DIY Live Rock Recipes?
- Thread starter The Shrimp X
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sales weasel
New member
According to garf.org type I/II is OK and quite a bit less expensive than type III. They are the guys who came up with Aragacrete, which I believe is a registered trademark.
prostaff said:
moses13
New member
I would not recommend the feed grade oyster shell. I have been curing oyster shell rocks since December and they still spike the ph up over 9 after a few days. I made my custom tank background using crushed coral and that cured in a few weeks, then I wanted to make the rocks cheaper and used oyster shell (the $5 for 50lb type) to make a big batch of rocks using the SAME Riverside white cement mix. After a few months I went back to crushed coral and have cured two batches of those while the oystercrete rocks are stilll going...
TheVillageIdiot
New member
don't tell me that... i just made a bunch of rock w/ feed grade oyster shell... maybe the muriatic acid bath will speed the process up?
TheVillageIdiot
New member
lol, oh well, everything else has gone wrong... why not my rock... i have to admit though, the shapes are nice...
so even w/ muriatic acid, i can expect daily water changes for the next month or more?
so even w/ muriatic acid, i can expect daily water changes for the next month or more?
moses13
New member
Patience is the key!
You'll probably do daily for the first few days, then every other day, then twice a week, etc. You can kind of judge it by how quickly the sludge builds on the water surface. When it stops, check the ph. If its too high, leave them another few days and check again. If two months goes by and the ph is still way high after a couple days, you may want to abandon that batch. At least its cheap.
You'll probably do daily for the first few days, then every other day, then twice a week, etc. You can kind of judge it by how quickly the sludge builds on the water surface. When it stops, check the ph. If its too high, leave them another few days and check again. If two months goes by and the ph is still way high after a couple days, you may want to abandon that batch. At least its cheap.
prostaff- i'm using the type 1 (gray) and its working fine
Bshumake How long did it take for yours to cure?? does it depend on the size of the rocks? I need to make enough for a 1000gal tank and I am a bit worried about waiting 4 months to use it. If the type III is that much faster it may be worth the extra expense to find it
moses 13 where did you find the Riverside white portland and which type is it?
Bshumake How long did it take for yours to cure?? does it depend on the size of the rocks? I need to make enough for a 1000gal tank and I am a bit worried about waiting 4 months to use it. If the type III is that much faster it may be worth the extra expense to find it
moses 13 where did you find the Riverside white portland and which type is it?
bshumake
New member
Prostaff-
Mine was pretty well cured in anout 4 weeks. This is without the muratic acid bath and only changing water every other day and that was when I remembered. If your making alot I would say make them in a lot of different sizes, but try and keep it in the "toilet tank" size. The ones I made (roughly 5X12) were cured in 3 weeks. If you make a bunch of those and cure them in peoples toilet tanks (friends, relatives, at work maby?) and some larger ones in a tub at home, you ought to be good to go.
I'm waiting for mine to set fully before I get it out and try out the muratic acid.
The ones I have in the tub at home ( I believe I posted about them elsewhere) are probably ready I just haven't checked the pH yet.
Mine was pretty well cured in anout 4 weeks. This is without the muratic acid bath and only changing water every other day and that was when I remembered. If your making alot I would say make them in a lot of different sizes, but try and keep it in the "toilet tank" size. The ones I made (roughly 5X12) were cured in 3 weeks. If you make a bunch of those and cure them in peoples toilet tanks (friends, relatives, at work maby?) and some larger ones in a tub at home, you ought to be good to go.
I'm waiting for mine to set fully before I get it out and try out the muratic acid.
The ones I have in the tub at home ( I believe I posted about them elsewhere) are probably ready I just haven't checked the pH yet.
moses13
New member
Riverside white cement I got at a local building supply / masonry supply center. Couldn't find it at HD or Loewe's. I don't remember which Type it is. I can check tonight. I think I am also going to check to see what a handful of plain oyster shell does to ro/di water tonight.
leaffish75
New member
i use feed oyster shell and have never had a problem.
sales weasel
New member
Exactly what is oyster feed shell?
moses13
New member
The type of oyster shell that is sold at feed stores, mostly for chicken feed.
Leaffish75 - Most don't seem to have a problem too, I'm not sure why mine and some others seem to go on for months, but I know its not the cement type, as I said I've made other batches using crushed coral and the same cement that have cured in 4-6 weeks.
Leaffish75 - Most don't seem to have a problem too, I'm not sure why mine and some others seem to go on for months, but I know its not the cement type, as I said I've made other batches using crushed coral and the same cement that have cured in 4-6 weeks.
