anyone ever try to make their own rock?

[vitaldefect001]

have any of u ever tried to make ur own rock for your tank?

 

[fat-tony]

got 3 pieces i did that are just basic mounds.....crushed coral, some sand and conrete stuff thrown together. does it's job. if i were to do again i'd make molds and get better shape out of it

 

[ReeferMac]

Yes.

- Mac

 

[Paul B]

There are many long posts here on making rock. I have been making it for 30 years but some people have some novel designs and methods. Homemade rock can be much nicer looking than "real" rock and it's practically free to build. About a quarter of my reef is homemade. Here is the type I build now out of PVC and cement. This piece is three feet long.
Have a great day.
Paul

 

[wooddood]

do a search for (argocrete) all the info you'll need. good luck.








dave.:smokin:

 

[dalbrecht]

I've tried it in the past without the greatest of success. My mix wasn't strong enough.

Paul B, is that a piece of pvc coated with aragocrete or do you have a different technique, the curves look a bit to irregular to be pvc to me.

 

[fat-tony]

he heated it through....it's all 1 straight piece if i remember right

 

[Paul B]

No it's pvc. I also wrote an article about a different method.
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/6279/RaiseCementHomemadeConglomerateRocks.html

Here is that piece of PVC rock under construction.

And another one

That three foot piece is above and to the right of the moorish Idol here.

 

[dalbrecht]

Paul B. Thanks,

vitaldefect, you should check out garf.org. They've got some great recipes and tutorials about adding pigments.

 

[vitaldefect001]

nice...
thanks guys...
if anyone is thinking about making some in the neer furture let me know

 

[ReeferMac]

I make frag plugs from the stuff on a semi-regular basis, and will be doing it for the zoo in the near future, so keep an eye out on the forum.

- Mac

 

[straight_path]

Made a couple hundred pounds in 3 different batches. Unless planning a specific structure (that pvc technique's purdy kewl! ), I don't consider it worth the effort. I found the time to cure much longer than any internet source would lead you to believe. Given, some of my pieces were quite large, but all were as porous as I could make them while still being structurally sound. Cured in 18 gal. rubbermaids with daily water changes and a few vinegar soaks along the way. Still took as long as 5 months (in one case) until I could detect no pH push.

DIY baserock has one overwhelming redeeming quality IMO --- absolute blast to make with the kids! No matter how much planning and shaping you do, you never know what's gonna come out of the sand mold.

Avoid oystershell calcium as an addition, unless you like cyano. I had an early batch that included some, test negative for phosphates after curing. A year (in-tank time) later and I had cyano blooms that had a definite preference for o.s.c. rocks. My postmortem theory is the phosphates were "bound" until the perfect chemistry conditions released it. Save your money.
(Anyone who has my baserock, don't worry .. all of the o.s.c stuff was tossed)
Good luck with it!