# Too much rock?



## mwhalen (Jul 21, 2009)

*Too much rock?*​
Yes3054.55%No2545.45%


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## mwhalen (Jul 21, 2009)

This is my first Cichlid tank - 75G - 2 Acei, 1 Demasoni, and 2 Labs. I've probably got 150lbs of rock in there. I'm hoping to overstock this so, is this too much rock?

Thanks.


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

You picture didn't come through... but as long as you like the look of the tank, you can never have to much rock...


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## mwhalen (Jul 21, 2009)

Toby_H said:


> You picture didn't come through... but as long as you like the look of the tank, you can never have to much rock...


Sorry - had some trouble with the pictures.


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

well d***... those are some big rocks... lol

Structurally speaking... the tank can hold it's full volume in rocks and be safe... so no worries there...

Per the fish... They want caves and tunnels to swim through and spawn in... the more the merrier...

Per appearance... It's your tank so if your impressed then it's great... who cares what we think, we only get to see it when we click on your pictures...

Which is why I voted : no it's not too much rock, even without seeing the pictures...

Personally... I would have gone for some smaller rocks simply to create more caves/tunnels... but what you have works...


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## mwhalen (Jul 21, 2009)

I was originally going to go with smaller lace rock from the LFS but at $3/lb - was too expensive to justify on a tank that I spent $100 on. After hitting up a local landscaping company I picked up these small boulders - sponge rock apparently for about $30. I considered hammering these apart but the larger look is growing on me. A lot of this is personal preference, but from a purely practical standpoint, if I'm going for about 30 fish would the rock be taking up too much volume?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I'd restack so it looks more natural and opens up the caves and crevices more. And no, I don't think it's too much, but depends on the fish. Only open water fish are concerned about the rocks taking up space.

Just temporarily take out the rocks and see what it does to the water level. You can estimate the volume of water that the rocks displace that way. I'd guess 15 gallons are being displaced and you've got about 60 gallons of water. Then stock as you would for the adjusted volume. It only matters if you're going to have trouble keeping up with water changes. If you're planning to be diligent about water changes, it becomes less of a concern. Your nitrate levels will be your guide.


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

there is a lot of dead space ie solid rock.... i would be inclined to use rocks that had less depth from front to back but still looked great from the front..... more water is good for a whole bunch of reason

acctually i used to have a tank with a lot of rock and it looked great but somehow the fish didnt seem to think that... so i got rid of the huge foreground rockwork but kept the thin rock backwall and they really perked up with that move and my tank aggresion plummeted overnight.


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## mwhalen (Jul 21, 2009)

Thanks for the feedback - Once I get a few more fish in here, I might decide to break these rocks in half and stack along the back wall, giving more room in front.


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## Donnixd (Sep 13, 2009)

yeh i think too much rocks. At a glance it looks like ur trying to grow rocks or something, take one or two out for some swimming space..


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Not too much rock, but the rocks are too big. Definitely break some of them up. Shoot for small, fish-sized openings, but lots of them. But I wouldn't stack against the back...too hard to clean and you lose territories the fish might form behind the rock piles. Mbuna don't really want open swimming space...they want rock cubicles to own and fight over, LOL. And nooks, crannies, alleys and ledges to swim through, lurk under and hide in.


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## wheatbackdigger (May 11, 2008)

Turned a 75 gallon tank into a 35 gallon tank. I maybe exaggerating a bit, but I do wonder how much water displacement you have going on there.


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## mmz3 (Sep 7, 2009)

DJRansome said:


> Not too much rock, but the rocks are too big. Definitely break some of them up. Shoot for small, fish-sized openings, but lots of them.


THIS :thumb:


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## kelen (Aug 24, 2009)

I have to agree. Its not that you have too many rocks, its just they are too big. The more openings between the rocks , the better it is, As of right now, you have a lot of dead space because of the boulders in your tank.


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## car0linab0y (Aug 10, 2009)

I'd space them out more myself, open up some swimming area between the rocks instead of around them.


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## fishEH (Sep 15, 2008)

wheatbackdigger said:


> Turned a 75 gallon tank into a 35 gallon tank. I maybe exaggerating a bit, but I do wonder how much water displacement you have going on there.


This was the first thing that came to my mind when I read your post and saw your question about possible overstocking. There is not too much rock for appearance, that is a subjective thing anyways. However there may be too much rock from an overstocking/bioload standpoint.

Here's what I would do to see how many gallons the rock is displacing. Remove the rock from the tank. Now measure the length, width, and height of void left. Length and width should remain unchanged. The height will be from the water level to the top of tank. Let's say the water level drops 5 inches. 48 x 18 x 5=4320 cubic inches = 18.7 gallons. So your 75 would really be more like a 56 gallon.

I would use this gallonage for determining stock level. Or remove rock to leave enough gallons for your desired stocking level.

I'm not saying that you have too much rock but you may want to consider since you mentioned overstocking.


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## mwhalen (Jul 21, 2009)

Thanks - for the good feedback. I got a chuckle out of the one that said it looked like I was trying to grow rocks.

Since my original post I got out the sledge hammer and goggles and took the boulders to task. I'm still using most of them but have them stacked against the back. The tenants seem to like it - they haven't complained anyway.

Take a look for yourself:


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## Riceburner (Sep 3, 2008)

much better than the starting stage. Looks more natural and lots more caves. :thumb:


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## newbie_chichi (Oct 1, 2009)

i really like the look you created!


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