DIY Live Rock Recipes?

[jsbzmcdaniel]

The capative ocean booth at IMAC had some AWSOME looking man made live rock that was ceramic based. There was a large piece in their display tank that they called the "Island". It was the nicest man made stuff I have seen with awsome shapes. I will see if I can get a pic.

 

[jsbzmcdaniel]

The capative ocean booth at IMAC had some AWSOME looking man made live rock that was ceramic based. There was a large piece in their display tank that they called the "Island". It was the nicest man made stuff I have seen with awsome shapes. I will see if I can get a pic.

 

[Phoneguy982]

How long do you wait before it is ready to go into the tank?

 

[dchap]

dchap, how did you mold your rocks. Is the mixture like clay when you make it or what?

I use a sandbox method, using a large rubbermaid tub, filling it partiall up with sand, and I build the rocks up, rather than laying flat. Seems to work for me. Oh, the mixture is about like dry cottage cheese, or very lumpy oatmeal. Seems to get the most porus rocks so far.

Oh, I get plastic shavings from scrap acrylic from my local plastic shop, and I drill holes with a woodchipper bit, and save the plastic shavings. You could do the same things with PVC, or any other plastic.

 

[dchap]

How long do you wait before it is ready to go into the tank?

Some say months, some say a few days.

I take my rocks, soak them in diluted vinegar for about 24 hours, change to fresh water, and change the water out every 2-3 days until the crap stops collecting at the top of the water. Then, I switch to saltwater, usually do a water change on that once and let it sit for a few days, and test the PH. If it's in the 8.4 range or so, I use them. No problems yet, and I just threw in about 40 pounds into my 3 year old tank, and the PH didnt move. My seeding tank jumped to about 8.6, but still, not bad for adding almost 150 pounds.

 

[sales weasel]

I'm also curing mine similar to dchap's method. I still have quite a bit in buckets and vats of vinegar. Vinegar is cheap and if you are a member of some place like Sams, you can in bulk. A 24-48hr soak in vinegar and then water will cure it much quicker. You'll basically have to run pH tests on it until it comes into range. It could take weeks if you just use water. You'll also need to change it every few days.

 

[shred5]

The capative ocean booth at IMAC had some AWSOME looking man made live rock that was ceramic based. There was a large piece in their display tank that they called the "Island". It was the nicest man made stuff I have seen with awsome shapes. I will see if I can get a pic.

I saw them... And they were great...

Dave

 

[bshumake]

OK, I have found that if you can fit smaller pieces in the back of the toilet tank they cure really fast (like 3 weeks). I have some larger pieces in a rubbermaid bucket (with lid) in the back yard and its taking a while longet but I think the heat is speeding the curing up some. The first couple of days I had lime crusting in 1 day from water changing. Now (2 weeks later) it takes about 4 days to get a thin smattering of crusting.

 

[CanuckRR]

Has anyone attached 2 pieces of rock they made together after it dries for a day or two? If so, what methods did you use?

One option I'm inquiring about is if someone had made 2 pieces of rock, let it harden for a day or two, and then attached them using a new batch of their DIY rock recipe... then let it dry again for another day or two?

 

[markcasto]

Visit my red house I have some pages on the rock I made its soooo easy to do and great fun.

 

[boxfishpooalot]

Well heres my rocks:
<img src="http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y178/salwaterfish123/siliconerocks1.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com">

They are cured in 48 hours. Made of silicone and limestone gravel.100% safe with no ph fluctuations.

 

[TheVillageIdiot]

what types of silicone and limestone gravel do you use and where do you get it?

 

[The Shrimp X]

So its reef safe?!?!?! Yes please tell us more!!!

 

[leaffish75]

i do one part white portland 6 parts crushed oyster shell (maybe some sand. then cure with muratic acid (takes me only a few days)

 

[satch12]

some of those pics are awesome. where do you guys get all your supllies

 

[DragonFish]

Muratic acid? Thats a new one for me, could you explain a bit more?

 

[paulpp187]

i used to lay brick before and we used it to clean brick.it breaks down the cement.how do you use it to cure it?

 

[leaffish75]

i got the idea from a guy who use to breed fish.
1 part muratic acid to 60 parts water. I let it sit for about 24hours then i drain it wash the rocks then soak them in fresh water for 48hours to make sure all acid is diluted and gone. I have the same pieces in my tank and have had it for about a year and a half.

 

[TheVillageIdiot]

bump...

where might one get muratic acid?

also, still waiting to hear from boxfishpooalot about his silicone and limestone gravel rocks...

 

[dchap]

i got the idea from a guy who use to breed fish.
1 part muratic acid to 60 parts water. I let it sit for about 24hours then i drain it wash the rocks then soak them in fresh water for 48hours to make sure all acid is diluted and gone. I have the same pieces in my tank and have had it for about a year and a half.

I've used a similar method, and it works great. If I dont need to cure it in a hurry, I just use vinegar, since muratic acid sucks to deal with. In fact, I splashed a drop in my eye a few weeks ago. Thank god I had running water right next to me, and got it washed out immediately.

Use chemical resistant gloves, and be really careful with that stuff. It'll mess you up if your not careful.