DIY Live Rock Recipes?

[keener1830]

That is one cool looking tank. I was not sure about the diy live rock look but now that I have seen what it can look like in this thread I am deffinataly going to give it a shot once I get my new tank. Thanks for the pics

 

[michaeldaly]

Is oxide dye safe for coloring the cement

 

[Saltcity]

I tried to use Rit dye on my rocks but it doesn't work......
When you go to cure the rocks, most of the color washes out of it!
I ended up with very light pink rocks....:mixed:

I've been making them with no dye and they look great....after a few months in the tank they should start to get some color.

 

[soriano]

I posted this in a thread of it's own.

Hey, in all the threads about DIY rock... weight is a common concern.

Anyone thought of using that 'Great Stuff' foam as a core to some of their rocks?
(some people build entire backgrounds with the stuff)

(ie. spray the foam into an estimated shape of the rock desired... and then pour the cement mix on and around the foam core...

Is that 'great stuff' even safe to use in a salt-water system?

It would be cool to spray a shape... carve it out a bit more with a knife and get a really light rock!!

 

[sales weasel]

I don't know about the safety of Great Stufff. However, I do know it's intended use is to seal around window and door frames to keep out cold/hot air. If it is safe it would be lighter. However, it won't be porous.

I made many of my rocks with hollow spaces. That is done by filling a space with sand. Then, more aragacrete mix is added around the sand (leave some holes) After the rock drys in a damp sand bed for 24-48 hrs, remove it and let the sand fall out of the hollow area.

 

[psycho_clown]

i love the homemade rock hope to get off my butt one day and give it a try

 

[ItsMee]

I posted this in a thread of it's own.

Hey, in all the threads about DIY rock... weight is a common concern.

Anyone thought of using that 'Great Stuff' foam as a core to some of their rocks?
(some people build entire backgrounds with the stuff)

(ie. spray the foam into an estimated shape of the rock desired... and then pour the cement mix on and around the foam core...

Is that 'great stuff' even safe to use in a salt-water system?

It would be cool to spray a shape... carve it out a bit more with a knife and get a really light rock!!

If its safe thats a GOOD IDEA!!

 

[prostaff]

Don,t forget guys that you are trying to create a large porous surface area for bacteria and critters to colonize. Would it not be counter productive to create lighter but LESS porous live rock??

 

[dakar]

If had the energy I'd go downstairs and read the label on a can, but if I remember right Great Stuff has pretty harsh chemicals in it (tulene?), thats why it does the stuff it does, pretty sure it wouldn't qualify as food-safe to any degree even after it's cured.

A better idea for making forms would be to heat up some schedule 20 PVC and twist it into the base shape you are looking for and build up your agrocrete around it.

 

[soriano]

Dakar: here's the thing.... there is an extensive thread on the board that describes people using it to create backgrounds in their tanks... I wonder how we could find out (or if anyone has found out) if it was 'inert'.

Prostaff: Perhaps using it as a core for small rocks would yield little benefit... however, if I wanted to build a LARGE rock... we could use it...

hmm....

 

[moses13]

I've heard it gets water logged after a while and starts to discolor/deteriorate/peal away under the harsh light of a reef tank. But I must admit I have seen a very nice looking tank built with nothing but Great Stuff for the background. I seriously considered it before I did mine, but decided to take a safer route, as I'm too lazy to want to have to break it all back down in a couple years if it didn't last.
FYI- Acrylic shavings are a good way to lighten aragacrete rocks as well. I also used crumbled styrofoam bits in some of mine, and that seemed to work ok too.

 

[speckled trout]

Here's a couple of old pics of some rocks that I made for a friend. They are supported by legs that protrude through the gravel to keep the structure from toppling when his gobie goes to work! They also support the structure and allow it to sit slightly off the bottom permitting circulation underneath the rock structures.

They've been posted before, so you may have seen them already.

 

[speckled trout]

Here's another angle.

And another with the pieces separated out.

 

[michaeldaly]

Nice rocks

 

[prostaff]

Very , very nice

 

[littlefish72]

Where did you guys get the portland 3 cement? I checked Lowes and Home Depot with no luck but i was thinking maybe Southern States or Agri Supply? Also how long did it take to make pvc shavings? I am imagining it would take hours of drilling to get a few cups.

DR

 

[littlefish72]

p.s. Where did you get crushed oyster shells too?

 

[soriano]

The thread says that Type 1 or 2 is fine. As for the shavings.... I think i'm going to turn the table saw on and just start working away at a pvc pipe... shaving little by little.

 

[speckled trout]

I pick mine up for free on bars out in the bay. They are already crushed into fairly fine pieces and dried out in the sun when I pick them up.

I haven't tried the plastic shavings, but I've heard of people trying them and they really didn't increase the speed that the coralline grew. I have found that if you sacrifice a couple of small live rocks that are already covered in coralline and crush them, then you can take what's left and pour it on top of your homemade ones. This will seed them and your coralline should take off considering all the tank conditions are correct.

 

[ItsMee]

I thought the shavings were for pourisity, no coralline growth. My rocks have not grown any coralline even though there are encrusted rocks sitting right on top of them. My mag,alk,ca levels are all good.