Fake live rock, attached to glass with magnets

[Kurt_Nelson]

OK... first off, I have no vested interest in this company whatsoever, and am just posting this because it sure seems like a neat idea at a reasonable price.

Manmade rocks are no new thing, and I'm sure others have probably made something like this in the past. But there's a new company out there that's making lightweight, fake rocks that are totally flat on the back, and have magnets embedded in them.

Deep Water Rocks

They make plain ol' man made rock, but the product I'm talking about is their DWG-MAG Rocks. I ordered a piece at $30, and surprised at how un-man-made the thing looked...

I was also surprised at how light it was. The thing actually floats! Obviously the filler is plastic or styrofoam. Sure made placing it in the tank nice - didn't have to worry about dropping it and cracking the bottom! If my grip slipped, it just bobbed to the surface!

Since I'm not one to take people's word that the thing won't leach out bad stuff in my tank, I submerged the "rock" in my saltwater storage tub for about 3 weeks. Each week I tested for nitrates and phosphates. Nothing. Granted... that's not really a scientific study, but at least it didn't obviously pollute my fresh water.

So into the tank it went...

It might not look like it in the pictures, but there are TONS of little shelfs and nooks and crannies to stuff corals on this thing. (Much to the consternation of my wife! She just shook her head when she saw this show up in the mail!) In my little 46g, I definitely just added some serious real estate to my back glass!

My only complaint (minor) about the product is that I'd like the magnets to be stronger. They're definitely strong enough to hold the thing in place on the back wall, and it takes a fair amount of force to push the "rock" down the glass. But it'd just make me feel better if they had a little more power to them. But then again, if it detaches, it's going to float to the surface anyway.

I'll update the thread as it gets covered in coralline and doesn't stand out like a sore thumb anymore.

 

[fijiwigi]

That is a good idea to have rock cascading up the wall You could even skip a large percentage of the rocks on the sand and have just a wall of rocks with a couple center pieces on the sand giving a lot more room to work with. who knows maybe it will be the next new trend.

 

[lance]

These are great for frag display. After fraggin coral you can attatch to this placing in the front glass for easy view as with easy removel for trading or whatever.

 

[roka64]

That's pretty neat! $30 seems a little high. Too bad the magnets aren't too strong, it would be cool to make a bridge from a pile of LR to the glass, that that holding it up.

 

[melosu58]

Very nice Kurt. That looks nice

 

[ccCapt]

That's pretty cool. I've seen frag plugs with magnets, but that's a good idea.
How strong are those magnets, like maybe compared to Koralia magnets?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

That's pretty cool. I've seen frag plugs with magnets, but that's a good idea.
How strong are those magnets, like maybe compared to Koralia magnets?

I think these guys are working in cooperation with the folks that make the magnetic frag plugs.

Hard to really relay the strength of the magnets - it's a touchy/feely thing! But with my Koralia magnet, it's really hard for me to move the powerhead without releasing the magnet from the back. The "rock" can easily be moved without releasing the magnets, but it takes more force than an "accidental" bump would give. If you were pushing a plug of epoxy onto the "rock" it would definitely move.

$30 doesn't really seem bad if you figure how much you'd pay for a chunk of live or base rock the equivalent size.

 

[roka64]

Good point.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Just thought I'd update with a new picture. Still looks pretty "new", but at least is starting to pick up some color...

Funny... that chromis (same one?) is in both pictures! Camera hog!

 

[roka64]

LOL, cool, thanks for the update. I was just thinking about this post the other day.

 

[Ziggy953]

They are very cool rocks indeed! My LFS has several of them and I agree with you the magnets could be a little stronger. I've thought about picking up a couple for my back glass.