Texas Holey Rock ????

[Jaclin]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????

So wait, to quickly change the subject, there's a catfish that survived all of that?? Wow! That's great! Do you know what kind?

And keep us posted on the search for the holey rock. Good luck!  :)

Hi,

I don't know what kind of cat fish it is.  It is a little one.  Maybe Raul knows because he is the one I hired to clean and set up my tank for me and he saw it.  It is a little guy and he/she is shy.  I am lucky to catch a glimpse of him every couple of days.  I don't know how he survived this ordeal.  He must have been hiding in the filter area somehow.  Hubby  bought the tank in the Dallas area and he survived that long trip home too.  What a little trooper!!  That little bitty fish that was in the bag with the ghost shrimp is happily living in the tank and it has been five days since we put them in there.  

I'm so anxious to put fish in there that didn't end up in there by accident.  lol  I'm thinking that if these two have survived and are doing well..... why can't I put in other fish now?  Huh????  *grin*  I know I'm like everyone else and am impatient wiht the cycling process.  Heck..... I had never even heard of cycling before getting the big tank.  Like I said before, I'm pretty much still a newbie.  I have managed to do well with my 10 and 20 gallon tanks.  Lost some Wal-Mart guppies (sp?)  What do you expect from Wal-Mart fish huh?  I'll never buy another fish from someplace like that.

As for the holey rock, we will more than likely buy from Aqua Zoo.  I am only about 10 miles from there and, quite frankly, I'm really burned out looking at other fish stores.....  Guess I'm just really tired today and the thought of another trip to north Houston does not appeal to me today.  lol

I very much appreciate all the feedback I'm getting here.  Thank you ao so much!!!!   :)

xoxoxo
Jaclin

[RonR.]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????

I went to home depot and bought some sheets of plexiglas.  I cut them to fit the bottom of my glass tank.  I used GE 1 silicon to keep it in place.  Make sure it's GE 1 (with no anti-mildew additives).  I put a few lines down using a chauk gun, placed the plexiglas on top and but a good bead around the edge.  I place my largest holey rock pieces directly on top of the plexiglas and then placed my sand around it.  My fronts dig like crazy so I had to be sure to place the holey rock directly on top and flat of the plexiglas sheet.  Haven't had any movement or shifting of these largest pieces in over 2 years.

No, I'm not a special customer at AE, just persistent.  I went in person, told them I'd been over at Village and didn't see what I needed so I came over to check out the source.  They sent  me out back and I picked out the best pieces I could find.  Some were so big I could barely move them.  I bought 3 pieces weighing around 75 lbs and several smaller ones.  I bought some flat pieces that serve as the tops of the caves and smaller pieces that serve as bases on either side to hold up the flat pieces.

Hope this helps you out.

[Mzungu]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????

Just to answer one of your earlier questions, I looked at Home Depot and Lowes online, but I can't seem to find it either. But from what I found, everyone says to go to the lighting aisle (one said ceiling tiles, though...). The egg crate will be there. For some reason I guess they don't sell it online?

[Ellen]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????

Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you.

I promise it exists. For some reason, HD and Lowes do not put their entire inventory on their websites. If you go to one of these stores, go to the area with the flourescent bulbs and fans and look around. It comes in 2' x 4' (I think that's right) sheets that you can cut to fit what you need. http://www.collins-consulting.org/orchids/eggCrate.jpg <--a pic

Most stores with flourescent lighting, if you look up at the lights, between you and the light is a grid. That is the light diffuser or egg crate. It comes in handy for lots of aquarists, it can be used for dividing tanks as well as protecting the bottom glass.

If you get a really big piece of rock and plan on having diggers in your tank, IMO, I wouldn't just set the rock on the gravel. If a digging fish decides to dig away the gravel, you could end up with a big rock putting pressure on one spot in your tank, causing it to stress or crack. I don't know how big of a rock it would take, or how sudden a movement, and it might be a moot point with the flat-bottomed rock, I'm just terrified of coming home to a wet floor and dry tank.

Ellen

[Ellen]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????

And pardon my spelling please, I have no idea what a diffueser is.  :?

Ellen

[Ellen]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????

Mzungu! Ya ninjaed me yet again! ROFL!  

[Mzungu]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????



At least she'll be able to find it!

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????

