Ocean Rock.

[Squid]

I have seen some stunning pictures of Mbuna set-ups on this forum, and i really like the ones with white holey rocks (ocean rock?).

but....

seen as the pinned article also says that they like a bit of algae to nibble on, how does a tank like this look like after it has matured for a few months? does the nice looking white rock start to look a bit scummy?

I was considering using thick chunks of slate piled up to create the caves across the back of the tank, a little thicker at each end.. has this worked for a number of you? i think it may look more attractive in the long run as algae starts to appear..? is this correct.?

Squid

 

[Go_fish]

Hi there - I have just set up my mbuna tank with about 50kg of white honeycombe ocean rock (pics on my thread). My understanding is that, after a couple of weeks, the rocks become covered in brown algea which, over the following weeks, becomes a green algae. So, yes, the rock will not stay white. I have seen a mbuna tank in my LFS in Oxford and their rock now has green algae on it - doesn't look scummy, just 'lived-in' I have also seen a tank in another LFS made up with slate and it's not for me TBH - too uniform looking with too many straight edges.

 

[adambrum]

They actually look more realistic when the algae starts growing

 

[elaine128]

They actually look more realistic when the algae starts growing

i discovered that if you turn the rock over every time you move them around they actually stay alot cleaner,if you wern`t so far away i could sell you some ocean rock

 

[Druchii]

Two pictures of my tank which has ocean rock in that is well past the white stage...

oh btw the tank and the rock is over 12 months old and i never have to clean it (the rock that is )

..hope this shows you what it will look like if you choose the Ocean Rock

 

[juanveldez]

thats true, I would raither have a tank with a bunch or rocks and algae all over them then to have a tank that blinds me every time I turn on the lights...... actually truth be told there is a myth that algae is bad in a tank. I usually leave it be in my tanks, the only place that I remove it from is the glass.

 

[Squid]

Two pictures of my tank which has ocean rock in that is well past the white stage...

oh btw the tank and the rock is over 12 months old and i never have to clean it (the rock that is )

..hope this shows you what it will look like if you choose the Ocean Rock

The ocean rock looks great in your tank. Have you managed to keep the algae at bay with normal 25% weekly water changes.? Have you used anything else to help with the algae, such as soemthing to manage the phosphate levels?

Also.. is your substrate coral or sand.?


Thanks for all your replies!

Squid

 

[Druchii]

Two pictures of my tank which has ocean rock in that is well past the white stage...

oh btw the tank and the rock is over 12 months old and i never have to clean it (the rock that is )

..hope this shows you what it will look like if you choose the Ocean Rock

The ocean rock looks great in your tank. Have you managed to keep the algae at bay with normal 25% weekly water changes.? Have you used anything else to help with the algae, such as soemthing to manage the phosphate levels?

Also.. is your substrate coral or sand.?


Thanks for all your replies!

Squid

I'l tell you a little story about algae

When the rocks were first in they were very bright, i kept the lights on 12 hours a day, but as the rocks got covered in algae growth, so did the glass, it was a real pain. the glass i could clean with a magnet cleaner but the algae on the rocks was not being eat and i could not understand it..

the algae grew until about 3 or 4 mm long and it was like a carpet, i still did not see any fish 'grazing on it' as they said...

anyway a few days past i was about to get the rocks out and clean, then one night the fish ate all of it in one go.. nowadays they don't allow any growth, they consistantly nibble on it..

i have also go down to just 6 hours of light a day, this also means that the glass may need cleaing every 4/5 days.

The subsrate is kiln dried sand, but any sand, as long as it's been washed properly will be fine

I hope this helps

Dru.

 

[Squid]

Thats great information... thanks very much.. Ocean Rock it is..

Squid

 

[Squid]

How many KG do you think i will need for a jewel 180 (48 USG)?

Squid

 

[Go_fish]

How many KG do you think i will need for a jewel 180 (48 USG)?

Squid

I have just put 50kg into my Juwel Vision 180 last week - lots of caves for the fish to sort out their hiding holes! Am now waiting for it to turn brown and then green. Not added any cichlids yet - but soon! I have built the rocks up so that there is an open space running along the back of the tank, ie not a solid pile of rocks covering the whole base of the tank. I paid £90 for this Ocean Rock - you can get other OR but without holes and a yucky browny colour. The bleached white honeycomb stuff is the better IMO. Difficult to see in this pic, but there is still plenty of open swimming space for the fish

 

[Druchii]

yeah 50 KG should do the trick, however i am more of a fan of making a 'reef' type structure rather than just stacking it high, as it alows for plenty of activity around the entire complex rather than just an uber fish controlling the front part if you catch my drift