# Rocks



## jbc123 (Aug 19, 2008)

I went rock shopping at one of the few places around me and they had quite a few styles. No lace rock or holey rock, but more stuff designed for cementing into pathways, pools and fireplaces. They had quite a bit of stuff that would fit in an aquarium.

I mostly want something that resembles natural Malawi rock but finding pictures of that isn't as easy as I hoped. Anyone know a link or two or natural rocks underwater, preferably with some fishies nearby? :fish:

This stuff looked pretty cool and it's really flat. I'm not sure what it is and the guy working the yard that day was brand new. :?

http://img380.imageshack.us/my.php?image=082008131400ig4.jpg

This stuff was really square. It would be extremely scapable to design caves and other things for fish to play in.

http://img380.imageshack.us/my.php?image=082008132400cl6.jpg

The only concern I have about those two are the edges cand corners. They are all pretty sharp and I would hate to have a fish hit one wrong and get hurt and/or die. I don't know what any of it is so if you are anexpert and can name it that would be cool.

The last stuff is pretty cool. It had a label, North Caroline thin river rock. It looks a lot more natural, is rounded and pretty flat. A little silicone or epoxy and you could build a tall structure with it. It's probably my first choice but I still want to see if I can find something more native looking.

http://img369.imageshack.us/my.php?image=082008132800ol9.jpg

I put my car keys on one stack for reference. All were about the same size. The really square stuff was more uniform and a little smaller. Maybe 5-6" across. The river rock was variable. Some was small and some was a but larger.

It's all pretty cheap. I think the River Rock was 4 bucks a square foot, which was about 3 rocks at an estimated 10 pounds.

Seems /img tags don't work. And yes that's a cell phone camera. All I had with me.


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

here is a vid of lake malawi.you can get a good idea of the lake rocks.


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## jbc123 (Aug 19, 2008)

Holy ****, that's awesome. I so want to go there.

Well, I doubt I can recreate that exactly but the rounded river rocks seem to be a lot more natural.


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

i would love to snorkel there.round rocks are a better choice,harder to make caves with though.


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## iceblue (Apr 27, 2004)

I would go with the rounded rock. Here are some still pics that can help with your design.
http://home.cogeco.ca/~ductapediver/Lar ... 20pics.htm


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## cc_woman (Jan 31, 2008)

I would go with the round rocks since it most resembles the lake. If you were to use the slate type rocks, what I did with mine was try to soften any really sharp corners by tapping them with a hammer lightly. Slate usually chips away pretty easily. I have had no problems with my fish and the slate. I also have some rounded river rock, and I built some pretty neat caves with it. What you will want to do is find some good thicker boulders for the bottom, then flatter type rocks to use for stacking. IMO, if you have a river somewhere nearby, go there to find rocks. It is much cheaper than buying from a store. It's all I did for all of my round rocks. Take them home and rinse them, then boil them for about 20 minutes, and they are tank ready.


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## jbc123 (Aug 19, 2008)

Well, I live in the south and all our rivers are muddy slow moving monsters. We don't get the pretty clear rock-laden creeks that you see on TV! :?

It's cheap enough as is. 20 bucks would probably do 55 gallons.


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## pamer (Jul 15, 2008)

OMG, That video is so beautiful. Don't you just want all those fish! I like the flat river rock although I'm doing slate as it's so beautiful!


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## kbuntu (Aug 25, 2008)

I'm in the same setup stage as you. Looking for rocks. I found an awesome setup and I think I'll do something similar. Have a look at the picture. I'm not sure what kind rocks they are though.


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

slate.


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