Rocks, Rods and Nuts - finished pic p. 2

[Europhyllia]

Getting ready to play with my new rocks. I also got nylon rods, washers and nuts.
I am trying to do this:
http://www.marcorocks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=49

Do I really need a base plate or could I just start with a wider base rock and go from there?

[txg8gxp]

With bigger base rock you will be fine, as long as there is more weight on the bottom.

[justahobby]

Ooo I really like that cove idea. Can you get nylon bolts are Lowe's? Are they priced reasonably?

[Europhyllia]

I haven't been able to find them locally so I just ordered them online. I think 6ft rods in 3/8" are around $15. Smaller diameter is cheaper.

[justahobby]

Oh I'm dumb. I thought the "bolts", well.. nvmd, I'll choose to remain silent instead of removing doubt. I'm glad to see you doing this thread since I will be starting mine in the next month or so.

[Europhyllia]

I probably used the wrong term. I'll change it. :)

[Europhyllia]

I am loving the nylon rods! This will be fun. One nice thing about the nylon is that it is also very bendable if needed.
I bought washers but just the nuts may be enough and easier to hide.

http://www.dominopads.com/nylonrods.jpg

was worried about drilling the old pukani rocks since they're so porous and lightweight but it turns out they drill just fine. :) Got to get a longer bit tomorrow for the larger rocks

[allan]

Hey Karin,

And anyone else that might hear my voice... You know I was getting around to getting the rods and nuts when Ace reminded me of something that I read somewhere a while back. I couldn't readily find the rods so I cut sections of the man sized clothes hangers and inserted them into the rocks where I had drilled. Can't use the nuts (unless you have a tap and die), but I did make a large column that Milly can photo later if she ever get's off of her fourth point of contact and take it. It stretches about 22" up with a moderate base. Since I'm running T-5s I figured this would be a great place to do a SPS specific area, on high anyway. I've got this really nice purple looking sps stick thing that I had up high and now is at the base and seems to be loving life... but that might be another thread.

Anyway, back to the post. The man sized hangers are really thick plastic ones and work really good. Will try to get a photo on later.

[robalv]

you can also get some acrylic rods from I cant remember the name where I purchased mine the other day, anyway off of I35 and Eisenhower not sure if thats how you guys spell it here in Texas but in Cali. thats how we do it...lol...6 ' 1/4 " rod for like $.50 sure they may have a larger diameter....

[Europhyllia]

Thanks guys.
I actually think I have enough of the nylon rods (fingers crossed) to finish my project so hopefully I won't need to get any others.
I just like how simply it is to just put the nut on, cut it and done. No glue needed, no waiting, etc. I am all about instant gratification...

Great to see there are so many options! Love how cost effective the acrylic rods are. Wow! :)

[allan]

Glue?

Uh oh, I don't think I used any of that. ;-)

Glad that it worked out for you

[Europhyllia]

Uh oh, I don't think I used any of that. ;-)

Okay so how do you keep the structure tied together without nuts/glue/fasteners?

[allan]

I use the weakest force found in nature.. Gravity.

I pieced them together and when I found a good position I would drill the appropriate holes, insert the rod, fit the top piece on and then rely on gravity to keep it locked in place.

[Europhyllia]

got ya.

I am hoping to assemble the whole thing, place it in a large tub, cycle it in one piece and then on moving day just lift the whole structure pre-assembled and pre-cycled into the new tank. (well okay I think there will be 3 different complete structures but you get the idea...)

[Europhyllia]

Here's an example of a simple arch I just assembled (still need to snip off the ends of the rods and glue a piece of rubble over the nuts to hide them)

Keep in mind 7 inches (height of a coffee can) will be below the sand to keep it stable for the jawfish.
I can pick up the whole piece as one and I can screw on more parts with not having to worry too much about gravity as long as the main thing is balanced.

http://www.dominopads.com/rockarch.jpg

[BIGBIRD123]

Really looks good Karin. Do you plan on 7" of sand showing at the front of the tank?

[kkiel02]

pretty cool. I love the options that you could do with those rods.

[Europhyllia]

right now I am planning on 7 inches all the way.
I still have to calculate how much sand I'll need to order though since I need to account for the rocks taking up space... so we'll see with how much sand I'll end up with!

[saabtech]

wow that is going to look really cool. what a great way to start over (clean and dry)

[Europhyllia]

had a little more time finally to put some more together.

http://www.dominopads.com/rockclose1.jpg

http://www.dominopads.com/rockclose2.jpg

the whole thing:
http://www.dominopads.com/rockscape521tank.jpg

(above simulating it in a 215 gallon tank with 7" sandbed)
http://www.dominopads.com/rockscape521_all.jpg

So what do you think? Too much? Too heavy? Too minimalistic?

