my method of building fake / faux rocks

[tolt]

Wow your rock walls are amazing

I wish I had have read your thread before I started on my rock wall, now Im going to have to throw it out and start again.

Thankyou for sharing the process with us , it has given me sooooo much to think about. Cheers

I cant wait to see how the cork/rock viv works out

[rbby228]

i would like to say i love your work. i have a few questions regarding your ten gallon tank how did you bathe the rocks in vinegar? and what plants did you put in it, and u just used regular concrete?

[Agamidae Architect]

Originally Posted by rbby228

i would like to say i love your work. i have a few questions regarding your ten gallon tank how did you bathe the rocks in vinegar? and what plants did you put in it, and u just used regular concrete?

He said he filled up the tank in the bathtub.

The tree is a baby banyon i believe, there are vast amounts of plants that will work, search the site for a thread listing them. blackjungle.com sells typical vivarium plants and could give you some ideas as a reference.

He used habacrete available at herpinvert.com i believe. people have had problems with their shipping and customer service though so beware. If you do use this stuff, disregard the vinegar soaking method as it is used for adjusting the ph of the concrete.

Love your work btw! stay tuned for my 90 gallon bow front build in january im sure i will need your input. much love

[RudeReefer]

Hey everybody! I've been too busy for the holiday season to jump on here, but hope to show some progress soon on the new tank.
Agamidae Architect is right on everything I did on the 10g. Look for my other thread on here about the problems with ordering Habacrete... thank God I ordered a good amount when I did and have extra to use.

[DartFrogGangsta]

hey. thats some reallly cool work youve been doing. i started my own water all and ill post pics shrty.... \



BUT


does anyone knoow what soil i should use? as a bedding and to allow plants to grow ? ?


king

[beckdg]

Originally Posted by DartFrogGangsta

hey. thats some reallly cool work youve been doing. i started my own water all and ill post pics shrty.... \



BUT


does anyone knoow what soil i should use? as a bedding and to allow plants to grow ? ?


king

depends really, coco fiber, organic soil, peat and sand are commonly used in different ways. anyway, check out this link. it should help you decide maybe but will give you insight of where to get things also... good places to buy... please add to it!

[RudeReefer]

yo-yo-yo gangsta! I used a mixture of two soils... one was a common reptile substrate.. the other, I cant remember!!! The focus of the soil was strictly for the plants benefit, and not the frogs (from what I know), i'm no expert.. I'll look for the two bags I used, I still have them.

I've been super busy everyone for the holidays! HANG IN THERE! (I'm a jewelry designer and diamond dealer) so this is my crunch time.. there is some progress on the new vive....pix to come later! HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY!!!!!!!!!

[Dinosaurz]

Great work! I have a 20 gal long and have three questions...
1. What kind of pump/filter did you use?
2. How is the pump/filter set up to take water out and bring it back to the falls? (is there a small hole in the creek?)
3. The end of the creek, you can see right into it, so you can see fish if you'd put them in. How'd you secure it to the glass so water doesn't leech out?

[Grimm]

Awesome tanks RudeReefer! I'm glad I stumbled along this thread. Lots of great tips and tricks!

I just had a quick question tho....It seem that much of your time is being spent cutting the foam to the exact mirror image of the cork bark...Im not sure if you mentioned being against using the product in your past posts...But have you ever thought of spending less time cutting the foam perfectly, and then filling in the gaps using expanding foam? I think it would save you a ton of manhours aswell as completely fill in every nook and cranny missed with the foam blocks. And it will increse the strength of the bond between the cork, foam and glass. Just some food for thought. Maybe you are against using it but this is a very long thread and I'm at work so I cant double check the entire thing haha

[RudeReefer]

Originally Posted by Grimm

Awesome tanks RudeReefer! I'm glad I stumbled along this thread. Lots of great tips and tricks!

I just had a quick question tho....It seem that much of your time is being spent cutting the foam to the exact mirror image of the cork bark...Im not sure if you mentioned being against using the product in your past posts...But have you ever thought of spending less time cutting the foam perfectly, and then filling in the gaps using expanding foam? I think it would save you a ton of manhours aswell as completely fill in every nook and cranny missed with the foam blocks. And it will increse the strength of the bond between the cork, foam and glass. Just some food for thought. Maybe you are against using it but this is a very long thread and I'm at work so I cant double check the entire thing haha

I just don't like the lack of control with expanding foam.. you wake up in the morning, and it's 5 times bigger then it was last night... (that sounds hilarious) I'm afraid it would cover the cork bark outline too much, thats all. It would help bond everything for sure though.