Water Changes & Big Rock's
- Thread starter DawnMichele
- Start date
2 of them weigh about 30 lbs. each. I have them on egg crate's. I have my Mom help me. She stands there while I hand them to her and when IM ready she hands them back to me.
I stack rock in 2 to 3 piles to make caves with open space in between. I move the rock around to clean tHe bottom trapped distritis one pile at a time in my weekly WC and rotate to another pile next time. Since I pile rock, safety from falling is critical so I use only light larva rock, lace rock, and carved rainbow rock. Carved rock is unnatural, but can lighten up the weight and make good caves. I much prefer the rock to trap some waste so I can siphon up in WC than to overload my HOBs which I am already cleaning twice a week in my heavily stocked tanks.
A trick I find works is to use a smaller siphon hose (like for a micro tank) and push it around the sides and into the substrate around the rock to get the loose stuff. In my display tank I ended up removing most of the smaller rocks (2") because where the sand sloped they kept collecting stuff, plus my fish are growing and making more waste. Since adjusting the powerheads to the surface and taking them out I reduced the maintenace about 20 percent.
The bigger rocks are on the bottom of the tank. Casper keeps them free of sand so I dont move them. The small palm sized ones I do move and put back after cleaning. With his digging shenanigans I always have a pits here or there that will collect the detritus (poop). With my water changes every three days they get cleaned out (the pits) before it makes it's way into the filters.
I posted a photo of a past tank in this recent thread. I believe the total weight was 220 pounds.
I always knew that you had big stones
RD.
RD.
Big boulders with flat bottom don’t trap waste, so cleaning is not necessary. Though they provide sight barriers and aesthetic value, they don’t provide much cave habitat. There is a style of Japanese aquascaping called iwagumi that focus on rock arrangement with design guideline.
www.advancedplantedtank.com
Curved rock such as lace rock, larva rock or carved rainbow rock make good cave habitat, but also trap waste efficiently that need to be cleaned periodically. Carved rock is never used in Iwagumi because they are unnatual. I stack smaller rock on top of bigger rock for safety and easy removal during cleaning. The caves provide good nesting site for Tanganyikan and small CA/SA egg layers which had successfully raised young in my set up amid large open water Haps and CA/SA. In fact, I had to evict entire colonies of Julie’s and Daffodil because they took over the rock piles. Mouth brooders had no success in such set up as parents don’t provide protection of youngs.
Aquascaping ideas
The 2Hr Aquarist's comprehensive guide on aquascaping styles practiced for the advanced planted aquarium. Includes showcase of fellow aquascapers’ works on Iwagumi, Natural style, Dutch style, Natural Biotope and Hardscape Diorama.
www.advancedplantedtank.com
Some simple tips for working with rock
This tank is done by Luca galarraga (my favourite scaper?) at CARAC 2019 organized by Acuariofila Regiomontana A.C. It is a live setup (done within a short time) but demonstrates many high impact...
www.advancedplantedtank.com
Curved rock such as lace rock, larva rock or carved rainbow rock make good cave habitat, but also trap waste efficiently that need to be cleaned periodically. Carved rock is never used in Iwagumi because they are unnatual. I stack smaller rock on top of bigger rock for safety and easy removal during cleaning. The caves provide good nesting site for Tanganyikan and small CA/SA egg layers which had successfully raised young in my set up amid large open water Haps and CA/SA. In fact, I had to evict entire colonies of Julie’s and Daffodil because they took over the rock piles. Mouth brooders had no success in such set up as parents don’t provide protection of youngs.
