Rushed my scape, ready to Start over.

[RichtheReefer21]

Here is my current stack-and-tilt scape, thrown together in a rush because of an ich/velvet outbreak in my old tank. I have 2 weeks left before the Fallow timer is over and the fish move in... I want to re-scape it, the right way.

(ignore the light set up, a custom DIY canopy is in progress, this is temporary)

So here is the question... I want to know if I put all the frags on a rack (they aren't glued yet), and I pull all the rock out, Scrub it off to remove algae etc... Can I assume after 2 months in the tank that it is "cured"?

I want to lay it all out and drill/glue/set the rocks permanently. And actually make this into a beautiful scape....

Any words of advice, do's and dont's, would be much appreciated.

I am thinking I can do it how I am thinking...

1. remove frags and rack them
2. Remove rock and set outside to Dry (I am aware I will lose all my hitchhikers that are hiding in them)
3. Once dry, play with the scape/lay it out
4. drill for frag placements
5. set mortar/positioning pvc tubes etc...
6. Let cure and put back into the tank

What else is advised? Did I miss anything?

 

[RichtheReefer21]

All the rock on the left side is 2 months old in the tank, the rock on the right and center are all 6months+ old in the old tank.

 

[NY_Caveman]

All the rock on the left side is 2 months old in the tank, the rock on the right and center are all 6months+ old in the old tank.

If it is live rock I would not dry it out. If your only concern is algae, I would just take the pieces and scrub them. Maybe some H2O2 for any really bad pieces. You should be able to aquascape out of the tank fine and keep the life and bacteria intact. Maybe keep a sprayer of tank water to keep it moist.

Unless I am mistaken and missing your intention.

 

[DLHDesign]

If it is live rock I would not dry it out.

Agreed. At this point, the rock is most likely "cured" and "cycled". It's cured in that any excessively high mineral concentrations have leached out into your DT water. It's cycled because it's been in saltwater long enough to have an established (if not prolific) bacteria colony on it.

Drying out the rock will cause the bacteria colony to become greatly diminished - certainly at least to the point where you would need to cycle it again before you could add any fish or coral in with it. This could take up to a month - or more. And there's no guarantee that you wouldn't end up with algae at the end of that cycle, either (not unless you did a full reset of the tank - bleaching, re-curing rock, bleaching tank, replacing sand, cleaning off all frags really good, etc.).

Is there a reason (aside from it being easier, of course) that you want to scape outside the tank? If you have a spare tank (or a bucket or two), you could transfer the frags into that for a day or two and re-scape directly in your DT. It's okay to remove rock (to clean, as suggested above, and to drill out as needed), but try to keep it at least moist to remove any excessive bacterial loss. You'll likely have a "mini-cycle" once it's all finished, but that shouldn't last long (days, most likely).

I'd also suggest removing the frags from the plugs they are on, once you know their final locations. Unless you have major encrusting going on, this is usually much easier than drilling holes in your rock. With a significant encrustation, you could cut off the peg and just glue/epoxy the disk into place.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

Alright... thanks got the advice...

The hope was to use rock mortar and make a permanent scape... cant do that when its wet. I'll have to figure something else out of just leave it alone I suppose.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

The price I pay for not planning it out and having to rush it due to the outbreak in my last tank.. sigh

 

[NY_Caveman]

I think you can still take it out and scape it if you have a plan. It can probably sit out of the water for an hour. Maybe just get the main pieces together and let it cure in the tank. I have not done this with epoxy, but have had rock out of water for an hour or so. Maybe cover big pieces with wet paper towels while working or something.

 

[RMS18]

If i was you i'd buy new rock (what ever kind you prefer) plan out a design you love and replace one section of your tank at a time. I would not stress over hitch hikers. Scaping a section can take 20 minutes or 4 hours, all depends on what your trying to achieve and the rocks you have available. You may have to break them up to acquire a piece you need or a look your going for. Outline the dimensions of your tank on a folding table with tape, then build within it. If you are going to re-do it again my advice is spend the time to do it so you love it.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

I have a good idea of how to go about doing it... But due to my ocd I am going to need quite a bit of time to get it how I want, and there is no way I can really epoxy it while it is wet and cure the bond while its back in the tank wet? Unless there is a product I am not familiar with...

bleh

 

[RMS18]

I have a good idea of how to go about doing it... But due to my ocd I am going to need quite a bit of time to get it how I want, and there is no way I can really epoxy it while it is wet and cure the bond while its back in the tank wet? Unless there is a product I am not familiar with...

bleh

Of course you can glue while it is wet My frags are always wet. I use BRS glue and their accelerator.

 

[wesman42]

I have a good idea of how to go about doing it... But due to my ocd I am going to need quite a bit of time to get it how I want, and there is no way I can really epoxy it while it is wet and cure the bond while its back in the tank wet? Unless there is a product I am not familiar with...

bleh

JB Waterweld, or Hydraulic Cement with Acrylic Fortifier.

Both of these are DESIGNED to be used in/around water. The cement is less pretty but it works really well and it will save you an arm and a leg.