HELP?!?

Shari,

I saw that you have a 50 gallon cube. Is it the SCA 50? If so, I have the same tank, and while it's not he same as having someone to show you how to set up your rockscape step by step, I can at least provide you photos / video of our tank.

Here's the most recent photo we have


Here's a video my wife put together that will hopefully give you an idea of how our tank is laid out


While I don't really frag that often, I do have a set of fragging tools for when the need arises. More often than not i'm cutting back my "nuisance" corals like the Green Star Polyps and Xenia. Here's the set I have: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EHJQ6M/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When I was setting up my rockscape, I have my base rocks directly on the bottom glass, not on sand, That prevents the rocks from shifting when/if you have something that burrows. My rocks were simply stacked on each other, but I was also having stability issues. I ended up using Instant Ocean's hold fast epoxy stick: Instant Ocean HoldFast Epoxy Stick for Fish & Reef Aquariums, 4.4-oz tube

It's not the greatest stuff in the world, and can be a pain to work with, but it has done the job. Here's the process I used:
Find the point where 2 rocks are making contact, and get a feel for how large that is
pull off about a 1/2 - 1" piece of the epoxy (depending on how much of the 2 rocks are touching) and kneed it to mix, eventually rolling it into a ball
Then I would carefully lift up on the upper rock until I could fit the ball of epoxy under it
Then press the upper rock back down into the epoxy ball, until it's resting back where it was
Smooth out the epoxy that has been pushed out, up into the upper rock, and down into the lower rock, making a sort of cone that's gripping all of the nooks and crannies of the rock
Then patiently let the epoxy harden

In the 125 that i'm setting up, i'm going to take the time to lay out all of the dryrock first, and then i'll drill holes so I can add fiberglass rod supports that will keep the rocks in place.

Definitely wear gloves when putting your hands into tanks, especially if you have Zoanthid polyps. It's not something I always do, and I almost always regret it. I've been cut by sharp rock / shells, stabbed by vermetid snail tubes, not to mention the chance of a fireworm sting when moving rocks around. Just get nitrile gloves that are powder free. You don't want that powder floating around your tank.

Let me know if you have any questions, or would like better angled pictures.

 

Nice tank and video!! What are you using for flow?

 

Partners in crime are always fun! if you need help, I'm sure the members who offered to help will be thete for you. You might want to message them to give them a heads up on when