Rockwork Advice for Noob

[Labenator65000]

OK I'm going to ask a series of dumb questions. Bear with me, please.

I have a 55 gallon with a handful of Mbuna, but no rockwork. Oh I have ceramic (etc) decor that provides a few hiding places (artificial logs, caves, etc), and a good amount of artificial plants, but I feel like I should start adding/replacing with some rockwork. However, I'm paranoid about breaking the glass tank either by bumping the glass walls or by overloading it with weight.

My stand is completely open underneath the tank (maybe all stands are like this). Is there any need for concern about the weight blowing out the bottom of the tank?

I'm rather anal about water changes (Hi, Jess). I do 50% weekly, completely rearranging and aggressively vacuuming every inch of gravel every time. How do you folks with heavy stones go about cleaning? I about have a heart attack every time a piece of decor just bumps the glass wall. I'd have to be sedated before I could move heavy stones around to vacuum underneath.

I'm also debating on whether I should use round-type stone like river rock, or use slate, etc instead? Do necessarily need to buy new stone, or can I just go shopping in my yard? I have tons and tons of rock that one purchases buy the bag or truckload for landscaping islands. I also have a few big flagstones that I could potentially break up into manageable sizes.

I appreciate any advice!

 

[Pton46]

Well,

I have a tank with Mbuna, (Labs) and all of my Rock work is from my backyard. I use River Stone , Fieldstone and my neighbor gave me some rough cut granite I've used

I am sensitive about the weight. If you are looking for a way to "sanitize" your rocks. First I take the rock pour Straight White vinegar, no bubbles it is ok from my opinion. Then I soak them in 10% White vinegar and water for 12 hours...(Rinse) Then I boil them for a hour. Then soak in Tank water. Between processes I scrub with a Toothbrush...to brighten it up and remove any dirt and algae.

I have had no issues after this process. I use a dremel to sand smooth any rough edges and use either Silicone or Non toxic glue to secure them it needed.

 

[Labenator65000]

I found a whole stash of forgotten flagstones behind my shed. Are flagstones safe to use?

 

[Jmedic25]

I use the round river stones. Make piles and the fish will dig out around them and create thier own tunnels. (if you have sand). Fake plants are good if you dont have the lights to sustain the few real ones that mbuna wont eat. I got mine from a landscape supply place. All i did was wash them in hot water and scrub them with a hard bristle brush. Soak them in aquarium water for a few hours. Testing them with vinagar is a good idea. If you get fizz just set that stone aside. I never had any reaction from any of my stones. A nice layer of thin brown/black algae will grow in time and make everything look very natural. I also added some red spider wood for decor. Good luck!

 

[Pton46]

I found a whole stash of forgotten flagstones behind my shed. Are flagstones safe to use?

Use the vinegar test....no white bubbles you should be ok

if no white bubbles and you want to be sure...Boil them, but I forgot to state in the last post open your windows and run a exhaust fan it chances are it will smell....I plan to use my gas grill next time.

 

[Malawi Freak]

I like to scrub them under some hot water (after a quick rinse under the hose). Then I soak them in bleach for 24 hours followed by soaking for another 24 in plain water. Air dried to make sure the smell of bleach is gone. For a quick assurance I boil them for 40 mins, scrub, boil again and they are ready to go. I'll soak in water for a few hours to make sure of no crazy changes.

 

[Malawi Freak]

I've found it easier to work with rounder style rocks as the flat ones make it tough to build up for a more vertical design.

If weight concerns you put some eggcrate under your substrate. It's cheap and really distributes the weight

 

[Jess1ca]

OK I'm going to ask a series of dumb questions. Bear with me, please.

I have a 55 gallon with a handful of Mbuna, but no rockwork. Oh I have ceramic (etc) decor that provides a few hiding places (artificial logs, caves, etc), and a good amount of artificial plants, but I feel like I should start adding/replacing with some rockwork. However, I'm paranoid about breaking the glass tank either by bumping the glass walls or by overloading it with weight.

My stand is completely open underneath the tank (maybe all stands are like this). Is there any need for concern about the weight blowing out the bottom of the tank?

I'm rather anal about water changes (Hi, Jess). I do 50% weekly, completely rearranging and aggressively vacuuming every inch of gravel every time. How do you folks with heavy stones go about cleaning? I about have a heart attack every time a piece of decor just bumps the glass wall. I'd have to be sedated before I could move heavy stones around to vacuum underneath.

