Rock scaping vs tank weight

[Karmachica]

Quick question for anyone willing to answer:

I've been working on improving the environment of my cichlid tank and have gotten lots of great advice here in the process. Almost every tank picture here has amazing rock setups for their cichlids to hide/ live in etc. I already have researched the rock tests to make sure they are safe -But now my new question is... Is there a concern for the bottom of the tank breaking with the weight of using rocks/stones??
I shared my new rock idea for the tank with my boyfriend and he thinks using real rocks or stones will scratch the glass up and the weight will break the tank. I think he just doesn't want to help me with the project lol but the weight concern did catch my attention. Any thoughts?

 

[Jakepen]

Wouldn't worry about it at all, tempered glass can withstand tons of weight. As long as you place the rocks correctly, no pointy edges down basically.



That's around 100 lbs, give or take. No problem.

How big is your tank?

 

[Cecil2010]

I asked the same question a while back and I got this response:

http://youtu.be/PgEwEiTyYcs

 

[GBHammbone]

It wouldn't hurt to line the bottom of your tank with eggcrate (light diffuser panel) which can be picked up at the local home improvement store. Just extra insurance.

 

[Karmachica]

@Jakepen:

It's only a 29gallon ( 30inches long/ 12 inches wide/ 19inches high)
I know it's small for a cichlid tank but I only have 3 cichlids in it & I'm working on getting at least a 55gallon (would be magical to be able to get it and set it up before any protesting happens lol )
In the meantime I want to make sure they have a happy home where they are in the 29g currently

 

[Karmachica]

Thanks Cecil ill check it out

 

[Karmachica]

@GBHammbone:

Thanks for the tip, I've heard of the eggcrate being mentioned before so ill check it out - anything to give peace of mind is golden to me

 

[Karmachica]

Cecil! Wow! That link pretty much answered everything lol Thanks, I will definitely be showing that to my boyfriend as proof Now he will have no excuse for not helping me lol
New project woohoooo

 

[Karmachica]

One more quick question:

If I end up using a few clay pots for hiding too, do they need to be treated with anything special before being added to the tank? They would be new unused clay flower pots- I see a lot of people using those in their tanks too but wasn't sure if they need to be sealed with anything to make them aquarium safe
I've always used aquarium specific items in all my tanks so that's my reason for tons of questions on this topic

 

[cbourg746]

One more quick question:

If I end up using a few clay pots for hiding too, do they need to be treated with anything special before being added to the tank? They would be new unused clay flower pots- I see a lot of people using those in their tanks too but wasn't sure if they need to be sealed with anything to make them aquarium safe
I've always used aquarium specific items in all my tanks so that's my reason for tons of questions on this topic

Just rinse them to get any dust off of them and then place them in the tank

 

[Rodeo one]

Thanks for this thread & the UTube video. Went to the river & got rocks today & was wondering what was too much wgt. Perfect timing!

 

[Nathanpopp]

I just redid mine. About 130 pounds of smooth stone

 

[Rodeo one]

Oohh, nice? What sized tank?

 

[Nathanpopp]

55 gallons

 

[Rodeo one]

Ok thanks. That s what I m setting up so no worries. Well, rock wise anyway

 

[Nathanpopp]

Buy it from local landscaping stores. Not Lowes or HomeDepot. Don't buy from pet stores either. 5 dollars a rock is too much.

Here's my list of decorations:

17 large river rock - $17.00 Combs Landscaping
2 drift wood - $13.00 LFS
4 plastic sword plants - $10.00 Michaels Hobby/Craft Store
10 small accent rocks - $3.00 Walmart

Easy setup for my Africans!

 

[Karmachica]

Thank you! As always everyone has been super helpful I appreciate all of the responses

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Close to 200 pounds of red lava rock in my 125 gallon never had a problem. Like others said egg crate can be a good idea (kinda wish I did it sometimes) another things is to make sure piles are secure so that they don't fall over busting out a side panel or something

 

[Karmachica]

Your tank is awesome, that red lava rock is really cool.
Am I able to use a type of glue to secure my rocks together and prevent them from falling? Idk if that's a dumb question or not but I'd rather ask so I'm not on a different thread asking why my fish are messed up

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

You can use silicone I didn't use anything but you need to make sure It has no anti fungicides in it and allow it to fully cure