First Try At Rock Deco - Advice Needed

[skiltrip]

does anyone know any good webpage, or have any advice themselves on decorating with rocks for a cichlid tank?

i am redoing my 37g with a lot of rock work, but i'm not sure if there are some good places to start, as far as laying the foundation rocks, sizes to use, etc.

so far i've been practicing on the living room floor scattering many for my "first level" about 1/2" between any two rocks, and resting one more (from "level 2") on every three rocks from "level 1". not sure how much leaning up against the glass i should do.

just looking for somewhere to start so i'm not in there tinkering around for years, freaking out my fish, and god forbid, letting a rock slip while they are curiously buzzing around. my pleco is notorious for ignoring my hand and anything else going on. i've grabbed him accidentally while pulling out gravel. haha.

 

[OohFeeshy]

If you're not attatching the rocks together with anything, the best thing to do is start with the bigger rocks. Then put rocks on tp so they are secure, locked together and won't move. Just carry on building the pile up.

 

[dthoffsett]

Well, I can add a pic of my 75gal, just think on a smaller scale.

Here's how it currently is, a messy more natural look:

Or, how I had it before, a more structured look

And here's a link to a lot of cichlid tanks for ideas

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=146796

 

[SamUK]

make sure you put the rocks on the bottom of the tank and not on top of the substrate.

cichlids dig alot and you dont want them digging under all your rocks and they end up crashing down.

other than that, stack away. tanks are a lot stronger than i thought they would be.

my old cichlid tank.

 

[Torrean]

I've never done much rockwork but I've heard of people using plastic eggcrate type stuff to stack the rock on to prevent a pointy part of the rock contacting the glass and focusing all the weight on one spot. It sounds like a good idea to me. Again I'm not experienced with this but I believe letting the rocks lean against the side glass is a no no. I wish I could help more with this. Oh yeah one more thing. Sometimes people attach the rocks together with aquarium silicone. This adds that extra bit of stability but it does make rescapeing a bit of a challenge. considering all the silicone you would have to remove and reapply it's iffy whether this is worth it. Best of luck

this might help although not with the stacking aspect I suppose
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=55806