I'm also debating on whether I should use round-type stone like river rock, or use slate, etc instead? Do necessarily need to buy new stone, or can I just go shopping in my yard? I have tons and tons of rock that one purchases buy the bag or truckload for landscaping islands. I also have a few big flagstones that I could potentially break up into manageable sizes.

I appreciate any advice!

I just saw this lol!

 

[Labenator65000]

Thanks for the tips!

 

[Labenator65000]

Sorry for the reply to an old thread. This may seem like a question that has an obvious answer. How do you clean the waste out of your rockwork? Just do it the best you can?

 

[Mark388]

I have found that if your going to be stacking rocks just move the top few and get into the cracks with the siphon. You may suck up some fry if they are breeding which is a draw back. You can also take a bucket of water and pore it quickly into the rocks to flush out waste.

I only have a few prices of large holey rock ATM and us the bucket of water to clean before siphoning other waste. It doesn't get all of it but it's not unattractive what little is left.

Also if you have African cichlids the rush of water won't bother them as much as completely taking out the rock to clean it. Less stress for them and less work for you.

 

[Malawi Freak]

That would work of you use gravel. If sand is used I feel pouring a bucket will disturb it too much and cause rock work to become unstable.

I just occasionally move rocks around and syphon it out. Not too much gets trapped though since I have a mini whirlpool going in my tank practically.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

If your feeling handy you could make them. That is what I did and I just take a power head and let it blow all the stuff out.

 

[Mr.Pleco]

I found hat you need both rounded and flat rocks...well for at least what I like to make when I scape. I like to stack without glue...I know some people glue their rocks to be safe but I feel like it's not an enjoyable that way.
I can show you if you want. or there is a picture in my albums I think.

 

[Pton46]

That would work of you use gravel. If sand is used I feel pouring a bucket will disturb it too much and cause rock work to become unstable.

I just occasionally move rocks around and syphon it out. Not too much gets trapped though since I have a mini whirlpool going in my tank practically.

+1 , same here I have a lot of current moving around....with my Internal Filter.

 

[Labenator65000]

ok so now some aesthetic advice from you creative types, please.

The tank has "stone" and black mixed gravel. I've decided to just pick some smooth river rock out of my landscaping. I'm debating on whether to go with the natural stone color, or I also could use dark grey (almost black). I wonder which would look better?

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I have watched videos of people scuba diving in lake Malawi and they are brown personally I think the black makes the fish stand out more.

 

[Labenator65000]

I have watched videos of people scuba diving in lake Malawi and they are brown personally I think the black makes the fish stand out more.

Yeah, I agree with you. Here's my plan as I have it i my mind:

I'm going to pick out some smooth, flat, black stones from my landscape. I'll clean as directed by the folks in this thread. I'm going to use black silicone to build caves and stacked rockwork. I want to cover up the glossy silicone the best I can, so I may embed flat black gravel or black sand into the silicone to give it a more natural look.

Alternatively, I did see someone made one with Black Lava Rock. Is there any concern with using Lava Rock in a Malawi tank?

 

[Labenator65000]

...Here's my plan as I have it i my mind:

I'm going to pick out some smooth, flat, black stones from my landscape. I'll clean as directed by the folks in this thread. I'm going to use black silicone to build caves and stacked rockwork. I want to cover up the glossy silicone the best I can, so I may embed flat black gravel or black sand into the silicone to give it a more natural look.

Alternatively, I did see someone made one with Black Lava Rock. Is there any concern with using Lava Rock in a Malawi tank?

I decided against lava rock. It seems too sharp and crumbly.

I found a web site where someone crafted a very cool "cave grotto" using brown vinyl guttering, black lava rock, black silicone, black lawn edging. It has a whole network of caves, yet not overly space-consuming; and it's relatively lightweight. I'm going to use that as a starting point, but make some modifications. I have collected a bucketful of thin, smooth, round, dark-grey stones from my landscape (there were no black stones, but these are as close as it gets) that I think will give it a more natural look than lava rock. After I get my plans finalized I'll start a new thread with pics, in case anyone else cares to follow. It should be very low-cost. We'll see how it goes. This will be my first DIY stone-work, so it may simply be a learning experience.

 

[Malawi Freak]

I will be following the new thread.