Rock weight/cleaning

[Reafer]

hi guys i am setting up my new 4 ft tank tomorrow and was wondering what sort of weight the tank can take from rocks? i herd u can at a layer of polistyrine inder the rocks to help protect the glass . do i have to boil the rocks ? my pot is not big enough :( i found then in the namibian desert and my garden :P

[veegal]

Reafer have you tested the rocks for suitability for your tank yet???

[Reafer]

no..... how :P welcome to noob corner , there is so much to learn and so much damage the lfs did to my knowledge to undo :)

[veegal]

Okay, no problem we all started somewhere :) What you need to do is take the rocks and add a little bit of either vinegar OR hydrochloric acid to them. Watch and see whether they 'bubble' where you dropped the vinegar onto them. If they do - DO NOT use them in the tank as they are unsuitable. IF they DON'T bubble, wash them very well in hot water, take a hard-bristle brush and scrub them to remove any access dirt etc before putting them in your tank.

[Reafer]

cool thx will do that now :) do i not have to boil them? and how many can i put in? i have seen tank with loads of rocks

[Zafgak]

Hi reafer - Boiling is a good thing but if you do not have a pot big enough, just put it in the bath and pour boiling water over it.

BTW - the acid test Veegal explained is to check on the type of rock. If the rock bubbles with an acid then it probably has lots of carbonates which will dissolve in water -which is BAD - normally.

You can put in as many as the tank will hold - Try to spread the load over the bottom of the tank, so as to minimise any load on a small area of glass. A good idea is to have a small piece of wood across the bottom of the tank taking the load from the rocks and spreading it out, problem is wood generally will rot. If you spread the base of your rock pile out as much as possible and then build on that base you should be OK...

[Reafer]

last question :P rocks before or after filling the tank ? does it matter . i got a piece of polystyrene (http://www.google.co.za/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&ei=yvkWSojxDNXtlAest8XhCw&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=polystyrene&spell=1) the same size as the base should i put that inside the tank to help with the weight distrabution?

[veegal]

It depends on how high you are stacking your rocks - generally you would put the rocks in first and then put your water in. This will avoid the problem you may have if your tank were filled and you then added the heavy rocks causing a displacement of water and a mess around your tank :) How are you thinking of laying your rocks?

[Reafer]

i plan to pile tham across half the tank and about half way up , can i add water if the silicon holding it together is still wet? or should i use pratley's puttty

[Zafgak]

Use Pratleys as it will set under water - If you use Silicone you will need to wait at least a week before adding water..

[Reafer]

i got the tank resealed on monday will it be ok by tomorrow?

[Zafgak]

Thats about a week - you should be OK to add rocks etc... Just dont add fish till the tank has cycled .

[Reafer]

i was moving my fish over to that tank , the seals are about to go on there 3 ft:p . i was going to put there tank water in and there filters i was told i can put the fish in straight away

[Zafgak]

Thats good, thought is was new water - just dont forget your regular water changes and you should be good to go

[stormbringer101]

if you have access to a hilti drill ,try drilling holes thru the rocks and get a accrylic rod from builders wharehouse and push it thru were you drilled.tried it before lots of work but the rocks seem to stack on each other better and if ballanced correct wont fall .

[Reafer]

thats a great tip thx i got a hilti that can do it

[small_fry]

is pratleys safe for fish when still curing?