of the tanks are very strong and the weight will be distributed. The water alone will weight about 230 pounds.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

He's not just worried about the tank, but the counter too. I think it will be fine. I will pick through and find some really nice round stones. I'm starting to like the round ones too. At first I didn't really, but then I have seen some tanks set up nice witht the round stones.

I'm just nervous about the rust stains talked about in the article on using rock from your yard. Some of these have an orange tint to them and it makes me wonder. But I think I am going to let them sit in the water for a week. Then I will bring my water to the LFS and have them test for iron. Then I will feel better.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

If you are doing mbuna you probably want to have the rocks more densely stacked and stacked higher. Some say to fill the tank to the water line with rocks.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

DJRansome said:


> If you are doing mbuna you probably want to have the rocks more densely stacked and stacked higher. Some say to fill the tank to the water line with rocks.


I am planning to use more than what is here and stack them differently, right now I am just trying to figure out which rocks would be better for keepng aggression down.

I threw this together just to _show_ what they looked like.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

> He's not just worried about the tank, but the counter too.


What kind of counter? I would look underneath to see what is supporting the frame. I wouldn't think these would be designed to support that kind of weight, even just the water, unless there's beams running from the front of the counter to the back.

I agree with DJ, if you could imagine a bunch of those rocks thrown in a pile, this is the kind of density you want. The tighter the fit the better.

Here is a pic of how I have my rocks set up, it almost looks like there are no "caves" but there are crevices where each rock meets another. It works well for fish trying to avoid an aggressive male chasing them.


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## Chunkanese (Feb 4, 2011)

Dont be nervous, cichlids are some of the toughest fish out there. Usually most rocks are fine it's just what looks good to you. Just a note, those rocks look good however don't stack those types too high unless you have thick amount of sand on the bottom to protect the tank if some fall. Also take into consideration your fish will dig and may off balance stacked rocks.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

bmweiler09 said:


> > He's not just worried about the tank, but the counter too.
> 
> 
> What kind of counter? I would look underneath to see what is supporting the frame. I wouldn't think these would be designed to support that kind of weight, even just the water, unless there's beams running from the front of the counter to the back.
> ...


It's just a regular 4' kitchen counter. I opened and looked and there are no supporting beams in the middle. Maybe i should beef it up a little  Now _I"M_ nervous!


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

Chunkanese said:


> Dont be nervous, cichlids are some of the toughest fish out there. Usually most rocks are fine it's just what looks good to you. Just a note, those rocks look good however don't stack those types too high unless you have thick amount of sand on the bottom to protect the tank if some fall. Also take into consideration your fish will dig and may off balance stacked rocks.


I read that they like to dig, that's another reason I was thinking of the round rocks. The flat ones would fall sideways and look like they fell over, while the round ones will just kind of shift and just look different.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

bmweiler09 said:


> > He's not just worried about the tank, but the counter too.
> 
> 
> What kind of counter? I would look underneath to see what is supporting the frame. I wouldn't think these would be designed to support that kind of weight, even just the water, unless there's beams running from the front of the counter to the back.
> ...


by the way your tank looks nice. What kind of fish do you have in there?


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

Thanks, I have Demasoni, Estherae, and Polits in there.

I was definitely not trying to make you nervous, hopefully someone else will chime in here. Its just something to keep in mind.


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## Lestango (Nov 11, 2010)

OK - time to add my $.02. I think you are going in the right direction with the rounded stones and more of them. One thing I noticed in some of you sample setups kind of bothers me, but just take this for its face value. Be very wary of the way some of your stones are balanced atop others. I consider this a general rule with any cichlid tank regardless of geographic origin of your fish. These little dudes dig and stones will topple over.

Fish that are more torpedo shaped are shaped so for 1 of 3 reasons and 2 of these reasons are speed to either catch other fish or escape being caught. The 3rd is to penetrate crevices in rocky biotopes. Mbuna fall into this last category. They and Tanganyikan rock dwellers are very good at it. Tailor your rock-piles with that in mind (more tunnels and less big caves :fish: ) and your fish will have a feeling of security. Happy fish make happy fishkeepers =D> .


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Yes I meant to mention the counter as well. Unless you are talking about a 10G or you are planning to place a properly framed fish tank stand in the cabinet under the tank so the frames (stand and tank) line up exactly...I would not do it.

