 |
|
| Home | Marine Aquariums |
Freshwater Aquariums |
Planted Aquariums |
Brackish Systems |
Ponds,
lakes & fountains |
Turtles & Amphibians |
Aquatic Business |
Aquatic Science |
Ask the WWM Crew a Question |
| Please visit our Sponsors | ||||
Fishpond, rock/coloring 10/12/09 Pond Rocks 5/17/08 Would it be ok to use limestone rocks for a pond? I will have goldfish and plants. Thanks, Renee <Such calcium/carbonate rock can be employed IF it does not change/alter your water quality too much... goldfish can tolerate quite hard, alkaline water... as can many plants (not all)... I would be investigating the needs of those you have in mind, testing the water for pH, alkalinity. Bob Fenner> Faux rock repair around my pool 9/2/07 I live in Las Vegas. The faux rock waterfall that is part of my swimming pool has started to crack in various places. The calcium from the salt system leaches into the cracks. The pool is 7 years old .The rocks are a typical wire mesh/rebar/stamped & stained concrete variety. The cracks themselves are no bigger than 3/32" wide, but some are as long as a foot or two. Researching the net doesn't really address a specific technique....could you be so kind as to advise me on a DIY??? respectfully, Michael Best <Mmm, yes... there is a Thoro Product called Water Plug that is a very fast-setting mortar that actually expands when it cures (most cementaceous materials shrink)... I would get this, and an oxide to color it (take a sample of your rock to a stucco company and they'll match it for you), mix the two together dry... in small batches (the amount you can use in under five minutes). Apply with a sharp trowel, wipe with a yellow sponge that is damp... Voila! Bob Fenner> Water sealant for Koi pond waterfall
8/24/07 I have a Koi pond (see www.interall.co.il/pond.html
<Nice pix and great documentation of your project! Glad I wasn't
there digging when you hit those rocks!> for further details) and I
would like to use a water sealant on the edging stones as well as the
waterfall stones so as to inhibit Ph rise (Ph is at 8.4) as well as GH
(16) and KH (10) rise. I have found Thompson's (r) Water Seal (r)
Clear Multi-Surface Waterproofer
http://www.thompsonswaterseal.com/products/list.asp?show=home.products.wtrPrf.multi
and was wondering whether over time the sealant would leak into the
pond. Thanks, Hank <Mmm... not much of an issue... as the material
is quite chemically inert once it is cured... But... don't have
much confidence that this application will last... or get you
"where you want to go" here... How hard, alkaline is your
source water? I might set up a trash can... near the pond... to adjust
the water quality over time/changes... and use some live plant material
as a mediating influence in the meanwhile... Not (too) hard to slowly
drive, modify water chemistry over time here... Bob Fenner> Flagstone... use for? I recently purchased some flagstone from Home Dept. I have looked all over the internet and your website for specifics on safety of Flagstone. Is flagstone as safe as some of the other rocks? <Mmm, most such rock is composed of sandstone... in turn a mix of mostly silicates (largely chemically inert) and some other material with variable solubility... IF you're using this material in a setting where the water is not too acidic, or alternatively don't mind/can use the slight alkaline reserve this material will impart (e.g. Great Lakes African Cichlid, Central American biotopes, as a surround on a garden pond... there is not likely a cause for concern... I would NOT use this material in most marine aquarium applications... more for the need/use of more soluble calcareous material, than toxicity issues. Bob Fenner> Lifting boulders out of pond to patch flexible liner
- 03/24/07 Hi there, I am hoping you can help me
figure out what I need to do to levitate a big boulder so that the
flexible pond liner underneath can be repaired. (The
aftermath of a shady contractor.) I have thought about
using an engine hoist, but they are designed to be used on a level
surface and would not straddle the distance needed to be on the stable
banks about 6-8 feet wide. I have thought about a installing
a boat hoist outside the pond, as well. I have also thought
about (simply) rolling it out of the pond and banishing it to the
status of land-based rock feature outside the paradisal pond.
