# Lanzarote Lava Rock Kebabscape!!



## REDSTEVEO (29 Jul 2012)

Okay so me and the missus went to Lanzarote in early June, and yes it was windy. We went to the Timanfaya National Park and saw loads of mountains and volcano's and stuff. Lava rock was everywhere and I got to thinking.....

So I went out and bought an extra suitcase, sneaked out in the middle of the night and filled the suitcase up.....any way after they let me out of the police cell.....only joking  

I got back home and thought I am going to build a volcano out of lava rock and put it in my aquarium. So I started building it, it was like something out of the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. 

I had to get it all prepared in the garage without the missus finding out so that I could get it sorted when she went off to Germany. I took her to the airport on Saturday at 4 am, I was home by 5 am had some breakfast and got cracking.

I did not want just pile the rock up on top of each other and hope for the best because it doesn't usually stay up, I wanted some thing more permanent so I got to thinking how am I going to do this :?:  And then it hit me,  :idea: Kebabs, lava rock on sticks, daraaaa 8) 

I had already got the Lava rock sorted and drilled all the holes, I also went to a garden centre and bought some plastic stakes about a half inch thick. The idea was to drill the lava rock and sort it all out into different size groups. Then I started with the bigger bits at the bottom by sliding the stakes through the holes and adding more rock gradually getting smaller as I reached the end of the stake. I also used Milliput here and there to shore things up a bit and stop the rock sliding about or off the end of the stakes. 






Here are a few pics of the preparation.

Start with the right tools













I kept going until I had used all the lava rock to see how many kebabs I finished up with. Any way I ran out of lava rock and I also needed some plants, so off to see Jim and Mark at The Green Machine to get some. I took my camera and took a few shots while I was there. I bought about 12 quids worth of lava rock, and some plants.

Dwarf Hair grass, Parvula, Glossistigma, Hemianthus HC, Uticulara. I also stocked up on some Iron supplement and finished up lashing out just short of eighty quid, which if I'm honest is not bad for me.





Mines not gonna look anywhere near as good as this but hey ho, we can but dream  









Here are the finished kebabs, now don't laugh, I know what you are thinking, yes exactly what I was thinking this is gonna look sheight  













The trick is to keep all the small broken bits in a bucket because you are going to need them later. What do you  mean your'e never gonna do this in a million years  









Get the plants laid out and ready









The next bit was a bit tricky and I had my arms in the water for the next few hours arranging everything, but basically I finished up placing a total of eight lava rock kebabs in the tank a bit like building a wigwam. Once they were in place I then went about fixing some of the bits of rock left over into the holes and gaps. Some of the bits of rock I had drilled small niches in to fix the HC and the Uticulara into. I planted the grass, Glossistigma around the sides and the front and slotted in a few bits of moss I had from another tank in between the rocks.

Here are the photos I took this morning when the water had cleared a bit. I am not a brilliant photographer so please excuse the quality.

Filling up the tank

















You are probably thinking the same as me, it is too tall and way out of proportion to the rest of the tank. But I can always adjust by removing some from the top. Its a pity you can't really see the top properly because that's where the Uticulara is and some other bits.

I am going to leave things as they are for now  and see how it grows after a few weeks. 

What I would appreciate is any suggestions for moss or other plants that I can use which will root or grow on the lava rock. I am staying away from Java ferns because I have seen enough of that to last a life time.

Any way I am knackered now and got work in the morning so I'm off to bed.

I will post a few more pictures as it develops. I hope you enjoyed the read.  

Cheers.

Steve


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## sanj (30 Jul 2012)

You know, I think you could create an underwater open cave scape, you might then need more rock, but I think it has got promise.


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## Little-AL (30 Jul 2012)

Love the concept... Could definitely do with being a little lower and probably off centre with some other pieces of rock scattered around perhaps?

TImanfayo is an amazing place! Did you do the bus tour through the park? Loved it! Hope you went on the camel ride just down the road too...lol


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## REDSTEVEO (1 Aug 2012)

sanj said:
			
		

> You know, I think you could create an underwater open cave scape, you might then need more rock, but I think it has got promise.



Hi sorry about the late reply, been away with work for a few days.

You are right! You probably can't see from the pictures but the whole thing is actually hollow in the middle and there are holes at the back and side big enough for the fish to swim in and out of. It's great they actually seem to enjoy it. 

The fact that the thing is hollow means that there is a higher water volume and the circulation of water and CO2 is much better.

Cheers,

Steve


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## REDSTEVEO (1 Aug 2012)

Little-AL said:
			
		

> Love the concept... Could definitely do with being a little lower and probably off centre with some other pieces of rock scattered around perhaps?
> 
> TImanfayo is an amazing place! Did you do the bus tour through the park? Loved it! Hope you went on the camel ride just down the road too...lol



Hi just got back after a few days away.

Yes i think you are right it could be a bit lower. I would try and move it off centre but the tank is only a Trigon 190 corner unit and does not lend itself to the off centre theory. I will add a few more smaller bits of lava rock here and there to create the illusion of rock fallen out when the volcano erupted, have to be careful though that I don't take up too much planting space.

I agree Timanfaya national park is a great place, one of the highlights of the holiday. We went on coach and did the whole touristy thing with all the stops. It was excellent value for money. Sorry don't do camels  

Updates in a week or two when the plants have spread and I have managed to lower it a bit.

Cheers,

Steve


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## Mortis (5 Aug 2012)

I think if the base was a little wider and there were smaller bits of rock strewn about it would look kickass


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## JohnC (5 Aug 2012)

"Lanzarote Lava Rock Kebabscape" - best scape name ever.


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## REDSTEVEO (9 Aug 2012)

Mortis said:
			
		

> I think if the base was a little wider and there were smaller bits of rock strewn about it would look kickass



You know I think you are right. As soon as I can free up some time I am going to have a look and see what I can do. Thanks,

Steve


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## REDSTEVEO (9 Aug 2012)

JohnC said:
			
		

> "Lanzarote Lava Rock Kebabscape" - best scape name ever.


´
Awwww shucks you shouldn`t have....oh okay then and the winner is daraaa ´Lanzarote Lava Rock Kebabscape!!  

wot no prize


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## REDSTEVEO (26 Sep 2012)

*Re: Lanzarote Lava Rock Kebabscape!! New Photos*

So I finally got around to lowering the height of the Kebabscape. I had some algae issues at the top which I nuked (again) with a diluted Easy Carbo mixture in a spray bottle. Sorted the stag horn algae out no problem but once again nuked my HC and the Verticulara   Don't think I should have sprayed so much on, should have given it one dose and left it to see the effect.

As someone on this forum says in their signature block 'The only things that happen quickly in an aquarium are bad things' How true. Will I ever learn.

Some photos added below. The large Pearl Gouramis, 1 x female and 3 x males are for sale if anyone is interested.

















Cheers,

Steve


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## REDSTEVEO (14 Oct 2012)

Okay so I finally came to my senses and stripped out the Lava Rock Kebabscape last week and have sine rescaped it nice and simple. Photo's coming soon.

Steve


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