Water weighs 8 pounds per gallon. A 55G tank weighs 440 pounds even without substrate and rocks. Substrate is heavy too. If you are worrying about the weight of rocks, you probably have the wrong stand. The heaviest thing a kitchen counter is meant to hold is a soup pot.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

Lestango said:


> OK - time to add my $.02. I think you are going in the right direction with the rounded stones and more of them. One thing I noticed in some of you sample setups kind of bothers me, but just take this for its face value. Be very wary of the way some of your stones are balanced atop others. I consider this a general rule with any cichlid tank regardless of geographic origin of your fish. These little dudes dig and stones will topple over.
> 
> Fish that are more torpedo shaped are shaped so for 1 of 3 reasons and 2 of these reasons are speed to either catch other fish or escape being caught. The 3rd is to penetrate crevices in rocky biotopes. Mbuna fall into this last category. They and Tanganyikan rock dwellers are very good at it. Tailor your rock-piles with that in mind (more tunnels and less big caves :fish: ) and your fish will have a feeling of security. Happy fish make happy fishkeepers =D> .


Okay, thanks for the advice. My nephew and I are going rock hunting tomorrow to get some nice ones.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

DJRansome said:


> Yes I meant to mention the counter as well. Unless you are talking about a 10G or you are planning to place a properly framed fish tank stand in the cabinet under the tank so the frames (stand and tank) line up exactly...I would not do it.
> 
> I am going to add braces on the ends and one down the middle. Better to be safe than sorry, Plus I don't want to skimp out on the rocks.
> 
> ONe thing I was thinking though, is after the sand and rockss are in there, how much water is really in there? Do you do you water changes on how much is _actually _in there, or your tank size?


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## Timkat4867 (Jan 11, 2008)

Chunkanese said:


> Dont be nervous, cichlids are some of the toughest fish out there. Usually most rocks are fine it's just what looks good to you. Just a note, those rocks look good however don't stack those types too high unless you have thick amount of sand on the bottom to protect the tank if some fall. Also take into consideration your fish will dig and may off balance stacked rocks.


Put the rocks in first then the sand. Less likely the rocks will fall when the fish dig. You can also put a piece of styrofoam on the bottom, then the rocks, then sand.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

Timkat4867 said:


> Chunkanese said:
> 
> 
> > Dont be nervous, cichlids are some of the toughest fish out there. Usually most rocks are fine it's just what looks good to you. Just a note, those rocks look good however don't stack those types too high unless you have thick amount of sand on the bottom to protect the tank if some fall. Also take into consideration your fish will dig and may off balance stacked rocks.
> ...


I'm gonna put some egg crate, then the rocks, then the sand.


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## Lestango (Nov 11, 2010)

How much water is displaced by rock-work doesn't enter into my schedules for water changes, Zoie. If I feel a need to figure it, like for this discussion, I use tank volume and don't compensate for sand, rocks, eqt. etc. For instance if I changed 5g a week in a 55g tank that would be roughly a 10% weekly WC. If I want a 30%, 3 buckets a week get changed. I always think that not calculating peripherals into tank volume is cheating in favor of more water changes, which is IME a plus.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

Lestango said:


> How much water is displaced by rock-work doesn't enter into my schedules for water changes, Zoie. If I feel a need to figure it, like for this discussion, I use tank volume and don't compensate for sand, rocks, eqt. etc. For instance if I changed 5g a week in a 55g tank that would be roughly a 10% weekly WC. If I want a 30%, 3 buckets a week get changed. I always think that not calculating peripherals into tank volume is cheating in favor of more water changes, which is IME a plus.


That's how I do my salt water tanks too. I wasn't sure with sooo much rock in these tanks if it made a difference or not.

Thanks!!


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

I was collecting my rocks and getting ready to clean them and my husband thinks I should just use the stuff like I already have in there. He says it would be lighter, and it would be, but it wouldn't look as nice. Here are some bad shots (because I croped then made them bigger) of what he's talking about.

a fake rock cave









and this thing (the rock, not the plant)










So I looked for more similar stuff and I did find some nice looking reisin (?sp.) drift wood pieces. Maybe if I got some of those I wouldn't have to use so much rock?


