DIY rock wall for 42g hexagon tank

[Osteoicthyes]

I took some measurements of the interior of the tank and made a simple frame to use when producing the wall. That way it'll fit snuggly against the back two panels of the aquarium.

 

[Osteoicthyes]

 

[Cornelius240]

Nice. I've always wanted to do something similar with my smaller tanks. What'd you make it out of?

 

[Percher]

That is really cool. Can't wait to see what it looks like in your tank.

 

[Osteoicthyes]

I made the wall from crushed oyster shell and cement.

Here's an urchin and remora I caught while diving here in the Gulf.

 

[Kristall-99]

not sure if its still common but its something i heard long ago of cement leeching some chemicals into the tank. People combated this by putting it in a fresh water stream or used a tote and frequently changed the water on the new "rock" to cure it

myth?

 

[Osteoicthyes]

I've been curing homemade rocks in the river, behind my house, for as long as I've kept saltwater tanks. I've got rocks in my 150 that I made over ten years ago. They've been covered in coral ever since.

 

[Duvallj]

New cement will cause a Ph spike in an aquarium until cured.

That rock wall came out very nice.
It'll be cool to see it established after awhile.

 

[FullBoreReefer]

Any hiding places?

 

[Osteoicthyes]

On the second pic, in the middle, at the bottom of it, there's a cave that you can sorta see in the rockwork. It's about 5 in wide at its widest.

I made it to serve two purposes, one to give a hiding spot and two, to provide a wider spot in the wall, ensuring its stability.

I tried different angles when I took the pic but it was difficult to capture what it truly looks like with the angles of the tank.

 

[tannersmith2000]

Hey

This is incredible. This is awesome aquascape! Very impressed. Can you share how you make this rock? PM me

Thanks

 

[Blitzkid]

I would also like to know how you made the rock

 

[Osteoicthyes]

The rock is made from crushed oyster shell and Portland type I/II low alkali cement.

I have made a lot of this type of rock for my aquariums, but I have never really followed a set recipe when constructing various pieces. The ratio of cement: water: oystershell: depends on whether or not it is a piece of rock that I intend to use for biological filtration or if it was more of a decorative piece.

Any rock that I am intending to use to support a lot of weight uses more cement, than rocks I am making for biological filtration.

With this piece, I needed a little of both, so the main back part of the wall contains more cement than most of the projections sticking out from it. The projections are more porous to increase the surface area. Since this is all one piece, I had to make the relatively flat back panels first and then create the branching projections and caves afterwards. This was accomplished in several pours after each one hardened.

 

[sandyland]

Where can you buy oyster shells in bulk?

 

[Osteoicthyes]

I live near the bay, in Texas. I simply filled several 5gallon buckets on a local reef. I've heard that you can purchase crushed shell at feed stores, though.

I thoroughly rinse the shell before I use it. Keep turning the crushed shell over by racking through it as you rinse it. The debris will easily float out of the container as the water overflows from it.

 

[sandyland]

Thanks for the info.
great job on the faux rock, looks real. You could make that into a business.