DIY Live Rock Recipes?
- Thread starter The Shrimp X
- Start date
To do a project like this you really need to know exactly how you want it to look first. Lots of measurements are needed of the tank, overflow boxes etc. Plan the plumbing taking into consideration that you will need to break up the whole thing later to fit it past the braces of the tank.
First we built an EXACT 3 sided replica of our tank in plywood. We then added metal flashing exactly where our corner overflows would be (180g AGA dual corner overflows). Then we ran all our plumbing and tubing etc. and zip tied it to the plywood. We took a black marker and marked lines on the "tank bottom" of where our aquascape would be, sort of like a footprint. We noted where the cave openings etc. would be also.
Then we filled ordinary plastic bags from the store (wal-mart) with sand in many different sizes. We simply stacked them up and taped them with regular packing tape until we got what we wanted. We put the agrocrete on in stages from the bottom up. I can't remember the exact recipe but it was a just little on the dry side. We used oyster shell feed in place of the crushed coral. I wouldn't use it again. Then, let it cure just until solid and kept working our way up until it was all covered minus the cave openings. We covered the whole thing with wet heavy blankets for two days to set the cement. It is important to keep the blankets wet the whole time.
We next marked where we would need to split the aquascape. We did it in such a way that the pieces would interlock and support themselves once in the tank. Also the lines where the pieces join are in contours etc. that hide them pretty well. A hand grinder or small circular saw works good to make the cuts because you can angle the tool so that the cut is mitered. Next we cut the zip ties and took the screws out of the plywood sides. The cement comes off the plastic bags pretty well
Next we put the pieces into a 150g stock tank we got from Fleet Farm and cured it in fresh water for 3 months. It will get messy so I don't recommend curing it in the tank.
Putting the pieces in the tank wasn't very fun. I was on my back inside the tank "bench pressing" the 100lb pieces while "hubby" was lowering them from the top. We went with a plenum so the rock isn't directly on the glass. After that it was just a matter of plumbing the whole setup, assembling our overflow pipes and connecting the pump returns to the aquascape's embedded plumbing.
Next the sandbed and water were added and the pump started. We ran the tank like this for about a week just to make sure the ph wasn't going to go crazy before beginning a "fishless cycle".
In hindsight I would use egg crate against the back wall of the plywood for the cement to adhere to. It was kind of hard to get the agrocrete to mold to the vertical parts of the back.
First we built an EXACT 3 sided replica of our tank in plywood. We then added metal flashing exactly where our corner overflows would be (180g AGA dual corner overflows). Then we ran all our plumbing and tubing etc. and zip tied it to the plywood. We took a black marker and marked lines on the "tank bottom" of where our aquascape would be, sort of like a footprint. We noted where the cave openings etc. would be also.
Then we filled ordinary plastic bags from the store (wal-mart) with sand in many different sizes. We simply stacked them up and taped them with regular packing tape until we got what we wanted. We put the agrocrete on in stages from the bottom up. I can't remember the exact recipe but it was a just little on the dry side. We used oyster shell feed in place of the crushed coral. I wouldn't use it again. Then, let it cure just until solid and kept working our way up until it was all covered minus the cave openings. We covered the whole thing with wet heavy blankets for two days to set the cement. It is important to keep the blankets wet the whole time.
We next marked where we would need to split the aquascape. We did it in such a way that the pieces would interlock and support themselves once in the tank. Also the lines where the pieces join are in contours etc. that hide them pretty well. A hand grinder or small circular saw works good to make the cuts because you can angle the tool so that the cut is mitered. Next we cut the zip ties and took the screws out of the plywood sides. The cement comes off the plastic bags pretty well
Next we put the pieces into a 150g stock tank we got from Fleet Farm and cured it in fresh water for 3 months. It will get messy so I don't recommend curing it in the tank.
Putting the pieces in the tank wasn't very fun. I was on my back inside the tank "bench pressing" the 100lb pieces while "hubby" was lowering them from the top. We went with a plenum so the rock isn't directly on the glass. After that it was just a matter of plumbing the whole setup, assembling our overflow pipes and connecting the pump returns to the aquascape's embedded plumbing.
