40gallon build with no live rock.

Frick

AZ FRAG President
I got a drilled Oceanic 40gallon as my first acceptable size reef tank (in Arizona). Painted the back black already. I'm going to attempt to make all my rock. It will take some time to establish the tank but i'll have custom rock work for $1.00 a pound. Here are some pics of the aragocrete "liverock".
Diamonds in the rough.
P1000068-1.jpg

Yes there is a arago coverd maxijet with mod kit in there.
P1000066-1.jpg

The cups have frag disk in them from the left over aragocrete.
P1000067-1.jpg

Here is a finished Maxi jet with mod kit covered in aragocrete. we'll see how it works.
P1100002.jpg
 
Yep. I used a 40# of Florida crushed coral, 40# Special Grade aragonite, and about 20#s of Portland cement. I also used fine grain oolite to set and mold the rock in. That cost extra. also if you want to count the PVC to make holes, cups to make frag plugs, and plastic drop cloth. My favorite combo is 2 part Crushed Coral, 2 part sp aragonite, and 1 part cement. Mix it up add a little water till it gets clay like. this combo makes the rock very poris and hold lots of water. Other people have their methods that work too.
 
iv been thinking of doing some diy rock it just looks kinda ugly until coraline and algae cover it but im sure it looks great after awhile i like that you can make what ever shape and size you want could make some really cool caves and overhangs id like to make an overhang/fragrack would be cool
 
In the 2nd and third pic you can see the frag racks i built with the rock. It is very ugly at first but will look like any other rock after a few monthes. I almost forgot to mention AGAGOCRETE MUST BE CURED IN FRESH WATER FIRST! It can spike the pH if you put in an established system. Cure in fresh water for about a month. If you just have a few small pieces made put them in the back of the toilet. that will keep tons a fresh water moving through it and it will cure faster.
 
Yer stand is gonna need some gussets or plywood on the legs to be stable. But I just saw the sentence above the picture so I will assume you are not finished with it yet. :)
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14167278#post14167278 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 30reef
Yer stand is gonna need some gussets or plywood on the legs to be stable. But I just saw the sentence above the picture so I will assume you are not finished with it yet. :)

If he skins it, it will be very stable, especially for a 40 gallon tank.
 
Looks like the tank from Bigred, which he got from me, which I bought from random Ryan as I wanted the stand that came with it, which was traded to Ryan from jayreefer as he wanted a tank Ryan had *LOL*

If so, it is a 50G.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14170581#post14170581 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Garage1217
Looks like the tank from Bigred, which he got from me, which I bought from random Ryan as I wanted the stand that came with it, which was traded to Ryan from jayreefer as he wanted a tank Ryan had *LOL*

If so, it is a 50G.

I did get it from Bigred. and it's no big deal I love the shape of this tank / village bicycle, But the dimentions are 30x18x18. I measures it several times to make sure. 30x18x18=9720 / 231+ 42.077922 gallons. the sides will be panaled and a door on the front. As for seeding it with live stuff, I was woundering if I could buy a little bit of live sand off everyone from their tanks.:D but not yet still need to do a few things.
 
Double check those dimensions :) From memory they were more like 30.5w x 20.5t x 18.5d When I measured it unless it shrunk :)

The original sale post long ago. I also had to re-measure it in another post as I had two f/s threads on it. Definitely an oceanic 50G verified by the original owner :D

So basically you just upgraded tank size without doing any work or purchasing anything *LOL*

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1475379
 
Last edited:
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14172173#post14172173 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Garage1217
Double check those dimensions :) From memory they were more like 30.5w x 20.5t x 18.5d When I measured it unless it shrunk :)

The original sale post long ago. I also had to re-measure it in another post as I had two f/s threads on it. Definitely an oceanic 50G verified by the original owner :D

So basically you just upgraded tank size without doing any work or purchasing anything *LOL*

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1475379

That tank does look like the second one in the post. I guess i was measuring the inside. and I only measureid as high as the water will bein the tank, which is by the top trim.
 
You might try mixing in 1 part rock salt to get a more porous rock and lighter weight as the vast majority (if not all) of the salt is dissolved in the freshwater curing process. You could probably go up to 2 parts rock salt in your mix. I have heard of some mixes being 30% rock salt 70% cement for the most porous rock without using any aragonite at all in the mix except for the mold.
 
Most people who have used rocksalt in the mix, have ended up with weak crumbly rock after a year or two. If you keep the mix really dry and glop it on your molds in peices you will end up with very porous rock anyway. I tried the rock salt routine and didn't like the way it turned out and redid all the rock with just oystershell, aragonite and cement. It was mixed so dry it would barely stick together until it cured in the mold for a day or two. It ended up being so porous I could run a hose in the depression in one of the rocks and all the water would drain through the rock not over it.
 
I've done the salt befor too, but added it to the 2.2.1 mix and it made it fall apart and very brittle. Ive made a lot of rock in the past with 2 part CC. 2 part arag. 1part cement, and that seems to be my favorite. Its strong and holds alot of water.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14169994#post14169994 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 4218kris
id put at least one real live rock to seed the other diy rock
I agree. Some nitrifying bacteria will come in with the livestock, and some will drop in from the air, but I think you would still benefit from dropping in a little piece of live rock rubble during the cycle.
 
Back
Top