Aquascaping - The Home
Big Rocks
Written by Saturday, 21 April 2001 00:00
To mimic Lake Malawi's rocky habitat, you only need sand and BIG ROCKS. Not the mid-sized boulder, lava, tufa, slate or hollow limestone, but big hefty ROCKS. Of course I'm not saying the other types are unsuitable, but if you take a look at pictures shot in the lake, you'll only find a variation of light to dark grey-brown ones. So why should we use other ones? They will be completely overgrown with algae anyhow, and this surely is less disturbing on dull stones than on bright white ones. (I've even heard some people taking their stones out on a regular basis to clean them...) Also the cichlids will feel better at home and will be the centerpiece of attention in a less bright environment. Moreover, keep in mind that all Malawi cichlids need a hideout for feeling at ease. My Fossorochromis rostratus, typical sand dwellers BTW, are the first to flee for the caves when then feel threatened.
In this article you can read much more about this subject. I specifically want to talk about my experiences with handling and stacking real massive stones. Caution! Mind your back when reading this!
Picture presented here by courtesy of Walter Deproost.
I got my rocks from a local farmer that buys them from a quarry and sells them for pond decoration purposes. They're also used for each ABCV show where about 15 tons are moved from the storage depot to the hall.
There is only one downside on them... they're extremely heavy! I needed at least 500Kg for having a decent looking construction in my 3000L tank! After a meticulous visual selection, what's not always a guarantee because rocks can look different under water, they were bought and transported to my home with a small trailer. There they were thoroughly cleaned with a pressure washer and then the stacking could begin.
Other construction elements can be used to help the 3D decoration. Square stone chimney pipes and special hollow bricks can be applied to create caves. They also ensure a stable design, so you don't have to fear that your caves will collapse when the cichlids start digging. Of course we start with the largest rocks that are put on straight the bottom, of course with a Styrofoam board underneath them to prevent damaging to the bottom glass, and some smaller ones can be laid in front of them. Also the top of our artificial caves (if possible when tank depth is large enough) can be hidden by stacking rocks on them. this way an impressive reef can be built.
An alternative for the Styrofoam boards can be thick S-shaped strips of silicone glued straight on the bottom of the tank. After drying they'll prevent stones from sliding away. They are also less visible than the Styrofoam boards, especially when the digging instinct in our cichlids wakes up.... The downside is that these strips are not removable, or at least leave traces, compared to Styrofoam boards.
Putting such a striking red hollow brick in the tank would be a very ugly sight. However if you glue a dark polyurethane background board against the brick, it will disappear seamless behind some rocks! Also when you leave the back of the tank a bit darker by concentrating all lamps in the front area of the tank, these elements won't attract notice.
An excellent way to move stones in and out of the aquarium is to use a plywood board that is laid on the corner of the tank. This way you prevent damage done to the glass edge, and the rock can be handled completely by yourself. Of course this is only possible with monster tanks where you can stand in....
Styrofoam boards are used to protect the tank bottom from being damaged. 2 or 3cm thickness is sufficient.
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