+1 on the egg crate stuff like ellen stated, it helps distribute the weight over the floor of the tank.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????

just wanted to make a public correction since it has been brought to my attention that my post here was defamatory...


aquazoo sells their holy rock for $2.29 and not the roundabout price i posted of $2.99-3.99. which is $0.50-1.50 less that my estimated posted price i guesstimated on my poor memory.



again i am sorry if my guesstimated price off the top of my head offended anyone i only meant to state the fact that there are other places that sells holey rock for $0.99 per lb. which is $1.30 cheaper than what what aquazoo sells it for.

i apologize for my previous assumptions and now have made sure i had my facts straight before posting this here post.



eta: if my memory serves me right the starter of this thread asked for FREE OR CHEAP holey rock

[Jaclin]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????

lol   Yup, I did ask for free or cheap holey rock.  hahaha  We went into Aqua Zoo and bought a nice piece about 6 PM this evening and I think it weighed 62 pounds.  Hubby paid for it.  Yippie!!  It is pretty.  Just finished cleaning it and am letting it dry before bringing it inside.  Will have to take out water tomorrow and take some things out of the tank and do some rearranging tomorrow to get the purdy rock in there.  It was $2.29 a pound.  They sure are nice people... the Aqua Zoo folks.  

Thanks Ellen for the picture.  We saw a tank with some egg crate in it so we know what we are looking for now too.  :)  

Thank ALL of you for all of your input on this subject for me.  Ya'll have been wonderful.  I'm so happy that any of you took the time to wrote to me about my holey rock thread.  

By the way, we never did figure out what kind of cat fish we have in our tank.  I called the previous owner of the tank and he didn't seem to know either as he said he had different kinds in there.  The little fish is so shy he won't come out much.  I caught a glimpse of him day before yesterday...

xoxoxo
Jaclin

[semper]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????

i am glad you found a nice piece of holey rock.

I forgot to mention Meagans Tropical Emporium had two very nice show pieces

unsure how many pounds but they were in the price range you paid for yours.

[littleguy]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????

I second the egg crate idea, but if your tanks bottom is fully supported by the stand and the rock is flat on the bottom glass and not on top of the substrate I personally wouldn't bother. At Lowes by Baybrook I think the egg crate is on the back wall not too far from the lumber (12 or 13 dollars). But it seems when it comes to Lowes and Home Depot things are never where you would first think to look. LOL. I bought some holey rock awhile back at a fish auction in Austin I was extremely happy with it until I saw the holey rock at Aqua Zoo about a 1/2 year later. After going home and looking at my old stuff I realized w/ the time I spend looking into my tank it was time for an upgrade. After all holey rock is pretty much a permanent fixture in the aquarium, it is the only component in my aquarium that is older than me and it proved it was a trooper lasting through hurricane Katrina, lol. I know everyones budget is different and to each his own but for my dollar I also got my rock from Aqua Zoo. I know some Landscaping stores have Holey Rock for real cheap but looking through it the only thing that came to my mind was "Fire in the hole". Too often though I go to a store just to only like what is in the displays that the store wont sell. I mean why put it out for people to see. If I wanted to see rocks I cant have I would go to Robbins Bros. Good luck w/ the new tank.
-Only Bad things happen fast in this hobby  
-G

[Jaclin]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????

i am glad you found a nice piece of holey rock.

I forgot to mention Meagans Tropical Emporium had two very nice show pieces

unsure how many pounds but they were in the price range you paid for yours.

Thanks Semper..... I'll have to check that place out another time.  :)

xxooxoox
Jaclin

[Jaclin]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????

Thanks for the post LittleGuy.  

I really am happy with my deal at Aqua Zoo.  Like many other lfs, they are so nice and willing to help and answer any questions that we may have.  I will probably come to really rely and help from them and this group.... especially since I'm so new to this stuff.  I got lucky with my two small tanks.  Didn't know much about cycling at all.  

I think we'll go with the egg crate.  The Lowes at Baybrook would be the one we go to, so we'll check out the back wall.  If that fails us because they decided to move things around, we'll just ask someone.  :)  

I'm really glad that YOU and your Holey Rock made it through Katrina!!!!! I hope I never have to experience a hurricane.  I did survive a natural disaster though.  Do you remember the Johnstown PA flood in July 1977?  I lost everything I owned in that flood.  It was horrible.....

I'd love to see pictures of anyone's tanks that wants to share them with me.  :)  I'll take more pictures of mine when I get some fish in there!

xoxoxo
Jaclin

[Ellen]

Re: Texas Holey Rock ????

Jaclin,
Have you seen the link to the Photo Gallery at the top of the page? Lots of people have pictures of their setups in there.

Ellen