500G (84X48X30)- NOW REAL !
- Thread starter Sanjay
- Start date
- Status
Phantom Phish
New member
Sanjay:
How does the thorite look when it's cured/ dried? Does it keep that medium gray color, or does the color lighten up to look similar to the live rock?
How does the thorite look when it's cured/ dried? Does it keep that medium gray color, or does the color lighten up to look similar to the live rock?
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
Lol. I was thinking it would be kind of cool to 'experiment' with the whole idea of 'once stuff grows over it you cant even tell' by pressing it to the limit. I was going to try casting square blocks and plates of aragacrete with uniform frag plug holes all over to make a system of square arag rocks and see how they look after a year or so of stuff growing over them, and see if one could even still see the square edges after that time.
Phantom Phish
New member
Actually, the more I look at your pictures, the more the look of the thorite "grows" on me. Kinda reminds me of bits of the lava rock you see around the Hawaiian islands. Plus, I'm sure you're right that once some coralline algae gows on it, it'll blend right in....
I might have to give the thorite a try.
IIRC, Thorite is simply hydraulic cement. Itd be interesting to see the ingredients compared. I have used it for aragocrete and its completely safe, plus it sets up fast.
Hydraulic cement can be found at HD and Lowes. It sets up fast and is used to plug leaks in basements, pipelines, etc.
I used to work at a wastewater treatment plant, and the outfall pipeline cracked. We brought in a diver and we made mudballs of hydraulic cement for him to take down and jam in the hole. It sealed it in less than an hour.
I've also seen it called Quick Plug at Ace hardware.
Hydraulic cement can be found at HD and Lowes. It sets up fast and is used to plug leaks in basements, pipelines, etc.
I used to work at a wastewater treatment plant, and the outfall pipeline cracked. We brought in a diver and we made mudballs of hydraulic cement for him to take down and jam in the hole. It sealed it in less than an hour.
I've also seen it called Quick Plug at Ace hardware.
Sanjay
Premium Member
H20Eng,
From thier website,
"DESCRIPTION
Thorite® General Purpose - Concrete Restoration is a cement-based, polymer modified repair and restoration mortar with fast-setting, very low slump properties suitable for trowel applications to vertical or overhead surfaces without using formwork."
I do not know what polymer modified means in this context.
I am sure other rapid setting cements may work just as well, its just that I and some others have had good success with Thorite in a reef.
sanjay.
From thier website,
"DESCRIPTION
Thorite® General Purpose - Concrete Restoration is a cement-based, polymer modified repair and restoration mortar with fast-setting, very low slump properties suitable for trowel applications to vertical or overhead surfaces without using formwork."
I do not know what polymer modified means in this context.
I am sure other rapid setting cements may work just as well, its just that I and some others have had good success with Thorite in a reef.
sanjay.
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
I bet polymer modified means it has some sort of resin/caulk mixed in.
Sanjay
Premium Member
Building the reef structure:
I have started playing with the building of the reef structure.
My intent is to have sand in the tank, but I want to keep the sand out of the bottom of the rock piles. After thinking about the barrier idea, I realize that it would not work well given the movement of the sand. So here is a new idea..... use flat land scaping rock as the base to build the rock structure on. This will keep the sand from going under the rock, and keep it accessible to the possibility of cleaning.
Here is the first attempt at putting one peice together. I drilled the flat base rock, and inserted a 1/2" CPC pipe in it. Drilled the rock peices and stacked them through the 1/2" pipe.
this was just a try to see how it would all work out. IN the final form my plan is to coat the bottom flat rock with rubble rock held by the thorite, and to hide the PVC with a coat of thorite.
1) I had trouble drilling rock without breaking it. What is the proper technique to drill rock. I am using a 5/8" masonary drill.
2) I could not find fiberglass rod in town, so I am currently using the CPVC pipe. I am thinking of trying out 1/2" acrylic rod.
3) I may or may not "glue" the stacked peices together. Will depend on the rigidity of the structure.
sanjay.
I have started playing with the building of the reef structure.
My intent is to have sand in the tank, but I want to keep the sand out of the bottom of the rock piles. After thinking about the barrier idea, I realize that it would not work well given the movement of the sand. So here is a new idea..... use flat land scaping rock as the base to build the rock structure on. This will keep the sand from going under the rock, and keep it accessible to the possibility of cleaning.
Here is the first attempt at putting one peice together. I drilled the flat base rock, and inserted a 1/2" CPC pipe in it. Drilled the rock peices and stacked them through the 1/2" pipe.
this was just a try to see how it would all work out. IN the final form my plan is to coat the bottom flat rock with rubble rock held by the thorite, and to hide the PVC with a coat of thorite.
