Stacking slate for cichlids...

[Misskiwi67]

The aquascape I would like to do for the new tank involves stacking slate to provide hiding places as well as a visually pleasing aquascape. I had figured just one tall/wide mountain-like setup, but I'm not sure how to do it.

Do you need to silicon the slate, or can you stack it properly so that it will not move when the fish move the gravel or during cleaning?

Is there a way to protect the glass on the bottom? I think I read something about putting styrofoam on the bottom once? Where do you get styrofoam, and do you have any other ideas?

[Dragon_Lord_Tia]

i silicon my slate walls and i use eggcrate for rocks but if you are have a bottom flat bit of slate you dont need it its only needed when the bottom has a point or shape edge that can crack the glass;)

[JSchmidt]

I've made quite a few slate 'condos' for my mbuna tanks. I've found that the sticking ability of the slate seems pretty variable. I have some that I siliconed together a couple of years ago that are still stuck together, and others that didn't make it more than a month or two.

I don't bother making these structures anymore, but when I did, I would limit the overall size so that the structure was no larger than 8"-10" in any dimension. Any larger than that, and the pieces fall apart when you try to move them. Also, I don't think I'd trust silicone (or epoxy, for that matter) to glue large slabs together. I'd rather just make sure I stack them well.

Finally, another reason to keep your rock assemblies small, if you decide to make them at all, is that it's much easier to break down and clean the tank if your pieces are small enough to pick up and move. If you build a structure that's very large (or that's attached to a wall or the floor of the tank), it's a pain to remove. That can cause problems later if you have to remove baby fish or sick fish. Just something to think about...

HTH,
Jim

[Misskiwi67]

Do you have any recommendations on how to use the space effectively in a tall tank? Since the tank is for cichlids, I'd like to put in several territory boundaries and hiding spots for individuals, without taking up the entire tank with rock.

[JSchmidt]

What kind of cichlids are we talking about? I haven't had much luck getting mbunas to inhabit rockwork high up in the tank; they seem to prefer being on the floor of the tank.

Jim

[scholar]

I use gray volcanic rock as pillars. Then place Slate rocks on these. last place red lava rock on the top of the slates. it looks great and have never crumbled on me. :)

[Misskiwi67]

I have no idea what kind of cichlids they are. Assorted Africans is all I know. One is yellow with a black stripe on its dorsal, another is blueish, one is cream with black patches, one is a creamy yellow orange.... Not sure if this helps at all. I wish I knew more, but I don't keep cichlids. Now if you were to ask about bettas.... LOL. I'm doing all the research so I can make sure my moms cichlids will have the best habitat possible in their new tank.

I was thinking of using the broken clay pots from her current tank to stack in with the slate. Would this work ok?

[125gJoe]

Anyone have pics of the slate stacking? I think that would be a real nice look!!

[Philbe]

http://www.cichlids.com/info/Tank_examples
Navigate around here for some great looking tanks.

[slipknottin]

Heres my 72 bow

[125gJoe]

Philbe, some pics there were really nice, and them some were not.. But still, it's good to see them and get ideas!

Slipknottin, is driftwood 'bad' for certain types of cichlids?
I was wondering if you added a good sized piece of dark driftwood, to break up some of the uniformity of the rocks.. ..Just a thought.. This kinda thing is all personal preference.. :)

edit:
I'd like to add some kind of dark rock to my 125g, but I can't seem to find exacly the look I'm thinking of.. Florida has no real in-the-wild rocks to be had..... It's true..

[Dean]

Drift wood is good for ca and sa cichlids but bad for africans. Simply driftwood lowers ph.

[Philbe]

http://web.mit.edu/lxs/www/cichlids/caves.html
Here is a little more info on caves etc.

[Philbe]

http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/Hobbyst%20Gallery.html
This is a great site for cichlid tanks. They tell all about the tanks and then they are ccritiqued. Some are amazing and other are okay but great ideas.

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by Dean
Drift wood is good for ca and sa cichlids but bad for africans. Simply driftwood lowers ph. Ok, I did forget about that. I haven't done much research into the African Cichlid...