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

IMO those type of structures wouldn't offer much shelter for mbuna. Females and sub-dominant males get stressed easily when there just isn't anywhere to hide. But sometimes, making the spouse happy is more important :wink:


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## Chunkanese (Feb 4, 2011)

If your willing to buy resin pieces than why not just buy lava rock? It's porous and very light when in water. I'm not worried my lava will fall and cause any damage. It's also pretty easy to stack since it's so caurse there's no slipping.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

Chunkanese said:


> If your willing to buy resin pieces than why not just buy lava rock? It's porous and very light when in water. I'm not worried my lava will fall and cause any damage. It's also pretty easy to stack since it's so caurse there's no slipping.


Do you have a picture of you tank with lava rock?  I was also looking at the cichlid rock. They sell 15 pieces, all different sizes for $64.00 of course there's shipping on top of that.


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## Frenzy (Dec 29, 2007)

zoie said:


> DJRansome said:
> 
> 
> > Yes I meant to mention the counter as well. Unless you are talking about a 10G or you are planning to place a properly framed fish tank stand in the cabinet under the tank so the frames (stand and tank) line up exactly...I would not do it.
> ...


Like Lestango I just use the tank volume. I only do it once as well. That's because I mark all my tanks at the level that represents x% at the very first change.

If you wanted to know the displacement for interest it's easy to do.

1/2 fill the tank. Mark the level. Calculate the volume of water (A). Put the furniture in and let the tank settle. Make another mark where the level is after adding the bits and re calculate (B). Then B - A = water displacement 

It's usually not as much as you think as the rocks take on a certain amount of water.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

Frenzy said:


> zoie said:
> 
> 
> > DJRansome said:
> ...


Interesting. I am planning on putting the egg crate down, then the rock, then the sand. I was going to count how many gallons it took to fill it, just out of curiosity.

But I'll put the stone in last, if I use the cichlid stone, which I think I am. My husband liked them. (go figure, free rock from the back yard, or stone that cost 60$ + shipping). But I have learned, that my husband is always right, no joking. Everytime I listen to him, things go good. When I don't listen, animals are escaping, I'm crying my eyes out, all **** breaks loose. Luckily he's not the type to rub it in or say "I told ya so". He helps me catch my animals, or clean up the mess.

My sand is on back order, so it didn't come in. I'll wait one more week, then I might get it somewhere else. I think I'm gonna order the cichlid stone today. I'm gonna look and see if I can find it cheaper.


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## Lestango (Nov 11, 2010)

I mix some cichlid-stones in with my natural rockwork in my tang tanks and it seems they are well used. The manufacturer has definitely done their homework. I like a natural look and with a little algae it is hard to tell them apart from the natural river rocks I use.

Cichlid-stones do a nice job of adding volume to a rockpile while adding very little weight, if overall weight of an operating tank is an issue.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

Lestango said:


> I mix some cichlid-stones in with my natural rockwork in my tang tanks and it seems they are well used. The manufacturer has definitely done their homework. I like a natural look and with a little algae it is hard to tell them apart from the natural river rocks I use.
> 
> Cichlid-stones do a nice job of adding volume to a rockpile while adding very little weight, if overall weight of an operating tank is an issue.


Great! Thanks, I think that's why my husband liked them, the natural look with little weight. He is a stone mason and I guess he knew how much all those stones would weigh. I have no clue. And we both like the look of the cichlid stones.

I can't wait until everything is all set up and I get my fish. It seems like it will be 100 years away!


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## biglove (Jan 4, 2010)

My $0.02...

I have kept cichlid tanks off and on since 1990 and had, up until now, always used red sandstone. Years ago I had a minimalist approach to rocks and found that the aggression and fish kill rate was insane.

Last year I started progressing up from a 26 gallon to my current/permanent 125 gallon mixed tank. Initially was filled with 150+ pounds of red Arkansas sandstone and Arizona Hualapai Chocolate Sandstone, both of which are flat and can have sharp edges even after being ground "smooth."

After viewing a tank on here I liked this past week I pulled all the sandstone and switched to what is commonly know as "Colorado River Rock." Colored, round stones that in this case actually come from the free flowing area of the Arkansas River in Oklahoma.

I now have 440 POUNDS of rock in my 125 gallon tank and my fish have never been more peaceful! I placed the base rocks directly on the glass and filled sand in around them. All of my stones stacked up from there are not touching sand. No matter how much my fish dig, they won't destabilize the rocks!

Will try to post some pics one my water clears. My current tank pic is from when had the sandstone in place.


