To permanently assemble rock or not

[thor109]

I'm building a 240g and I am going to purchase Marco dry rock and seed it with live rock.
I see some people will drill glue tyewrap and add dowls to secure there rock.
I think its better to not secure it so you can move it around to change things or relocate attached Corals or find a dead fish. Let's say you had a fish you needed to remove, my experience with my fresh water tanks is sometimes I had to remove everything to catch a fish. Sometimes I removed everthing to clean.
What are benifits or reasons to permanently assembling a giant rock formation in your tank?

[Agu]

There are two advantages I can think of.

You can build structures and overhangs not possible by just stacking rock.

As corals grow their weight can make some aquascaping unstable and prone to collapse.

That said I prefer not to make permanent rock work for the reasons you pointed out.

[thor109]

I might make a small tunnel piece. I've fought for months with snails knocking over Corals just can't see gluing everything together

[shaginwagon13]

There are pros and cons of both, I prefer to use reef epoxy and make structures that are not possible without securing the rock but thats just my personal preference. I think in you are gonna go with a basic rock pile, the need to secure all the rocks are unimportant.

Just a side note.... are you really going to tear down your rock work to grab a fish out? Unless you loose a large fish like a tang, those smaller fish will be gone in a couple days by the time your shrimp, crabs and fish are done with it.

IMO a 240 gallon is too large, unless you are super dedicated, to take rock out and find a fish that dies.

[davocean]

Something that I haven't seen posted in a while(and I'm not sure why) is pegging.
I used to do this kinda for the reasons mentioned, and being new to certain corals not sure of placement.
This way you could do partial permanent structures for support, and add pegged rocks/frags that you could move as needed/desired.
Here in CA we have to worry about quakes, so all my structures are on acrylic rods.

[davocean]

Here's a pic of how I used to mount some corals in a way to be stable, but also be able to remove or move as needed.

[shaginwagon13]

Originally Posted by davocean

Here's a pic of how I used to mount some corals in a way to be stable, but also be able to remove or move as needed.

Not to hijack the thread but did you drill the appropriate size holes in the LR to get the peck to stay? That's an awesome idea.

[karsseboom]

I've seen people drill holes all over there rock and just stick frag plugs in the holes. Works great but what about colonies?

[Fish4Me2]

In my last tank, I knocked rock over several times when trying to mount frags, or siphon sand out from behind the rock. I drilled most of my current rock and secured it with dowels, and I'm really happy. I've had bad algae issues, and this has allowed me to scrub the rocks with no fear of a landslide. The few rocks I didn't drill have been a challenge in this regard.

[thor109]

That is a good point. Ive been worried about stuff under rock and algae only grows on top. I've seen dome awesome rock scapes. I just don't think I would want my tank to look the same for years and years

[drparker]

Originally Posted by thor109

.... I just don't think I would want my tank to look the same for years and years

As you add coral and it grows the tank changes even though the rock stays the same.

My old tank 75g, same rock in both of these shots.






Don't worry after a while you'll go to a bigger tank, here's my 120. I used fiberglass rods made from driveway markers. A few pieces also have epoxy for added hold. There are many pieces that are just placed over the rod so they could be lifted off if needed.

[davocean]

Originally Posted by shaginwagon13

Not to hijack the thread but did you drill the appropriate size holes in the LR to get the peck to stay? That's an awesome idea.

I did drill some rock, but most of my rock was pretty porous already.
This was just one example, I've seen people do this w/ longer rod or even airline.
If you leave it a long time and the coral grows it will most likely form a base or attach itself over time, but that means it was probably in a good place/no need to move it.

[davocean]

Originally Posted by drparker

As you add coral and it grows the tank changes even though the rock stays the same.

My old tank 75g, same rock in both of these shots.






Don't worry after a while you'll go to a bigger tank, here's my 120. I used fiberglass rods made from driveway markers. A few pieces also have epoxy for added hold. There are many pieces that are just placed over the rod so they could be lifted off if needed.

Yeah, uh, I would not have any problems having that same look for any length of time!!!

[thor109]

Yeah, that does look awesome. I guess using fiberglass rods or zip ties would secure it but you could still change it if you had to.
Thanks for the ideas