1) I had trouble drilling rock without breaking it. What is the proper technique to drill rock. I am using a 5/8" masonary drill.
2) I could not find fiberglass rod in town, so I am currently using the CPVC pipe. I am thinking of trying out 1/2" acrylic rod.
3) I may or may not "glue" the stacked peices together. Will depend on the rigidity of the structure.
sanjay.
JCURRY@WESKETCH
New member
http://www.mcmaster.com/ sells gray solid pvc rod for .58 / ft.
8745K43
PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) Type I Rod 1/2" Diameter
In stock at $0.58 per Ft.
This product is sold in Lengths of 5 Ft.
8745K43
PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) Type I Rod 1/2" Diameter
In stock at $0.58 per Ft.
This product is sold in Lengths of 5 Ft.
tom obrecht
Active member
Hey! You stole my idea for my next set up!
Actually I might rethink my plan. Looks like it might not work quite like I had expected. 
Actually I might rethink my plan. Looks like it might not work quite like I had expected.
Sanjay
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8278421#post8278421 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tom obrecht
Hey! You stole my idea for my next set up!
Tell us what might not have worked like you expected. It might help give me some ideas on what not to try
sanjay.
gws294
Premium Member
Sanjay, You were looking for fiberglass rod??? We used to use arrow shafts (fiberglass) for lightweight pushrods in our RC airplanes. You should be able to find them at any outdoors store... they are around 1/4 " in diameter. Maybe too thin??
Thanks for sharing all of your ideas.
Geoff
p.s. cut off the tip and feathers first... LOL
Thanks for sharing all of your ideas.
Geoff
p.s. cut off the tip and feathers first... LOL
Travis
10 and over club
I used 1/4" and 1/2" acrylic rod to do my aquascaping. I found that I had less rock breakage when drilling with the smaller masonry bit. I also found that the smaller rod worked just fine for 90% of the structure. In cases where a single small rod was too wobbly, I'm sure you could use multiple small rods. This should alleviate the breakage problem when drilling. I got my rod from USPlastics.
My tank is BB so I also used the rod to make supports to elevate the rock structure off the bottom of the tank.
<img src=http://notlehs.com/travis/re-aquascape/145_4556.JPG>
<img src=http://notlehs.com/travis/re-aquascape/145_4565.JPG>
<img src=http://notlehs.com/travis/re-aquascape/145_4563.JPG>
<img src=http://notlehs.com/travis/re-aquascape/145_4561.JPG>
<img src=http://notlehs.com/travis/re-aquascape/145_4545.JPG>
I also used epoxy to secure the rod to the rock to make sure there wasn't any slippage, but I would imagine the thorite would work much better for this.
My tank is BB so I also used the rod to make supports to elevate the rock structure off the bottom of the tank.
<img src=http://notlehs.com/travis/re-aquascape/145_4556.JPG>
<img src=http://notlehs.com/travis/re-aquascape/145_4565.JPG>
<img src=http://notlehs.com/travis/re-aquascape/145_4563.JPG>
<img src=http://notlehs.com/travis/re-aquascape/145_4561.JPG>
<img src=http://notlehs.com/travis/re-aquascape/145_4545.JPG>
I also used epoxy to secure the rod to the rock to make sure there wasn't any slippage, but I would imagine the thorite would work much better for this.
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
Hey now, thats pretty slick.
That gives me an idea for my new tank. I think Ill make little 4-legged upside down tables out of PVC to mount rock on, and then cover the PVC with fiberglass screen and aragacrete to make it look natural. That way, w/o drilling, I could have my rock suspended on pylons.
That gives me an idea for my new tank. I think Ill make little 4-legged upside down tables out of PVC to mount rock on, and then cover the PVC with fiberglass screen and aragacrete to make it look natural. That way, w/o drilling, I could have my rock suspended on pylons.
Sanjay
Premium Member
Here is another attempt.....
I took that flat landscaping rock and "liverockised" it, so it would look more natural, and stuck an acrylic rod through it.
then stacked some rock through the rod.
I have not glued the stacked pile yet.. still not fully statisfied with it. I have ordered some PVC and fiberglass rod which should be here soon. The acrylic rod flexes some.. so I may have to eventually glue the rocks together to provide the rigidity.
sanjay.
I took that flat landscaping rock and "liverockised" it, so it would look more natural, and stuck an acrylic rod through it.
then stacked some rock through the rod.
I have not glued the stacked pile yet.. still not fully statisfied with it. I have ordered some PVC and fiberglass rod which should be here soon. The acrylic rod flexes some.. so I may have to eventually glue the rocks together to provide the rigidity.
sanjay.
REEF-DADDY
New member
That block looks good, what did you use to do that?
- Status
Similar threads