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## Lestango (Nov 11, 2010)

Most of my rocks are collected from the Kankakee River near my home in Illinois. (I hope it is not against the law.) I lived in the Ozarks and canoed and fished the Arkansas and Missouri rivers and streams often  and the rocks are quite similar.


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## biglove (Jan 4, 2010)

Lestango said:


> Most of my rocks are collected from the Kankakee River near my home in Illinois. (I hope it is not against the law.) I lived in the Ozarks and canoed and fished the Arkansas and Missouri rivers and streams often  and the rocks are quite similar.


Used to do some whitewater in Arkansas on the Big Piney Creek...quite interesting when it gets near flood stage!

I have found that the colored rocks, for whatever reason, seem to make my fish's colors more pronounced. So much so that my wife and daughter have even noticed it.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

biglove said:


> Lestango said:
> 
> 
> > Most of my rocks are collected from the Kankakee River near my home in Illinois. (I hope it is not against the law.) I lived in the Ozarks and canoed and fished the Arkansas and Missouri rivers and streams often  and the rocks are quite similar.
> ...


Wow, thats cool. I have found that with my salt water tanks, they never stay the same. They are always changing, adding, trading etc. So I figure, I will start with this and who know what lies ahead. I might decide to change it around.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

I ordered my rocks today and got free shipping.  I got the 15 pack so I have a variety of sizes and shapes.


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## polÃ…Â¾ (Oct 8, 2010)

Did you get the rocks then? How do these rocks look like (curious, and besides, I am still learning). It would be nice to post some pics here, too.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

polÃ&#8230;Â¾ said:


> Did you get the rocks then? How do these rocks look like (curious, and besides, I am still learning). It would be nice to post some pics here, too.


I don't have my rocks yet. I hope I get them before my fish. I did put my sand in though. I had to put some decorations in it so it wasn't just sand in the tank.

Here's a pic yesterday after I did it:









Here'a a pic this morning after it all settled:









How are all your fish doing? Did they show much aggresion when you first got them? or does that start when they start changing color?


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## polÃ…Â¾ (Oct 8, 2010)

Wow, the tank looks great; and as I know you said you don't want to try with real plants, I think the paper with plants is great solution...
Nevertheless, when you will add the rocks, be careful to place them on the very bottom of the tank, otherwise it may happen that the fish will dig the sand and imbalance the rocks (have no such experience, but heard that is more than possible). I did so in may tank (I only used white fine net (2 x 2 mm) under the rocks and sand, preventing the fish to dig the sand to the glassy bottom of the tank, which proved to be OK, otherwise I am quite sure that these little creatures would dig the sand to the glass bottom :? - and I don't want to have numerous craters with glassy bottom in the tank).
{Well my fish are doing OK, and the dominant male is getting more and more colors. The truth is I am planning to update you folks with new pictures, but had no time till now (rigth now, I am writing this post from the office  ) }


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

When I have a rock I don't want to be buried in the substrate, I put another rock under it...just to hold it up but still prevent the fish from digging underneath. Also any substrate under decor accumulates debris so you have to remove the decor to clean every week...no substrate underneath means no dirt and no cleaning.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

DJRansome said:


> When I have a rock I don't want to be buried in the substrate, I put another rock under it...just to hold it up but still prevent the fish from digging underneath. Also any substrate under decor accumulates debris so you have to remove the decor to clean every week...no substrate underneath means no dirt and no cleaning.


Ah, I am glad you said something. I mean something more. Sometimes I think I know what I want, but if I knew more, I would definately change my mind.

I am gettin my rocks today and still no fish so I have plenty of time for remodeling and letting the sand settle. I also didn't put any egg crate under the sand because of the size and weight difference in the rocks.

Should I put the egg crate down still? Or should it be okay?


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

polÃ&#8230;Â¾ said:


> Wow, the tank looks great; and as I know you said you don't want to try with real plants, I think the paper with plants is great solution...
> Nevertheless, when you will add the rocks, be careful to place them on the very bottom of the tank, otherwise it may happen that the fish will dig the sand and imbalance the rocks (have no such experience, but heard that is more than possible). I did so in may tank (I only used white fine net (2 x 2 mm) under the rocks and sand, preventing the fish to dig the sand to the glassy bottom of the tank, which proved to be OK, otherwise I am quite sure that these little creatures would dig the sand to the glass bottom :? - and I don't want to have numerous craters with glassy bottom in the tank).
> {Well my fish are doing OK, and the dominant male is getting more and more colors. The truth is I am planning to update you folks with new pictures, but had no time till now (rigth now, I am writing this post from the office  ) }


Thanks. Glad to hear your fish are doing good. I read page four of this thread before reading page three, I guess I do things backwards sometimes. I didn't put the egg crate down because I was getting lighter rocks so I figured they weren't heavy enough to break the glass, but now that you talk about digging to the glass, I guess maybe I will put the egg crate down. I would imagine they can't dig through that. 