What think ye? Thanks, Jody <Mmm, first and foremost to
make cautionary remarks re smashed body parts... Remember thou art
mortal! Secondly to state that any movement of this rock, smooth or
not, may well tear your liner... So... Do get, place "carpet
remnants" or samples about one edge/side... and with lots of
coordinated, strong friends... with good backs... lift... with your
legs... the rock onto the aforementioned carpet... and scoot more of
the same under the edge just lifted... go over to the other side...
lift and scoot the carpet pieces further in... Am hopeful this rock is
not too large/heavy to allow this prep. work... IF there is sufficient
stability, AND room around the edges of this water feature... you may
be able to "chain" this rock (securely... with bolts,
washers, nuts twixt overlaying links... Tie all this to some sturdy
lumber of sufficient length to straddle the pond... re-locate those
friends we listed before... and brute-strength, lift this rock out...
more carpet pieces laid out in the direction the rock will cover is
recommended... DO be careful... and please write back if this rock is
too "round", heavy... there are other possibilities. Bob
Fenner> Reusing Dried Rock...Not Always Good - 09/29/06 Hello, <<Howdy>> I was doing some research on live rock and could not come across anything on this. <<Okay>> I currently bought a saltwater aquarium from a friend who decided to quit the hobby. I bought the aquarium about 3 or 4 months after he had drained his aquarium, and he left his 30 lbs. of live rock outside in the sun for that amount of time. <<"Live" no more...>> So I took it deciding I might could use it later to maybe seed it with fresh live rock. <<Will never be "the same" again>> Ok so here goes, is the live rock officially dead? <<...as the proverbial doornail>> I assumed it was so I placed it in a garden pond with goldfish outside of my house to let it just sit, but red algae is now starting to grow on the rock. <<Yikes! Depending on the size of the pond, this rock can raise the pH well beyond what is comfortable/healthy for the goldfish. At the very least, the (likely) low pH of the pond will have sapped much of the buffering capacity from this rock>> I was just wondering why this is happening, because I'm not expecting anything to happen, and this is freshwater. <<This has nothing to do with whether the water is "salted" or not. You've seen algae grow on rock in fresh water haven't you? Same thing happening here...though this rock likely had dead/dried organic matter deep inside that once the rock re-hydrated, is now contributing to a Cyanobacteria bloom on the surface of the rock. Nothing strange going on here>> I was just going to use it in the new tank after a while to see if it could be seeded from other live rock. <<Could be used as "base" rock (after a few soakings/rinsings), but will never regain the biota it once had and may have little if any buffering capacity left. Personally, I wouldn't use this rock to build a captive reef...maybe break up/use for frag bases>> Any information would be great, just wondering why its growing red algae. What's going on? <<As explained>> Thanks, Cody <<Regards, EricR>> Faux garden rock enquiry 12/13/05 Hi Robert, I have just read your "Rock Selection & Use" at the wet web media site. I am a grandmother and want to make some easy to handle rocks to place in my garden. Are you able to help me with a recipe and the how to, to accomplish this? <Mmm, I think so... are these to be of size, number? If not many and small, there may be a possibility of purchasing simple ready-made ones...> Any help would be appreciated. Doesn't seem to be much know-how around to help the crafty people. Hope you can, regards Yvonne <Consider making frames of wire mesh, covering these with canvas bags (like those used for commercial vegetable handling), and coating this with colored mortar... With a bit of practice, easy to shape final coats with trowel... Larger rock can be supported with tied re-bar internally. Bob Fenner> Locate Obsidian Rock for Japanese Dry Garden 10/16/05 Robert, my name is James Russell and I am trying to find a location to buy some Obsidian rock for my Japanese dry garden. Any ideas or leads that you can impart my way would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your help. <Mmm, the best source or link to it is through local "Rock, sand, gravel outlets" (you can likely find through the Yellow Pages... under "landscape")... if they can't help you, I'd ring up the clubs in your area that deal in "Minerals and Gems"... they will know where to even collect this volcanic glass... Do be careful (of course, gloves) in handling... obsidian is very sharp. Bob Fenner> How to make faux pond rock look more non-faux 8/2/05 I have some artificial rocks that I have used to put in and around a garden pond. These "rocks" have holes in them and I have used real ones to try to fill in the holes so as to not have unsightly gaping things in my rock wall. I need to cover another area with these same kind of rocks and would like to know if you have any ideas about covering holes? The rocks are made of some light weight fiber (I think) type material and they are plastic on the back side. <Mmm, likely CRF's... concrete reinforced fiberglass...