DIY rock shelves

[Moonstream]

I was thinking that when I redo the rock scape in my 29 gallon tank it would be really cool to have some shelves in it. I was thinking about taking slate and that black great stuff foam and coating the slate in the foam, then using it as a shelf. would this work well? Their may also be some foam/slate caves in it, along w/ foam islands to put in the sand, and to place corals on. I am trying to cut down on rocks.

[NanoReefWanabe]

lettuce rock would look better IMO, without the worries of what kind of metallic impurities are in slate...lettuce rock is cheap too..

you can also get tonga shelf rock too...but it is pricy

foam floats...not so good for islands

why on earth would you want to cut down on rocks....they are a major filtering product and pretty near essential to a healthy tank...you want the look but not the rock...? that doesnt make sense to me...it is easier and more benificial to use real live rock.

[flyyyguy]

I use acrylic rods with teeth cut into them to lift the entire reef.

More rock is not better IMO. Less rock with sweet flow throughout is. I stagger the rods higher in the back making the reef hollow so i can get as good of flow as possible throughout.

Too many people hear this silly rule about needing 1.5 lbs of rock per gallon......they throw all this rock in and they cant possibly get good flow throughout. It creates dead spots for flow and spots for detritus to accumulate completely defeating the purpose. JMO

the teeth in the top of the rods stick to your rock like glue. No drilling required

The first pic is of the teeth in the top of the rods. The second pic is of the frame holding the rods. This is not the lift under one of my reefs. this is one i made for someone. Just imagine it with the rods getting taller and taller in the back row and there is your hollow reef. The rods are not glued to the frame so they are easily removable to mix and match rrods and shape the reef how you like

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h181/flyyyguy/lifts/teeth-1.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h181/flyyyguy/lifts/ebayrocklift.jpg

[Moonstream]

I already have 40 pounds, and am trying to cut down on money. I just wanted to have nice slate caves. I didnt mean putting plain slat, the slat will be covered completly in foam, and the islands will have foam bases.

[pdhenderson]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10294020#post10294020 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NanoReefWanabe
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why on earth would you want to cut down on rocks....they are a major filtering product and pretty near essential to a healthy tank...you want the look but not the rock...? that doesnt make sense to me...it is easier and more benificial to use real live rock.

Its not the rock, its the bactaria that is on or in the rock, If you search through this forum as i have done I have found more coralline algae in artificial "scapes" than natural.
IMO

[kolokefalo]

I am in the process of setting up my 58g tank I don't think I will be using more than 25 lbs of live rock. Shelves and reef faces can be built with PVC and rock attached to it with cable ties.

In my case I am building 2 reef faces at each end of the tank. The faces will be a mix of live rock and Great Stuff foam.

[rnhrtfan]

Flyguy that is a darn good idea. where did you get the acrylic material? and what tools did you use to cut it?

[flyyyguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10303799#post10303799 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rnhrtfan
. where did you get the acrylic material? and what tools did you use to cut it?

acrylic rod here

http://www.mcmaster.com/

part # 8531K21

the frame i make out of 1/2" acrylic scrap

Tools:

a table saw to cut the rods to length and cut the frame

drill press to cut the holes in the frame that hold the rods

bench grinder to grind the teeth

weld on to assemble the frame....the rods just sit in their holes and dont need to be glued. Its best to make the frame with the idea in mind that you will cover the entire reef with rock. Then you just put the rods in w3here you want them. This way you can change the footprint if you want as well as mix and match rod heights

There is a little more than 100 lbs of rock in this 225 gallon reef. But like i said...i make the rods much taller in the back than the picture of the rack i pictured above. None of the rock is drilled, its just sitting on top of the rods and wont budge.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h181/flyyyguy/closed/full.jpg