I am replacing the back ground with either black, or a rock look. The one I have there was just left over from before. It is pretty, but I have been looking at for about 10 years.

I will post some pictures when I get it all together. I will look for your updates. :thumb:


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## biglove (Jan 4, 2010)

Crappy images from my BlackBerry phone shot tonight of my 125 gallon:

Left side of tank


Center of tank


Right side of tank


Custom LED hood strip my wife made me


LED moonlights


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

wow, you weren't kidding, you really did stack the rock in there!! Nice pictures Biglove. I like the different colored rocks. Very Nice!!


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## biglove (Jan 4, 2010)

zoie said:


> wow, you weren't kidding, you really did stack the rock in there!! Nice pictures Biglove. I like the different colored rocks. Very Nice!!


Thanks!


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## DanniGirl (Jan 25, 2007)

Nice looking tank *biglove*! River rock is tough to work with (natural look with hiding places) but you did a good job. Your wife did an awesome job on the moonlight! :thumb:

*Zoie*, I envy you! Decorating the tank (IMO) is the best part of the set-up process! I'm looking forward to your pictures when you finally have the rocks placed.

Playing devil's advocate here, but I liked the flat/angular rocks in your first picture. I know those rocks can cause more injuries but mbunas are tough little guys. :wink:


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

DanniGirl said:


> Nice looking tank *biglove*! River rock is tough to work with (natural look with hiding places) but you did a good job. Your wife did an awesome job on the moonlight! :thumb:
> 
> *Zoie*, I envy you! Decorating the tank (IMO) is the best part of the set-up process! I'm looking forward to your pictures when you finally have the rocks placed.
> 
> Playing devil's advocate here, but I liked the flat/angular rocks in your first picture. I know those rocks can cause more injuries but mbunas are tough little guys. :wink:


I like the look of the flat rocks too. I got the cichlid stones in yesterday. I have them placed in the tank now, but only cause I had no where to put them. I am getting the egg crate tonight. Then I will put it all together and post pics tomorrow.


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## biglove (Jan 4, 2010)

Thanks for the compliments, DanniGirl. Will pass the kudos on to my wife.

I have never had the cichlids hurt themselves on flat rock and they are certainly way tough fish!

Zoie, be sure and post pics once you get your tank all rockified!


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

biglove said:


> Thanks for the compliments, DanniGirl. Will pass the kudos on to my wife.
> 
> I have never had the cichlids hurt themselves on flat rock and they are certainly way tough fish!
> 
> Zoie, be sure and post pics once you get your tank all rockified!


I definatley will!! I thought yesterday was Friday so I was all set to go get my egg crate and change everything over. :roll: So tonight I will get the egg crate and then switch everything over.


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## polÃ…Â¾ (Oct 8, 2010)

I guess it's (partly) my fault that you are now decorating the tank, because I mentioned my net under the stones. Hopefully, the egg crate will work for you well. I keep my fingers crossed :thumb:


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

polÃ&#8230;Â¾ said:


> I guess it's (partly) my fault that you are now decorating the tank, because I mentioned my net under the stones. Hopefully, the egg crate will work for you well. I keep my fingers crossed :thumb:


No, not your fault  I am a gluten for punishment I guess. I get so excited I have to see how things look, even if I know I will have to take it apart later.  Plus, I thought the egg crate was only to protect the glass bottom if you use heavy stones. But it seems like a good idea to use it. It will keep them from digging to the glass.

I thought yesterday was Friday :x So I am actually going out tonight to get the egg crate. I will post pictres when it is all done. I posted pics of what it looks like now on the set up forum.

How is the netting working for you? Does it come up at all?