> The back of all of them is flat. I tried the form spray stuff that you use around pipes but that stuff never set up and I poured it right out on the ground! I have racked my very old (probably worn out) brain and can't come up with a thing!! Any help you might offer will be greatly appreciated!! Thanks Candi Rivers <Heee! We never made these types of faux rocks, but installed many of them... reasonable additional material can be added... fiberglass cloth, resin and hardener... and some sort of "matching" substrate (sand, dirt...) while all is setting up (use your funkiest clothing, gloves...). The cloth is best cut with sharp scissors and the resin/hardener painted on... with an inexpensive to-be-thrown-away brush. Oh, and cementaceous material does not stick for anytime in these applications... Bob Fenner> FAQs on Water Feature Rock Use/Making Mr. Fenner - I'm no expert, but the time seems right for a well written waterfall publication. I've spent a great deal of time researching my waterfall/stream rehab program and while information is available, credentials such as yours are not available. Greg Bickal ( http://www.bickal.com) sells an inexpensive DIY CD, but my 30 years as a commercial banker has left me overly skeptical of anything that not tried and true. <Am as skeptical...> Anyhow, if you need some help from someone with pretty good grammar and reasonable word processing/page layout skills, I'd be willing to help. -Barry <Outstanding. Thank you for coming forward... at this juncture, I think Jason (Chodakowski) and I's efforts at a small water feature (design, construction, stocking, maintenance) are about all we and the intended audience can/will handle... I do wish there was a simple kinetic pictures method of showing folks the "how" of different types of artificial rock making... the sounds that can be engineered... some of the philosophy of rock placement... Bob Fenner> FAQs on Water Feature Rock Use/Making Instead of the reference to http://www.rockandwaterscapes.net/, I wonder if you intended http://www.rockwaterdesigns.com. They're located in Yorba Linda (vs. Ireland) and seem to specialize exclusively in the use of glass fiber reinforced concrete. <Nice site... don't know what happened to the Rock and Waterscapes that used to be in California... don't see it on the Net> I'm trying to resurrect a concrete stream and two waterfalls in my front yard and am grateful for the wealth of useful information contained on your site. Thanks! Barry Moore Fullerton, CA <Thank you. With a friends help at layout, editing, am trying to turn two self-published waterscape manuals into a useful tome... with more graphics, examples. Bob Fenner> Waterfall article on WetWebMedia.Com I was reading your article on WetWebMedia.com. I have a boulder waterfall going to my spa. They used granite for the areas where the water flows but holding up the spillway are large (sandstone) boulders. After a few years, one of the boulders is crumbling into sand and it falls into the spa as the ants crawl over it to carry off the grains. I tried Thompson's on it and I tried other water based sealers from Home Depot but they don't last long if it rains. Do you have any "brand" or "type" recommendations to slow down the "erosion" of my boulder (5 foot round) ? Any suggestion based on your experience would be greatly appreciated. <Thompson's doesn't work. Mmm, can't think of the brands right off hand, but do know where I would call on re in San Diego: Expo Stucco, in the Miramar area. Bob Fenner>
Rocks for scenery Dear Robert, We are looking for ways to make large, but lightweight, rocks and boulders for set designs for church programs. My husband recalls hearing about a mixture of Styrofoam (?) and concrete. Do you have any idea's? We are looking for something for this Easter- fairly quick- but also for Vacation Bible School this summer and future projects. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you, Bridget Marotz <Mmm, something of size? Temporary? This might better be built of canvas bagging draped over a frame of wood, tied rebar-steel... and spray-painted to look rock like... More expensive and permanent/sturdy would be two-part foams with cementaceous materials sprayed over them (with color)... and these last can be tooled to be more realistic... how permanent, how big a project are you considering? Bob Fenner> Fake rocks hi bob, have just read your postings and found it very informative. you see I have been researching how to make fake rocks with spray polyurethane foam and elastomeric coatings. <Mmm, used to do this... about twenty years ago. The field must have progressed by now...> we have this neat little spray unit for waterproofing and it will also spray foam. <Yes> my plan is to line the sculpted earth (watercourse) with the foam (6lb density) I was going to then cover the foam with our fast Set elastomeric membrane then in some area's I want to try and make it look like a real rock or rocks waterfall etc. <Yes... Perhaps with some "structural element/s underneath". That is, wire bent into shape, perhaps tied, and possibly steel-rod (rebar) with it if the "rocks" are very large). And, oh I see you ask the relevant prompt below> what do they put over the fiberglass to make it look like real rock. <There are dyes (for fiberglass as well as concrete, mortar use) and "spray" materials that can be applied to give more of a "sparkly", different "rock-type" exterior appearance. I encourage you to check with the concrete and stucco suppliers in your region/country.> any advice would be appreciated. mike <Bob Fenner> Michael Grosman Fiberglass Boulders Do you know of anyone who makes
fiberglass boulders that could be lifted off of or which open up and
close to cover utility boxes? <There used to be a bunch of folks
(ourselves included) who made these. Let me check the Net... Oh yeah,
Rock and Waterscapes is still in business:
http://www.rockandwaterscapes.net/ If they're not able to
economically ship you, ask them who is in your area. Bob Fenner>
Paula Southman Platte City, MO
|
|
|
Features: |
|
| Featured Sponsors: |
