Anyone done DIY rock?

[NeveSSL]

Hi all!

Although I'm probably a significant amount of time away from my next/bigger tank (gots to wait till we get a house ), I've been thinking a bit about using DIY rock, both for price and for conservation reasons.

I was just curious if anyone in the club has tried it. There seem to be a lot of variations on recipes, but if you have tried it, what did you use and how did you like it?

Thanks!

Brandon

 

[sandalscout]

I haven't done it yet, but I am currently gathering the stuff to do it. I am planning on going with a 4 part aggregate to 1 part cement recipe, likely doing 1 part pulverized lime:1 part sand: 2 parts crushed oysters: 1 part portland cement. I'm planning on mixing up a few batches to experiment. I have the sand, cement, and lime currently, and I think I've got enough to make about 100 pounds of rock for less than $12 so far. I expect to spend about $16 on the oyster, another $10 on sand for molding and plan to use the big flat foam fish boxes to hold it all. I've got to get another trashcan and a power head to cure it all, I'm going to hook the effluent from my RODI unit to the can to get regular water changes into the can. I'm working on some different ideas, but I've been spending a LOT of time thinking about the shapes I'm going to do, and I believe that by going with flatter pieces and using a slightly sharpened dowel rods to poke small holes in the molding sand I can create tabling acro sort of rocks, similar to the EcoRox or MarcoRocks of the same shape. That's the goal anyway, since I'm going to do more of an open tank with just a few ledges for corals.

That being said, I'll spend less money on the new 90s rocks than on all of the other tanks combined, and I hope to make between 150-200 pounds total. I only expect to put MAYBE 100 pounds in the display, and the experimental pieces will be used for the sump as rubble. Out of that amount, I also plan on maybe 20-30 pounds for each of the other 2 tanks.

I'll definitely be documenting my process, and hope to start after Christmas once I gather supplies. I'm not sure how weather affects curing and stuff though, so I may have to wait.

 

[supertech99]

you cant beat diy rock on price, but on actractiveness you can. I initinally went with actual lie rock on my first tank, and it was stupid expensive, then i said i would just make my own rock, which turned out ok, but curing it takes much longer than they say. i just recently placed some diy rocks in my sump for filtration after curing them in a tub for over 3 months, and the big ones still arent ready! I have a bag of portland if you want it i could only find 94 lb bags and made 50 lbs of rocks so i have 3/4 of the bag left (even cheaper 4 u!). I have gone to using lace rock/baserock/and old live rock to create my aquascaping now. the diy rocks are very porus and cheap but i didnt like the way they looked (color) so i started using some lace/texasholey rocks from the critter and the jungle. the base rock is about 1.50-3.50/lb and I just grab one whenever I go. Since this base rock is dried out live rock it is much cheeper and looked like the real thing. Furthermore, I have noticed that the base rocks grows coraline the fastest, then comes the lace rock, then the diy rock. I was not happy with the grey colors of the diy rock but if they were used in a very large tank as stacking supports and hidden by base or live rock I can see how they would be a good choice. I think the diy rock works great for filtering though, it holds more water than any natural rock I have ever sceen. just make sure to cure it for a good long time because it puts some nasty stuff in the water if you do not wait long enough!

 

[sandalscout]

The color puts off alot of people, but only slightly bothers me. However, this has been the topic of conversation for a long time. People have begun sourcing white portland cement, and this apparently makes a HUGE difference to them. Just a thought.

 

[james3370]

good threads about it here

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1286738

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1504895

 

[NeveSSL]

Awesome... thanks for the replies, guys. I appreciate the replies and the offer of cement.

Where were they getting the white portland cement, Matt?

I'll have to pass on the cement... I won't be ready to do this for a while, but I thought about doing some trial runs sometime... we'll see.

Brandon

 

[sandalscout]

Honestly, I don't recall! I think that it was a regional thing, but someone got homedepot to order him several bags. Someone else mentioned that you could get it as a tile grout cement, it was the exact same thing, only in smaller containers. I'll se if I can dig it up.

 

[NeveSSL]

Sweet... thanks man!

Brandon

 

[supertech99]

The portland white cement is mainly distributed in coastal regions because it is often used in buildings that require consideration to long term saltwater/air exposure. I asked the guy at lowes if they would order it for me but they told me the order amount would need to be substantional and there would be special order fees associated! He mentioned that there was a sand/rock/cement company in nashville that might have it in stock in smaller quanities but i never followed up on that. I just started grabbing dry base rock from the critter. I really think diy rock or at least limited use of wet liverock is the way the hobby should be headed in the future. It would take away a large cost barrier to beginers and promote natrual reef conservation.

 

[sandalscout]

oh yeah, that's what it was, I remember a guy from Oklahoma picked up several bags while on vacation in Florida. Thanks supertech!

 

[NeveSSL]

Thanks for the info, supertech. And I agree on cost with beginners, but it would probably overwhelming for someone to think they have to pour concrete for an aquarium. Maybe people like Marco rocks can lead the way from here into pre-made rocks and start an industry change. We'll see, though.

And getting some while in Florida is a great idea! Hopefully between now and when I actually get this tank going I will be making several diving trips down there.

Brandon

 

[DawgDiggity]

I have tried it a couple of times. They do make a greatstuff that is black in color and looks really good. I have not tried to coat the foam with epoxy resin then sand but have seen some good pictures.