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## Ladybell (Mar 25, 2011)

I love Texas Holey rocks. They are basically a limestone that are found North of Austin. They have many variable holes and crevaces within them and when combined with other similar rocks or lava type rocks, it gives good hiding places for all the fish including smaller fry. You can google holey rock of texas, thats where I just purchased some yesterday. His pricing is fair in comparison and he'll ship. Not to mention I like the way it looks in the tank. They rest well against one another as well and I have no need to glue or use any chemicals to place them.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

Ladybell said:


> I love Texas Holey rocks. They are basically a limestone that are found North of Austin. They have many variable holes and crevaces within them and when combined with other similar rocks or lava type rocks, it gives good hiding places for all the fish including smaller fry. You can google holey rock of texas, thats where I just purchased some yesterday. His pricing is fair in comparison and he'll ship. Not to mention I like the way it looks in the tank. They rest well against one another as well and I have no need to glue or use any chemicals to place them.


I did look into that, but I have salt water tanks, and it kinda reminded me of those so I wanted something different. I did buy the 15 pk of cichlid stone and I love it.

Thanks for the tip though


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## polÃ…Â¾ (Oct 8, 2010)

Well, to be honest, I don't exactly know what egg crate is (and cannot find the proper translation to my language - or any other that I understand; does this has something to do with the egg itself, maybe the egg shell?). Hence, I am only guessing what this might be, as I have read about it (but never seen a pic of it). Therefore, I tried with a fine net as a surrogate. In my tank it works really fine, but it is also the truth that now that the fish are still young they do not dig as much as I expect them when they will grow up. Nevertheless, the net stays under the stones and sand so there would only be a hypothetical chance to come up (on the very borders, only). But until now this did not happened. I only wonder is there a chance that these little creatures turn the hypothetical expectations into reality :roll:


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

polÃ&#8230;Â¾ said:


> Well, to be honest, I don't exactly know what egg crate is (and cannot find the proper translation to my language - or any other that I understand; does this has something to do with the egg itself, maybe the egg shell?). Hence, I am only guessing what this might be, as I have read about it (but never seen a pic of it). Therefore, I tried with a fine net as a surrogate. In my tank it works really fine, but it is also the truth that now that the fish are still young they do not dig as much as I expect them when they will grow up. Nevertheless, the net stays under the stones and sand so there would only be a hypothetical chance to come up (on the very borders, only). But until now this did not happened. I only wonder is there a chance that these little creatures turn the hypothetical expectations into reality :roll:


When I first heard of egg crate, I thought it was the big square cadrboard stuff that holds like 50 eggs. I couldn't believe people would put this in their tank. But after more reading I found it is a platic grating used for lighting. In one of my pics you can see it on the very bottom of my tank.


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## Cromak (Dec 29, 2010)

All those rocks look good, here is what I just put in mine..

These are Midnight Blue Cobblers.. I had large river rock in it before with Driftwood.


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

Cromak said:


> All those rocks look good, here is what I just put in mine..
> 
> These are Midnight Blue Cobblers.. I had large river rock in it before with Driftwood.


That looks nice. I think I saw your thread when you were trying to figure out what you liked. I think I liked all of them, but I did like this one the best. :thumb:


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## Cromak (Dec 29, 2010)

Thanks :thumb: I actually made a few minor adjustments with the rocks, like the one by the heater and one by the eheim intake tube, so it's more uniform.. I need to take some more pics later.. Plus now the water is starting to clear up.. :dancing: I was a little concerned with there being too many rocks, but the more and more I look at it in person the more and more I like it.. The picture doesn't do it justice especially once those rocks start to get some nice algae growth :thumb:


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

Cromak said:


> Thanks :thumb: I actually made a few minor adjustments with the rocks, like the one by the heater and one by the eheim intake tube, so it's more uniform.. I need to take some more pics later.. Plus now the water is starting to clear up.. :dancing: I was a little concerned with there being too many rocks, but the more and more I look at it in person the more and more I like it.. The picture doesn't do it justice especially once those rocks start to get some nice algae growth :thumb:


I bet the fish love it!!! Looks great


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## biglove (Jan 4, 2010)

...very nice!


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## polÃ…Â¾ (Oct 8, 2010)

I share the opinion with the others, the tank setup really is NICE!
And Zoie thanks for the explanation on the eggcrate, It is (kind of) what I thought 8)


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## zoie (Mar 7, 2011)

polÃ&#8230;Â¾ said:


> I share the opinion with the others, the tank setup really is NICE!
> And Zoie thanks for the explanation on the eggcrate, It is (kind of) what I thought 8)


Thanks and no problem.


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