help!!! Big Rock

[quikksilver8]

Hey I just bought a rock and its about 25-30 pounds and I wanted to know if it was safe to add it to my 55 gallon tank. Please Help i dont want a flood in my room. Is there anything i should do to my tank it is feather rock.

[Seedy]

Make sure that the there is either eggcrate or an undergravel filter between that rock and the glass, also make sure that the rock sits firmly on the bottom and is not supported by the gravell in any way...as you know cichlids like to dig, and can undermine rock formations that are not "on the bottom"...

[quikksilver8]

will anything happen if there is none of that

[Seedy]

You may have a flood...fish that live in glass houses should not undermine large rocks...

[quikksilver8]

i 'm not trying to be difficult but i dont understand the difference between it sitting on the glass or on an UG its still on the glass.

[jonah]

The weight is distributed more evenly if it's on a grid. If it's directly on the glass the weight is actually concentrated on the points that the rock is making contact with the glass. Also, if the rocks are undermined by the fish, the fish aren't able to completely dig under it because the the grid in the way. Even if it moves a bit, at least it's not crashing into the glass.

25-30 lbs isn't that much. I used to have a 78 lbs piece of holey rock in my mbuna tank. That was a bear to get out, so I don't use the large pieces anymore.

[quikksilver8]

they cant get under it because it is attached to a flat piece of slate and that is sitting underneath the gravel. The slate is longer than the rock and sids completely flat across the glass

[knux16]

use some magazines or something if you have to, just under the glass on the bottom of the tank (not in the water, duh). definitely dont want 55 gallons of water on the floor, especially if its upstairs...

[Seedy]

Originally posted by quikksilver8
they cant get under it because it is attached to a flat piece of slate and that is sitting underneath the gravel. The slate is longer than the rock and sids completely flat across the glass

If that is the case, then you may be fine...the idea is to have something under the rock to distribute the weight more evenly, and to prevent the fish from digging it out...

[skiitswitch]

Originally posted by Seedy
You may have a flood...fish that live in glass houses should not undermine large rocks...

:rofl: brilliant!!

but about the rock - if it's mounted on slate, with the slate on the glass - it'll be alright... but you really do want something in the future on the bottom of all of your tanks... better safe than sorry!

[quikksilver8]

thank you all for your help. ;) on friday i'm upgrading to a 75 gallon tank and when I do i'm going to do that magazine thing under the glass because it will be a lot easier with an empty tank. Hopefully i can keep all the water from my 55 gallon so I keep all my bacteria.

[Seedy]

Why don't you get some egg crate or something to go between the gravel and the rock when you set up the 75? That's the perfect time to do something like that...I cant recomend the magazine under the glass, it may cause a leak in the long run...

[quikksilver8]

whats egg crate? where do i get it? what does it look like? what do i do with it?

Ya I know its a long list you should be charging me for this. :)

[Seedy]

Originally posted by quikksilver8
Ya I know its a long list you should be charging me for this. :)

If you lived in Tulsa, I would be charging you...and the going rate is $2 gallon...I'm getting started doing maintenence on the side to help support my fish habbit! The egg crate the I speak of is acoustical foam that has a "egg crate" pattern on it...Most good instrument/music stores have or can get it...

and you put it between the rock and glass as a "cushion" and then cove the foam with substrate....

[Matt V]

Originally posted by Seedy
and the going rate is $2 gallon...

is that a general going rate or just Seedy's?

$2 per gallon... <matt does math...> DAMN! good thing I like playin' in the water!

[2petuniasmom]

Originally posted by Matt V


$2 per gallon... <matt does math...> DAMN! good thing I like playin' in the water!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
That goes for a lot of people on this site!!! Especially if Rudy finds enough silicone for his basement!:eek:

[SGypsyMermaid]

http://cichlidforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3521&highlight=egg+crate

http://cichlidresearch.com/gifs/tips/eggcrate.jpg

i wouldn't put the magazines under the glass. that could cause the bottom glass to shift in the frame.

[jonah]

The egg crate I'm usually talking about is light diffuser that you buy at home depot. It's a rigid plastic grid, designed for diffusing light on flourescent fixtures, but it's also good for weight distibution and for using as tank divider with larger cichlids. It's usually white and consist of rows of plastic squares. Kind of like a giant waffle, except the holes go all the way through.

Is acoustical foam aquarium safe? I know a lot of it is fire retardent, that usually means it's treated with some kind of chemical that might not be the safest for fish.

[Seedy]

I've seen acoustic foam used...I assume that there is some kind that is safe...

[z rock]

Quick silver,are you saying you bought 25-30 lbs of feather rock?
I heard that stuff is full of air and will float!They put it in the oven to get the air out of it so it would sink.Then they sand down the outside to get rid of the sharp edges.That stuff is really sharp.

25-30lbs would be a large amount of feather rock.Anyway if it's not I would go with plexiglass to protect the bottom.Then when the fish dig you wouldn' t have white eggcrate stickin' up.If you go to a window glass shop they can cut a piece to your measurements.

Personally I've never used anything under mine.Usually the bottom plate on 55g and above are tempered glass and is incredibly strong.The problems arise when tempered glass gets a scratch.Then if a rock falls on it with a hard blow the whole bottom will shatter.As long as your careful and not scratch the glass the substrate provides impact resistance should one fall.

I've never really stacked my rocks all that high but it seems like instead of droping straight down they always kinda slide sideways and smash into the side glass.I can't think of a prevenative for that.Still I've never heard of a tank busting from a falling rock,but I'm sure it's probably happened to somebody out there!

[quikksilver8]

Thanks for the info. it is one big rock though with holes cut out of it and attached to a big piece of slate not a bunch of little ones .