Next the sandbed and water were added and the pump started. We ran the tank like this for about a week just to make sure the ph wasn't going to go crazy before beginning a "fishless cycle".
In hindsight I would use egg crate against the back wall of the plywood for the cement to adhere to. It was kind of hard to get the agrocrete to mold to the vertical parts of the back.
Benny Z
In Memoriam
sorry to bring up an old thread, but this is the thread that inspired me to try making some diy rocks for my new display, so i'll post it here. 
i read this thread and a whole slew of other threads and info i found on this and other sites.
the recipe i ended up trying is this:
1 part quickcrete tan play sand
3 parts dark granulated pvc particles
1 part black landscaping colorado lava rock
~1.5 part quickcrete type 1 portland cement
enough water to mix everything together into a sludge
i gotta tell ya...mixing this stuff by hand MURDERS your fingers! lol
i've got everything in 5 tubs curing in the sand molds. the pieces we made are medium to large and are pretty basic in shape. this time around is a trial run...i'll try to make some interesting shapes if these turn out. i'll take pictures in about a week, hopefully.
i read this thread and a whole slew of other threads and info i found on this and other sites.
the recipe i ended up trying is this:
1 part quickcrete tan play sand
3 parts dark granulated pvc particles
1 part black landscaping colorado lava rock
~1.5 part quickcrete type 1 portland cement
enough water to mix everything together into a sludge
i gotta tell ya...mixing this stuff by hand MURDERS your fingers! lol
i've got everything in 5 tubs curing in the sand molds. the pieces we made are medium to large and are pretty basic in shape. this time around is a trial run...i'll try to make some interesting shapes if these turn out. i'll take pictures in about a week, hopefully.
coyoteseven
New member
Man, this thread has got me wanting to make some more DIYLR... even though I really have no use for it right now. 
Maybe I'll just stockpile it for possible future use or even give some away... seems we have a new schoolmarm in our area that's looking for stuff for her class tanks.
Might be a good time to see if the old Coyote still has what takes. :smokin:
Maybe I'll just stockpile it for possible future use or even give some away... seems we have a new schoolmarm in our area that's looking for stuff for her class tanks.
Might be a good time to see if the old Coyote still has what takes. :smokin:
Moved some things around a bit, so the links posted earlier (which I can't seem to edit) should point to;
a thread with some great examples is
http://www.captivereefing.com/showthread.php?t=702
and more pics at
http://www.captivereefing.ws/album_cat.php?cat_id=75
a thread with some great examples is
http://www.captivereefing.com/showthread.php?t=702
and more pics at
http://www.captivereefing.ws/album_cat.php?cat_id=75
speckled trout
New member
These are some that I ended up letting one of my friends have. He saw them when they were curing and convinced me to let him have them. I have some more that are curing in the river right now. They are large, about 14" to 15" wide. He is put them in his 250g at the top of his artifical reef.
I also made a rock wall that is composed of 4 panels that will fit side-by-side to fit inside of our school's 55g tank. When assembled, it will cover the back wall and should make it very realistic looking. I can't wait to get it in there and covered with coralline. I'll post pics when it's finished curing in the river. I'll probably pull them out this weekend since they've already cured for 14 weeks.
psycho_clown
In Memoriam
speckled trout those are great. i really like them i still would love to give it a try.
speckled trout
New member
I promise to give some more details and step by step pics after the weekend. I'll try to outline the process in detail. It's not really that hard. It just requires a little thinking in "reverse" or inside out. Heck ,I'll figure out how to word it later. Got to go fishing, right now. See ya'll next week.
lousybreed
New member
those were the best I have seen....does anyone have any pics of some established tanks with DIY live rock??????? we have gotta see some soon!
Im excited to hear your process and ratio recipe speckled trout...how would you rate your rock in terms of pourisity on a scale of 1-10, 10 being insanely porous? How would you rate your rock in terms of strength on a scale of 1-10, 10 being like a cinder block?
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