# 10 gallon redone..



## Mystery snail (Mar 26, 2010)

Put some sand on the bottom and redid the rocks and took out some plants. Home to 2 black skirts and 3 albino cory cats. U can see one of the skirts in his cave : )


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## Deino0oZ (Oct 25, 2009)

nice..i like it!
but i have a question...
on the rocks are they already stuck together like
that or did u use some kind of putty to hold them?


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## Mystery snail (Mar 26, 2010)

Hey Deino, thanks, and as for the rocks, I just stacked them one by one, and I sort of poked and pushed everytime I added one to see if it was stable.. and when I was done I pushed at the top one pretty hard, again to see if it would hold.. I think I've heard of silicone being used to put rocks togetherl, I love rocks, and am sure when I get a bigger tank, I will give that a shot (I'll do some research to see if it is ok...


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## elvis332 (Dec 29, 2007)

Nice tanks.HOpe those rocks are tighly fitted.Since Once one of my rocks fell on my gourmi and killed it.


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## Superfly724 (Sep 16, 2007)

Hey there. That looks really nice! Very good job on it. I have a quick question, though. What's with the bag of gravel? Is that so the bacteria stays in the tank and it cycles faster, or what? I've never seen that before.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

I'm going to guess the gravel was the substrate before the sand. Since the gravel would have had a lot of the bacteria in it, it would be good to re-seed the tank with the old substrate. However I assume MS doesnt want to keep the gravel in there so they tied it up in a bag so they could pull it out in a week.


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## ApplePie (Jan 21, 2010)

Why did you take plants out? I would like to see more in there.


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## Mystery snail (Mar 26, 2010)

Bmlbytes is correct! What a guy. It's a pair of pantyhose ( never washed, I hope), with my old gravel in it. As Bytes said, to keep the good bacteria in the tank. I'm going ot keep it in there for 2 weeks, then take it out, and wala, a sand substrate.

Applepie, when I take my old gravel out, I'll have more room, and I'll see if some more plants are needed.


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## Buggy (Oct 17, 2006)

I have the same kind of slate rock in my African cichlid tank. Be careful! Vacs and water changes will cause the sand to shift and they will topple. Check them often to make sure they are still stable.
BTW, I love the white sand. I wish I had used it instead of the tan river sand I have.


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## Fishy:) (Apr 10, 2010)

Did you just take rocks from outside and put them in there? Or did you just buy them from some fish place? Could you run hot water over rocks from outside to kill the bacteria?


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## FancyGoldfish (Jun 6, 2010)

Nice job! 
Hi there wittle fishie in cave=D


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

Mystery snail said:


> Hey Deino, thanks, and as for the rocks, I just stacked them one by one, and I sort of poked and pushed everytime I added one to see if it was stable.. and when I was done I pushed at the top one pretty hard, again to see if it would hold.. I think I've heard of silicone being used to put rocks togetherl, I love rocks, and am sure when I get a bigger tank, I will give that a shot (I'll do some research to see if it is ok...


yep silicone works great i just built a custom waterfall from slate for my 110G frog and salamander terrarium its awesome by the way lol anyhow the best way to do it i found is to bead it first off with the silicone where the rocks meet then once that dries in about a day or two tip it onto its side or back and actually silicone around the edges where the rocks meet this will make a nice tight seal and be strong enough to pick up my water fall weighs over 30 pounds and i can pick it all up by the top peice. Just make sure the rocks are completely washed of any dust/particulate and dried completely. This may hold for a while the way you have it but i fear like someone else said that when the sand shifts and moves that it will become unstable and topple over.


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

oh and make sure its 100% pure silicone and safe for aquariums


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## bubble87 (May 20, 2010)

looks good but would look better with more plants


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## jclee (Jun 6, 2010)

Revolution1221 said:


> oh and make sure its 100% pure silicone and safe for aquariums


If you want to save some money, pick it up at the hardware store. Anything that is 100% silicone will be aquarium-safe, even if it's not designed, marketed and labeled for aquarium use, (and it will be _a lot_ cheaper if it's not marketed for aquariums). 

I agree that the rock pile looks fantastic, and I also agree that shifting sand might create problems with its stability. I think it's worth taking it out and letting it dry for a day or two so that you can seal it all in place, just in case. (I know it would probably nag at the back of my mind for a time if it were me, but I suppose I'm a worry wort.)


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## Mystery snail (Mar 26, 2010)

Due to popular demand... and a rock slipping (no injuries) I have siliconed my rocks.... they look the same... I will in the future be siliconing all..


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## Babydelux3 (Jul 5, 2010)

Love it! Very nice 10 gallon!


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