Moses 13 -looking forward to finding out which type the riverside is. How much did u pay per bag
bshumake - unfortunately the whole point behind me making some rock was to make some large pieces to accomodate the look I wanted for the rockscape. I already had quite a few small pieces from previous setups that just did not look right in the tank. The plan is to make a few large pieces ( 24" x 36" x 12")for the base of the structure and then use the smaller rocks on top maybe glued together with cement to prevent sliding.
bshumake - unfortunately the whole point behind me making some rock was to make some large pieces to accomodate the look I wanted for the rockscape. I already had quite a few small pieces from previous setups that just did not look right in the tank. The plan is to make a few large pieces ( 24" x 36" x 12")for the base of the structure and then use the smaller rocks on top maybe glued together with cement to prevent sliding.
bshumake
New member
prostaff- rock out with it brother. It will save you alot of money in the long term to make your rock yourself. I know from personal exp that the toilet tank method works like a charm, I just wasn't sure how big you needed to go. Give the muratic acid a try. At the best you'll be done in a few weeks, at the worst a couple of months.
Alright ladys and grems. Here's my rocks fresh from the molding box. I'm using an image server so you might have to click on these pics to get bigger (and better) pics to look at.
As you can see the two rocks on the left in the first pic are your average Portlant type 1-2 grey. The rocks on the right are colored with Rit purple. I simply mixed in some of the purple powder with the mortar. They came out a nice purple, but we'll see how it holds up in the muratic acid bath.
I'm going to let these cure for a day or two more before I begin the bath. It rained cats and dogs here yesterday so my molding box got drenched. i really don't think it affected my rock at all but i'd rather wait it out. The holes you see are from some extra reef plugs I had in my sump. I wrapped them in plastic and pushed them into the mortar and let them stay till it set up. Then I just pulled them free (they came out really easy). This is because I have a bunch of frags that I need to place and the two part epoxy from Forster/Smith isn't worth a flip IMO. Oh well. I'll keep yall posted on the developments.
B-Diggity Dog
Alright ladys and grems. Here's my rocks fresh from the molding box. I'm using an image server so you might have to click on these pics to get bigger (and better) pics to look at.
As you can see the two rocks on the left in the first pic are your average Portlant type 1-2 grey. The rocks on the right are colored with Rit purple. I simply mixed in some of the purple powder with the mortar. They came out a nice purple, but we'll see how it holds up in the muratic acid bath.
I'm going to let these cure for a day or two more before I begin the bath. It rained cats and dogs here yesterday so my molding box got drenched. i really don't think it affected my rock at all but i'd rather wait it out. The holes you see are from some extra reef plugs I had in my sump. I wrapped them in plastic and pushed them into the mortar and let them stay till it set up. Then I just pulled them free (they came out really easy). This is because I have a bunch of frags that I need to place and the two part epoxy from Forster/Smith isn't worth a flip IMO. Oh well. I'll keep yall posted on the developments.
B-Diggity Dog
TheVillageIdiot
New member
bshumake,
nice looking rocks, here are a couple of mine...
i HAVE NOT cured them yet...
i really appreciate all the help and input you guys gave, i would never have built them otherwise...
nice looking rocks, here are a couple of mine...
i HAVE NOT cured them yet...
i really appreciate all the help and input you guys gave, i would never have built them otherwise...
sales weasel
New member
Here are a few of mine. So far, I've made about 25lbs worth for my new 55g. I'm currently making tables and domes with caves inside. Those resemble little igloos and I'll have zoas growing on the tops of them. The tables will be staggered across the bottom and will be the base for more rock. I'm trying to keep as much of the bed open as possible and these tables will allow that.
I use the basic formula for Aragacrete. My digital photos were too large for this site, so I made a site to see some pics of mine:
http://europa70.tripod.com//aragacrete_live_rock001.htm
I use the basic formula for Aragacrete. My digital photos were too large for this site, so I made a site to see some pics of mine:
http://europa70.tripod.com//aragacrete_live_rock001.htm
TheVillageIdiot
New member
given the pourus nature of these rocks, i'd imagine that 1 lbs per gallon would be more than sufficient to host an adequate bacterial colongy...
my wife got sick of me showing here over and over the way the rock absorbs the water like a sponge...
sales weasel, by argracrete, are you meaning type I/II w/ argonite sand? No oyster shell?
my wife got sick of me showing here over and over the way the rock absorbs the water like a sponge...
sales weasel, by argracrete, are you meaning type I/II w/ argonite sand? No oyster shell?
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