DIY rock formations/caves

[SNorlin]

Hello All, I have thought about doing this for a while and have looked at a number of others online and haven't been too happy with what I saw for one reason or another.

My goal is to create a rock formation out of...ROCKs that my fish can swim around, hide in and play with. I started out by gathering some 30 rocks of different shapes and colours from my backyard and cleaned them then boiled them.



I then started playing around with them and took pictures to see what looks as natural and useful as possible. I soon came to find almost everything looking fake so decided instead to make " building blocks" out of the rocks to in the end place in different configurations.



I used gel superglue because one of the looks I didn't like was the tonnes of silicone among the rocks. As you can see from the below picture, just a little gel superglue was able to stick the rocks together ( after leaving over night to completely dry) without barely any visible glue.


After the groups dried, I spent time working different configurations and took pictures to remind myself of the different options


Cont on next post. . . .





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[SNorlin]

Cont...





This is where I have left off so far. I have glued a few more rocks and plan to play around with the configurations again. Once I have decided on the configurations, I will glue them together. I am also looking at making them taller, or in combination to create something more substantial. Once this is done and I am ready to place in my tank:


Then I will most likely place plants around and possibly through or on the formation to make it blend in more.





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[SNorlin]

On a side note, I have started making java moss carpets ( put them together about a week ago) and am already seeing the java moss grow through the plastic canvas.



I have them floating up by the lights for the moment to give them a head start. Eventually I will get them on the bottom of the tank over the substrate.

I'm really excited at working on these and would love feedback, input, ideas on the rock formations and the java moss carpets. Thanks! Sarah


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[SNorlin]

Here is what I have so far. I found it easiest and to look more natural when the rocks balanced on each other before gluing them together. So, finding their natural place/balance.






Will update once I have more done and placed in my tank with plants around them. I think my fish are going to L O V E love them.


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[SNorlin]

Okay, got my first one in my tank, what do you think?



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[SNorlin]

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[Youngstownfishy]

Looks great! I also plan on making rock formations out of rocks in the near future. I will definitely be using your ideas on how to stack them! Thanks and looking forward to more


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[SNorlin]

My BN pleco has claimed it.


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[SNorlin]

That's great, please post the pictures when you are done. If you use superglue, make sure it is gel and water prof and make sure it completely sets. I left mine for 2 days just in case. The last thing I needed was to kill my fish.


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[Youngstownfishy]

Yeah definitely. I might use silicone since I already have that haha. But I will def post pics!


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[SNorlin]

Great.


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[SNorlin]

Don't use super glue on rocks! Ugh. No damage to my fish or anything like that but the rocks fell apart when I cleaned it today. Grrr.


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[Dubtike]

They look great, i had a similar idea myself. I was thinking of getting a few larger rocks and drilling through them to make tunnels. Also, by drilling and using silicone. I could possibly make a tidy looking plug for the stones to sit on each other

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[SNorlin]

Cool pls post pics when you can.


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[Dubtike]

Yeah, I'll do step by step and tools pics.

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[georgefisher]

stone decoration

Here you can find interesting article about stone decoration in your fish tank
Stone and wood as decoration in your custom fish tank -

 

[SNorlin]

Thx.


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[cfosgate]

Superglue works okay. I have found that silicon works best on these types of builds in the long run. Great job!

 

[SNorlin]

Yep, next time I will use silicone. Lesson learned.


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[PA Pat]

why glue them at all? I'm always rearranging mine but mine are flat ledge stone pieces. I live next to a river so I have an endless supply in my backyard.