cool aquascapes

[txstateunivreefer]

well finals are over on tuesday... and i need a project i want to make a breathtaking aquascape inside my tank and need some ideas i have plenty of rock to work with now i need my motivation list some links to what you think is cool looking

months ago i found one tank that had flexable piping running thru the tank and he zip tied the rock to the pipe making several arches and other unbelievable shapes

[Texan]

Just getting my stuff going so I'm no expert. In the tons of research that I have read, I have seen some folks drilling their rock at angles and inserting acrylic rods cut at their desired length to build arches. Seems like a good idea to me.

[txstateunivreefer]

yea that is my plan so far just wanting to learn from some others successes/ disasters

[Mr_Cool]

Take a look at Louis' thread. He put some acrylic rods in his rockwork to stack it, and it looks great.

http://www.maast.org/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=22509

(You have to go to Page 2 to see how he drilled the rock.)

[Mr_Cool]

Sorry! Double post.

[txstateunivreefer]

yea i have looked thru his he did a great job on it too i might add

[Willow]

have you thought about making a few of the DIY rocks?

I don't mean for the entire tank.. just as accent pieces....
here are a couple I made (I have a bunch more.. and none are ready for the tank YET... but to give you an idea)...

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m237/Lennacera/rock/pillar1and2.jpg

[Ram_Puppy]

willow, you did a great job! those look fantastic!

[apedroza]

WOw willow those are awesome!!! I would like to know how that is done.

[Willow]

Thanks...

Actually it's pretty easy.. there are several "recipes"; most are a mix of portland cement, salt (water softener crystal type) and either sand or oyster shell

The darker one is sand, portland and salt.

I used a rubbermaid tote with some damp sand in the bottom, made my mix so it was a little on the dry side (the consistency of clay).. and as I was putting in "globs" (handfuls) of the mix, I shored it up with more sand to keep the weight of the cement mix from collapsing. I also used a spray bottle of water to hit it where the "globs" connected since my mix was on the dry side.. that also helped one "glob" to adhere to the other.

After about 24 hours, I removed them from the tote, hosed them off with the garden hose and set them outside. They will be outside & dry for about a month, then will be soaked in water for a few weeks to make sure the PH is stable and the salt inside the rock dissolves. (water changes every few days too btw)

Pretty cheap and you can make some interesting shapes...

[Willow]

A few more pics
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m237/Lennacera/rock/Seahorserocks.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m237/Lennacera/rock/rocks2.jpg http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m237/Lennacera/rock/rocks.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m237/Lennacera/rock/arch2.jpg http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m237/Lennacera/rock/arch.jpg

[Willow]

Some of my first attempts were just playing around with it to see what I could do... lol.. so some are pretty bad! But even the bad ones can be used as base rock or broken up and added to the next mix!

[txstateunivreefer]

yea i would do diy rock but im in an apartment and i have PLENTY of real rock...you can ask anyone that has seen my tank lately

[txstateunivreefer]

and also i forgot to mention THOSE LOOK AWESOME...

[Willow]

well.. people in apartments make them too... but since you have plenty of real rock I would say to drill them and use the acrylic rods as was already mentioned.

I used to have a link for those (making arches and things with the real rock and rods).. i'll have to see if I still have it...

[Willow]

here's a few so far... grrr.. i know I have more...

http://www.reefsuk.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=133372
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=8426541#post8426541