chiqui bb
Reefing newb
Anyone ever built one of these?
Getting rocks off the sand bed
- Thread starter chiqui bb
- Start date
reeffreak
Reef pro
Years ago,someone did that with PVC pipe.Interesting idea,is that something you built?I've use eggcrette to keep rocks off the bottom glass but nothing as elaborate as that.
the reef kid
hi
I've heard of people using PVC also, and somebody used little pieces of acrylic rods, but nothing like that...I do wonder how it works, it seems like it should work fine.
dcantucson
Reef pro
That looks very cool and a good idea. Could you post more details about what you're using? Thanks.
chiqui bb
Reefing newb
I haven't attempted it yet. I stumbled across this idea on the reeftank forum.
http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f76/diy-group-project-invisible-rock-lifts-85616.html
It's an old post (2006) but I liked the idea better than a pvc structure. It's made from acrylic sheets cut in strips and acrylic rods. Pay close attention to how he cut the ends of the rods to form "teeth" to hold the rocks in place. It seems easy enough to make. He includes step-by-step photos and instructions. My only concern is the criss cross structure of the acrylic strips on the bottom. Wondered how this would affect sand sifting creatures. It seems you would need to sand the edges of the cuts so the little guys didn't cut themselves. I plan to make this for the 90 gal I am setting up and will keep everyone posted.
http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f76/diy-group-project-invisible-rock-lifts-85616.html
It's an old post (2006) but I liked the idea better than a pvc structure. It's made from acrylic sheets cut in strips and acrylic rods. Pay close attention to how he cut the ends of the rods to form "teeth" to hold the rocks in place. It seems easy enough to make. He includes step-by-step photos and instructions. My only concern is the criss cross structure of the acrylic strips on the bottom. Wondered how this would affect sand sifting creatures. It seems you would need to sand the edges of the cuts so the little guys didn't cut themselves. I plan to make this for the 90 gal I am setting up and will keep everyone posted.
Last edited:
wontonflip
I failed Kobayashi Maru
chiqui bb
Reefing newb
Thanks wonton! I just fixed it in my post as well.
sen5241b
Reef enthusiast
I have much of my rock propped up on PVC with a Koralia pushing water under the rock. This has greatly cut down on detritus traps and helped to lower 'trates. If you do this however make sure the rock is stable --you don't want an avalanche.
chiqui bb
Reefing newb
I did use this idea in my 90 gal setup and really like it. My lifts are not as invisible as they could be. Part of the problem was rock placement and part of the problem is my engineer goby (he is constantly "redecorating"). Here is a link to photobucket.com where you can see what it looks like. I followed the instructions in the DIY project link above. The only change I made was to sand the edges of the acrylic strips. I was concerned about snails, goby, etc. getting cut on the sharp edges. 90 gal rock lifts pictures by mlcreno - Photobucket
dcantucson
Reef pro
Looks like it turned out pretty good. Does your livestock hide under the rock now? I think it would make it easier for them to.
Grassman
Reefing newb
Is it necessary to have your rock off your sand? If so then I may have to go back to the shop tomorrow and "borrow" some acrylic. :mrgreen: Also give me something to do while I'm waiting for my funds to increase to buy the stuff I now need.
BL1
.............
It isn't necessary for you to have your rocks off the sand but, you don't want your rock laying on the sand. You want you rocks to be laying on the sand bed that way, if a fish or invert burrows into the sand it can cause a rock slide if your rocks are just lying on the sand.
chiqui bb
Reefing newb
I really like the way this project turned out. When I feed the tank, I can see food floating all around, including under the rock structure. The cleaner and peppermint shrimp both like to hang out under the rocks. The engineer goby is constantly moving the sand around and the rocks DO NOT MOVE!!! The key to this project is the "teeth" you grind in the acrylic rods. It really holds the base of the rock structure in place. For the rocks that I stacked on top of the base pieces, I used nylon threaded rod and secured them in place. It takes a little work but you can set this up so that none of the threaded rod is visible and the entire structure is very stable. I was able to create lots of caves and areas where the fish can swim through to the other side. They seem to like it.
sen5241b
Reef enthusiast
More than one tank owner who put rock on sand has had a catastrophic, glass breaking avalanche followed by a mini, saltwater Tsunami in their living room. You'd be surprised by how much damage to furniture and carpet that salt water can do.
Sand WILL dissolve over time and critters will burrow under rock making it unstable. Please read this:
I'm OUT!!! DONE!! (not for the faint of heart) - 3reef Forums
Sand WILL dissolve over time and critters will burrow under rock making it unstable. Please read this:
I'm OUT!!! DONE!! (not for the faint of heart) - 3reef Forums
dcantucson
Reef pro
Now we need some completion pictures!
Grassman
Reefing newb
:shock::shock: WOW! After seeing those pictures, 3 things went thru my mind.
1. Is my stand level and strong enough to hold the tanks.
2. Do I really want to do this (since I just had a flood in my basement this spring and just got it put back together) &
3. 80 bucks for a piece of 12" x 48" 1/2" acrylic doesn't sound so expensive to build me one of these rock lifter things.
I think I'll talk to my boss tomorrow about getting it ordered. Or I sould just glue 2 pieces of 1/4" together. Does anyone think it'll be strong enough?
Barry
