Rock wall construction vs. gravel and time

It doesn't smear (I wouldn't dab, I would make a continuous section but I don't think you have to cover the ENTIRE surface; I put on the back 1/2 so it squeezes out the back and doesn't show in front.). Think very soft plastercine (or Play Doh). You have to mold/push it into the rock and make sure there's enough thickness to squishy up (technical term) against the next rock. Then anything that squeezed out when I joined the rocks, I just pushed back tightly againt it so it was smoother. Only cut off a bit of the putty at a time to work with. You have 7 minutes working time before it starts to harden, at least on the one I bought. (It was the 'Instant Ocean' one on the Big Als link I gave earlier, I only bought that one because it was cheapest, it dries white. I think the Two Little Fishes dries grey which would be better for you, but in Canada it was more expensive, on the Big Als site in the U.S. it was cheaper than the other).

Edit... here's a picture of 1 section, front and back. I pushed up the excess putty, as it shows, also because I didn't want gaps where nasties could accumulate.

wallback.jpg
 
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I'm stodgy and conservative, so I use "2 Little Fishies" (Julian Sprung's product line). I do not really smear it on, I roll smallish balls (about the size/mass of the rubber or plastic furniture protectors) and spot them around on the lower of the two surfaces to be joined, then press the upper piece down into it firmly. I have not price compared, I stick with a product known to be tank-safe. I'd bet that is is more expensive, but that is cheap insurance to me - over the life of the tank and the wall (at least 10 years for my setups), the cost difference is not a big issue to me. That is the same reasoning I apply to using Eheim canisters, "permanent" filter media and substrates, etc.

I do still have around some epoxied wall segments done at the old house, >18 years ago. Good enough for me.
 
Thanks a ton gals and guys! I don't mean to sound cheap (can't help it, I am!) but I'm placing an order with BigAls and wondered if one stick would be enough? I've used plenty of 2part liquid before, not the stick stuff. The lfs sells it so I'll get one stick for now. I know it's only $7.49 (for Two Little Fishies Aquastik (Stone Grey) 4 OZ.) for an extra stick, but...oh wait...already said it...I'm "conservative". I won't be when using it though, RTR.
Hey kveeti, $7.49 US vs. $18.99 CND? There are some nice houses for sale in our neighborhood! :D ;)
 
beviking said:
Hey kveeti, $7.49 US vs. $18.99 CND? There are some nice houses for sale in our neighborhood! :D ;)
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No kidding. It took me a long time of staring at the $ amount to actually press 'buy'. But I wanted to do this right, there was none in any of the fish stores locally, so it was the only choice I had. (I absolutely 'love' when I go in a place and ask for something, I even had the product name, and they look at me like I'm one of Joe's aliens; same thing happened at several hydroponics stores when I was trying to find KN03, but I digress....) I've been planning this since I bought the tank in April, it has to be perfect.

The one wall (my tank will have 2) took a whole 4 oz tube, it is 30 inches long (curved). According to RTR's usage, I probably used twice as much as I needed to. Oh, well. The next wall will be better.
 
RTR said:
Hey, I never said that mine was "the right way", but that it is "my way", and those two can be quite different. ;)
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I am thiiiiiiis close to putting this quote in as my sig quote! How true it is for me as well! I'm sure it has nothing to do with us being men...does it? :laugh:
 
There would be a lot of discussion in a chit-chat thread on both of those points - my wife would definitely agree with your last point, while I would say that being stubborn and hard-headed is not gender specific. I could point again to my wife, but know better than to do that. ;)

Everybody eventually does what is comfortable for them, but I do like to think that all my history of testing and experimentation, and experience, has had some point, and that overall my admittedly elaborate techniques require less time and effort for me day-to-day than a lot of folks devote to a couple of tanks. They just require a bit more equipment initially. I have worked very hard to find out what will give me the best possible water quality, and how that can be done long term with the least possible routine work from me. I do a less tank care (time investment, not equipment or money) these days than I did 30 years ago with 8-12 tanks.

I use aging vessels and pumps because while they use space and require up-front money, they are faster and more convenient in routine use. Ditto separation of bio- and mechanical filtration. Ditto moderate light planted fish tanks rather than plant tanks. Ditto veggie filters or other refugia.

I am greedy. I want lots of tanks. But I will not even consider spending the hours per tank per week than many inexerienced hobbyist devote to care. By the same token, I am not willing to compromise the quality of life of the fish in those tanks by my own greed and laziness. Avoiding problems is a science in itself. ;)
 
I just scanned the thread, so forgive me if I missed this, but, is generic epoxy putty okay for aquarium use? What about the two-step mixed stuff?
 
O.k., just for clarification...
To have a piece of glass/plexiglass as an angled barrier (as seen in the aquabotanic link) to hold the gravel back, the glass/plexiglass should be angled back toward the "deep end". That is to say, the glass/plexiglass is set at the base of the wall where the wall sits on the aquarium floor and is angled away from the wall. The wall should also be more narrow at the bottom and wider (fron to back) at the top so it can follow this angle?
OR
If you use the narrower base/wider top wall method, will the gravel be fine without a glass/plexiglass barrier?

I would also like to have a slope (a gravel path) going up through a break in the wall. Would pieces of slate (on end) buried in the gravel help hold back most of the gravel?
 
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