Malawi rock face building - help!

Hi,

I hope someone can help me with some advice!

I am building a rock wall in a 1.4 m (4 1/2 ft) tall aquarium which is only
660cm (2 1/2 ft wide) wide but is 1.65m (5 1/2 ft) long. The wall is to go
against the 1.4 m end (width about 600cm).

I started to mock this up against a wall and I have found using my original
idea of Ocean rock it is just going to be too heavy & unstable (even if I
silicon all the bits). I have put plastic fruit crates against the wall at
the bootom & along the underneath of the structure to reduce the amount of
rock but I don';t think will solve my problem.

My next thought is to use an alternative to ocean rock fro the parts of the
structure that won't be seen. I was thinking of lava rock - would that be
much lighter?

Anybody have any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Sky

ps the arangement side-on would be like this belwo where x - ocean rock &
o - is something lighter an easier to work with.

|x
|x
|ox
|ox
|oox
|oox
|ooox
|ooooox
|oooooox
|oooooooxxx
---------------------------------------------

"SkyCatcher" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I hope someone can help me with some advice!

I am building a rock wall in a 1.4 m (4 1/2 ft) tall aquarium which is
only
660cm (2 1/2 ft wide) wide but is 1.65m (5 1/2 ft) long. The wall is to
go
against the 1.4 m end (width about 600cm).

I started to mock this up against a wall and I have found using my
original
idea of Ocean rock it is just going to be too heavy & unstable (even if
I
silicon all the bits). I have put plastic fruit crates against the wall
at
the bootom & along the underneath of the structure to reduce the amount
of
rock but I don';t think will solve my problem.

My next thought is to use an alternative to ocean rock fro the parts of
the
structure that won't be seen. I was thinking of lava rock - would that
be
much lighter?

Anybody have any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Sky

ps the arangement side-on would be like this belwo where x - ocean rock
&
o - is something lighter an easier to work with.

|x
|x
|ox
|ox
|oox
|oox
|ooox
|ooooox
|oooooox
|oooooooxxx
---------------------------------------------


Styrofoam, either as back material or as the entire structure. This one
is mine (to give you an idea of it's processing).
http://www.2cah.com/netmax/diy_proje...ulptures.shtml

These are from other sites.
http://cichlidinspiration.net3services.com/show_articles.asp?category='Constructions%20-%20Background'
http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com...ackground.html
http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com...o/invent1.html
http://www.goddijn.com/aquarium/index.htm
http://www.thekrib.com/TankHardware/janne.html
http://www.african.uklinux.net/phpBB...26&forum=8&153
--
www.NetMax.tk

On Tue, 29 Jun 2004 11:21:04 +0100, "SkyCatcher"
wrote:

Hi,

I hope someone can help me with some advice!

I am building a rock wall in a 1.4 m (4 1/2 ft) tall aquarium which is only
660cm (2 1/2 ft wide) wide but is 1.65m (5 1/2 ft) long. The wall is to go
against the 1.4 m end (width about 600cm).

I started to mock this up against a wall and I have found using my original
idea of Ocean rock it is just going to be too heavy & unstable (even if I
silicon all the bits). I have put plastic fruit crates against the wall at
the bootom & along the underneath of the structure to reduce the amount of
rock but I don';t think will solve my problem.

My next thought is to use an alternative to ocean rock fro the parts of the
structure that won't be seen. I was thinking of lava rock - would that be
much lighter?

Anybody have any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Sky

ps the arangement side-on would be like this belwo where x - ocean rock &
o - is something lighter an easier to work with.

|x
|x
|ox
|ox
|oox
|oox
|ooox
|ooooox
|oooooox
|oooooooxxx
---------------------------------------------



The easierst way I know is to use florescent lighting grids (commonly
known as eggcrate) as a framework. These are typically 24" x 48" in
size and can be joined using plastic wiring ties (zip-ties). To get
the profile you want you can lean smaller pieces against the grid as
you wish. Then use lightweight rock, such as lava rock or the more
natural feather rock to cover it. Start at the top, zip tying the
pieces in place (you may have to drill holes in the rock) and working
down. If you are careful you can cover all evidence of the ties. This
should give the support necessary without making it too heavy.

Hope this helps
John

"John" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 29 Jun 2004 11:21:04 +0100, "SkyCatcher"
wrote:

Hi,

I hope someone can help me with some advice!

I am building a rock wall in a 1.4 m (4 1/2 ft) tall aquarium which is
only
660cm (2 1/2 ft wide) wide but is 1.65m (5 1/2 ft) long. The wall is
to go
against the 1.4 m end (width about 600cm).

I started to mock this up against a wall and I have found using my
original
idea of Ocean rock it is just going to be too heavy & unstable (even
if I
silicon all the bits). I have put plastic fruit crates against the
wall at
the bootom & along the underneath of the structure to reduce the
amount of
rock but I don';t think will solve my problem.

My next thought is to use an alternative to ocean rock fro the parts
of the
structure that won't be seen. I was thinking of lava rock - would that
be
much lighter?

Anybody have any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Sky

ps the arangement side-on would be like this belwo where x - ocean
rock &
o - is something lighter an easier to work with.

|x
|x
|ox
|ox
|oox
|oox
|ooox
|ooooox
|oooooox
|oooooooxxx
---------------------------------------------



The easierst way I know is to use florescent lighting grids (commonly
known as eggcrate) as a framework. These are typically 24" x 48" in
size and can be joined using plastic wiring ties (zip-ties). To get
the profile you want you can lean smaller pieces against the grid as
you wish. Then use lightweight rock, such as lava rock or the more
natural feather rock to cover it. Start at the top, zip tying the
pieces in place (you may have to drill holes in the rock) and working
down. If you are careful you can cover all evidence of the ties. This
should give the support necessary without making it too heavy.

Hope this helps
John

Have you done it this way before? I can't picture starting this at the
top, instead of from the bottom. Drilling rocks is also a pain, unless
it's all really light stuff. Also, do you do anything to keep the fish
from going behind the structure, or is this part of the plan? thanks!
--
www.NetMax.tk