I know it's quite different from my previous rock wall but this is what I am trying to achieve this time around:
open DSB space for Jawfish
vertical surface to mount gorgonians
space for large gorgonians
open swimming space for the anthias
caves and overhangs for the mandarins, etc.
some shelves to place my maxima clams

[txg8gxp]

I really like the look, with some tall gorgs in the tank and schooling fish I think I would look really. How many inches would be from top of rock to water surface?

[Europhyllia]

How many inches would be from top of rock to water surface?
one coffee can! (that's around 7") ;)

[txg8gxp]

That sounds about perfect to me.

[txav8r]

one coffee can! (that's around 7") ;)


Every one knows that the coffee can is a very common European unit of measurement. LOL

[Big_Pun]

wow very nice rock work, but i dont think you really need 7 inches of sand, i had a jaw fish in my 29 cube in 2-3 inches of sand just fine, would have added another to this tank but dont like how much of a mess they make sometimes.

[Europhyllia]

I am picturing it like this:
http://www.dominopads.com/rockscape521coral.jpg

blue clams on the clam shelves towards the top, gorgos mounted to the sides of the structures, yellow and orange sun coral mounted lower and in overhangs, some acans (red in the pics).
That sort of thing...

[hobogato]

it looks great karin - looking forward to watch it progress

[txg8gxp]

hahaha I love the pic... What about a arch(man thats a funny word) between the two right rocks. I do kinda like the more simple look though.

[Europhyllia]

hahaha I love the pic... What about a arch(man thats a funny word) between the two right rocks. I do kinda like the more simple look though.

Well I have the tripod arches on the left and the simple arch on the right. I was wondering if it was getting too 'archy'
Here's a pic from the top by the way:
http://www.dominopads.com/rocktop.jpg

The brown paper is 24" wide so a 6ft strip is perfect to practice the layout on. I was looking forward to having a more 3 dimensional space rather than the straight line of rocks look.

[RayAllen]

I like them a lot Karen. Great Job! I need to get back to work on mine. So far I only have towers.

[Europhyllia]

Thanks everybody. I still haven't had a chance to order my tank yet, so the rock thing keeps me motivated. :)

[chunkymonkey]

http://www.globalspec.com/local/4435/TX
http://www.fiestabolt.com/products.htm

[Europhyllia]

cool! You found suppliers. Do they have the nylon rods? I really enjoyed being able to attach the rocks to each other the way I did.
I'll probably still do some parts with mortar or epoxy for reinforcement.

Of course if any of them sprout caulerpa I'll just shoot myself...

[txg8gxp]

Thought I would share. I have ordered from these guys several times. Not sure how good the priceing is.
http://www.smallparts.com/Small-Parts-Nylon-Threaded-Rod/dp/B003F24JOS?ie=UTF8&qid=1274402844&filterBy.material_browse=43805011&sr=1-1&pf_rd_r=1MJ2K9HFJ0K6PXZXMFES&pf_rd_m=A2LPUKX2E7NPQV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=16410711&pf_rd_p=1261382302&pf_rd_s=center-3

[Europhyllia]

That's where I got mine from too, Stephen! I think I paid around $10 shipping but if you live in the sticks it's almost that much in gas going into town and back anyway.
They had all the parts I wanted.
I did the whole project with 2 6ft 3/8" rods, 1 6ft 1/4" rod (for teh small rocks just sticking out the side to put clams or corals on) and a bags of nuts for each and washers for the 3/8" rods.
I think it was totally worth.
Fun project and very secure. :)

[DarkHorseMBA]

Nice, I'm considering ordering from MarcoRocks this week.
How big is the tank these are going into, and how much rock did you order?

[ErikH]

Karin, it looks great. I have seen alot of structures built this way, and alot of them look unnatural. Yours look spot on! I am sure you have seen Ace's, they are great, but I think they are rod-less, but very cool none the less.

If you don't win TOTM on RC, you had sure better win MS PAINT of the year! :D :D

I for one appreciate the time and effort it takes to post as many pictures as you do. It takes up alot of time, and when you get into a rhythm, it is even more difficult to remember to pick up a camera to document your progress photographically. Cheers! :applause:

[Europhyllia]

DarkHorse
I don't know how many pounds I ended up with since I reused a LOT of old rock from another tank. I am guessing I ordered 40 pounds and provided 60 pounds myself.
With the rods the whole build is a lot more 'airy' anyway so you get a lot of surface area without having to have a lot of rocks to stack on each other.
I used Pukani. Key Largo will be a little heavier.

Lol@ Erik
I had to photoshop it to envision what it would look like with 500 pounds of sand around it. The structure itself seemed so tall (until you bury a third of it in sand).
Then when I added the sand it was still a little shocking.

[Mr Cob]

Very cool Karin...just saw this thread.