Aquascaping a reef

[brandonmason]

I recently got a call from a friend who's done what most of us have done. You leave the LFS with a purchase and you want to place your new found piece in the tank. However you must be quick because you've got plans... leaving enough time to glue your new piece in and bolt back out the door. However Murphy's law decides your plans don't mean anything. An avalanche before your eyes leaves you disgusted and just exhausted thinking about dealing with it. And because you were satisfied with how it looked, you spend hours trying to piece it back together. Hours turns into extreme frustration. Then you contemplate the actual existence of your reefs presence in your home. Well behold... For those that missed the demonstration... The anti collapse... California approved (although might cause cancer) aquascape.

Start with a large and heavy base rock.
Here I'm playing with two pieces...

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[brandonmason]

Then I drill the rock to hold a fiberglass rod to place another rock

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[brandonmason]

Testing the strength of the bottom rock I push down on the pieces to check for shifting and counter balance and I drill the upper rock to hold another piece

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[brandonmason]

Playing with the look I drill again and add 2 more pieces

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[brandonmason]

Now with my other large base rock I pick a spot to drill where as the rock can handle weight without tipping or rocking

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[brandonmason]

And repeating the steps before I drill some more

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[brandonmason]

Adding more to complete the look I'm going for (Which at this point has yet to be determined)

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[brandonmason]

To be continued...

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[dapperjman]

What's the best bit to drill with?

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[brandonmason]

Dapperjman;1115629 wrote: What's the best bit to drill with?

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Bosch is what I like to use. Just a masonry bit the same diameter as the rod your using

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[brandonmason]

So I started from scratch and this is how it's looking so far

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[brandonmason]

Final product...

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[jimmystephens]

Looks great!