Brian's Aquarium Care August 10, 2014 Share August 10, 2014 I have seen a bunch of people use acrylic rods to stack rocks in ways they otherwise wouldn't be stable. I was told by a couple people to just use a wood drill bit but that didn't work. I then ordered a masonry/stone/tile bit which was better but doesn't seem to work as well as I would have thought. Do I just have harder than usual rock or is there a better bit people have used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incredible Corals August 10, 2014 Share August 10, 2014 Yes you must have. If it's tonga branch you can't drill it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos August 10, 2014 Share August 10, 2014 I have seen a bunch of people use acrylic rods to stack rocks in ways they otherwise wouldn't be stable. I was told by a couple people to just use a wood drill bit but that didn't work. I then ordered a masonry/stone/tile bit which was better but doesn't seem to work as well as I would have thought. Do I just have harder than usual rock or is there a better bit people have used? Is the bit a carbide tipped bit? The type of drill you are using will also matter. What are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian's Aquarium Care August 10, 2014 Author Share August 10, 2014 Yes, the second bit I tried is carbide tipped. It is just a standard Dewalt power drill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuffyGeos August 10, 2014 Share August 10, 2014 Yes, the second bit I tried is carbide tipped. It is just a standard Dewalt power drill. Is the bit new, or just something you found in a tool box. You are basically drilling through limestone, so if it is not sharp it may take awhile. The smaller battery powered drills may not have enough torque to get through it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bravanc August 10, 2014 Share August 10, 2014 if your rock has been soaking it should be soft enough to use a masonary bit with a regular drill vs a hammer drill. if the rock is dry then a hammer drill would be needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian's Aquarium Care August 10, 2014 Author Share August 10, 2014 It is a new carbide tipped bit on a corded drill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incredible Corals August 10, 2014 Share August 10, 2014 Try a smaller 1/4" drill bit first then moved up in size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE August 10, 2014 Share August 10, 2014 (edited) I have done this with the majority of my personal systems. It removes the urge to play with the rocks and gives you piece of mind that everything wont fall over. It takes a lot of time up front, but as long as you take your time and get it right the first time, you will never have to re-aquascape the tank. Steve hit the nail on the head for drilling the rock though.... Start small and move up. Also TAKE YOUR TIME. Keep the drill bit wet and just work through the rock slowly. Work too fast and the rock will break. Just regular masonry drill bits is what I have used. For my current tank I used a PVC base and a fiberglass rod so that I could keep the hole thinner through Marco Rocks. [/url] Another tank 5 years ago, I used just plain PVC with Fiji Live Rock Neither of these are anything crazy, but you can find much crazier online. Personally I don't like the intense Bonsai structures that people build. Edited August 10, 2014 by L8 2 RISE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendeng August 11, 2014 Share August 11, 2014 Dang, this is exactly my plan for my 20g. Thanks for the pics! Good work! Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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