Stacking rocks

Cflip · Mar 29, 2017

Do you use glue or just stack them up?

LivinTheSwreefLife · Mar 30, 2017

For my first two reef tanks, I just stacked them up. That worked fine, except in one case I had a clown trigger who loved to rearrange my rockscaping, and in the second tank I just couldn't get the rocks to stay put (too large I think) so I had a rockslide every time I tried to add a frag. So I think it depends on a few things, including size of rocks, fish choices, and whether you want to keep corals.

For the new build I am doing now I bought all dry rock and glued it with plenty of Jurassic gel (available from BRS) before the tank ever saw water. Worked like a charm... no more rockslides, no drilling, and dried clear. I highly recommend it, but I know others will say just stack them, which does work for some people (again, depends on the above factors). Also, gluing is of course somewhat permanent so you can't change things up later.

Waters · Mar 30, 2017

Depends on the type of rock....my current tank is set up with very light, porous rock which "locks" together. I have used acrylic rods and drilled through the rock in the past though.

miPapareef · Mar 30, 2017

1/4" masonry drill bit and a plastic rod. Plastic coat hanger is a cheep option. The rocks stay put, but you can take them apart if needed.

Here's a what that looked like.

Mikedawg · Mar 30, 2017

I really like CaribSea's Life Rock "Tonga" branches which lock together and give you a stable aquascape in combination with their other rock forms.

BigHildy53 · Mar 30, 2017

I used nylon rods from Marco Rocks to secure the base/large rocks. Then two part putty to secure the rest.

Cflip · Mar 30, 2017

All good ideas I never thought about. Thanks

dakoop · Mar 30, 2017

If you are planning it now securing them together is the best bet. I have done all of the above. if the rocks are dry glue and 2 part putty are amazing. If wet try drilling with plastic rods and putty/glue

smh254 · Mar 30, 2017

This is what I used and works great. The only other thing I can suggest is make sure you place the rock down on the glass and not on the sand.

smh254 · Mar 30, 2017

http://aquaforest.eu/en/product/stonefix/

Cflip · Mar 30, 2017

smh254 said:
This is what I used and works great. The only other thing I can suggest is make sure you place the rock down on the glass and not on the sand.

Really? I thought a little sand was better. Can stone fix be used if the rock is in the water?

smh254 · Mar 30, 2017

There are a lot of critters that like to dig under your rock work. If it's not set firmly on the bottom there could be a collapse and injury to your livestock. I did use stone fix in The water. It was kind of messy but did work. Works a lot better outside of the tank.