How do I make it?

I suppose I had better toss in my pic's for diversity sake. I think I need to try the crumpled paper trick... could get interesting things going with that idea.

http://showcase.netins.net/web/reefpage/pictureindex/pictureindex1.html
Almost at the end of the page are the pic's of my Man Made Live Rock.

I'm not even remotely great at taking photos and use cheap disposable cameras so forgive the picture quality. Hopefully I'll settle on a digital sometime soon.
 
Great site Bene'

I'm going out here shortly to start pricing materials for my "nearly 100% DIY" aquarium system. :dance:

I'm pretty sure the wood, glue, slicone, screws and paint won't be that bad price-wise... unfortunately, I don't own a table saw or router, so that might add a little to the costs. :p

While I'm out, I might just check on digital cameras, too. Afterall, it's only money... who says I have to eat this week? :lmao:
 
coyoteseven,

Thanks for the compliment! Disposable cameras just can't do justice to how it looks now so I refuse to even try it.

Can't wait to see the outcome of your project.
 
just to let everyone with this algae know. . . . .I don't know exactly WHAT is was (addition of turbos and/or emerald crabs) but in the last week sinde their addition, my algae has been reduced. There have been no changes in husbandry, so I'd assume the snail are eating it.... but so far, the amount of algae has diminished by at least 60%.
 
Well, I did go out and price the materials/tools needed to build a DIY aquarium (approximately 120g)... by the time I was finished it came out to be around $900. :eek1: BTW, that's just for the aquarium, I haven't even begun to price for the stand and canopy, much less factor in the time/work I have to put into it.

My LFS can get me a 110g AGA RR with stand and canopy for $850. At least with it, I know there should be no problems (leaks, contamination, etc.) and I'll be saving some money to use for other equipment.

I still plan on doing as much DIY as possible, so instead of a 100% DIY system, it will be closer to a 60-75% DIY project. :sad1:
 
:furious: Krapp!!! :furious:

Getting a huge diatom bloom in my holding tank. Got some snails from eBay coming, these little boogers are doing an excellent job in my display keeping all kinds of diatoms/algae away. :)

My other snails in the holding tank can't keep up, guess it's time to stop 'feeding' the rock and using old tank water for awhile... too many nutrients. :worried:
 
I didn't think that snails could eat diatoms once they bloom, and that they only can eat the slime part. . . . I seem to have more diatoms than I should, BUT, the tank is still only 5 months old.. that may be it. . .
 
coyoteseven said:
My LFS can get me a 110g AGA RR with stand and canopy for $850.
Click to expand...

wow, that's a GOOD price for all three :rollface: Where is this LFS at? I'm gonne be looking into a bigger take in the future (may be FAR in the future, but I like to know my options).
 
It's in Port Charlotte, FL. The owner cuts some pretty good deals for his steady customers.

I figure the snails are actually eating the diatoms, I may be wrong. All I know is that these critters are like miniature vacuum cleaners and suck every bit of troublesome algae (even small bubble algae) off the LR, without harming any of my corals.
 
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Hello all,
I've been following this thread for a while now. Very interesting ideas and approaches to making your own rock. I have a friend that will be re-doing his tank and was telling him about this method. I don't know if it would work for him though since he has african chiclids (sp?).

Coyoteseven,
Do you currently have these snails in your tank? How long have you had them? I need some more snails and particularly like the idea that these will breed in the tank. Have you had any luck with them procreating?
 
I don't see why it wouldn't work for cichlids, in fact I wish I'd thought of it myself way-back-when.

The only difference if the amount of 'life' that the rocks will cultivate
 
You may be correct. cichlids are a brackish water fish. I guess I was thinking of it more aesthetically. The rock wouldn't have the corraline algae on it that gives it a lot of character, IMO.

I wonder if there would be a way of making it so it would have some corraline color to it instead of the grey rock look only.
 
The snails I got off eBay go by a few different names, depending on who sells them. One calls them Nassarius Obsoleta, another calls them Ilyanassa Obsoleta (which I believe is the actual name) and another calls them nassarius type. They come from the waters off the Carolina coast and can deal with cooler water temps.

As far as breeding, it looks like I have a few extras (very small) in my display tank that I don't remember putting in there in the beginning, which was a couple of months ago for the first batch.

Arago/oystercrete should do very well in a FW African cichlid tank since their natural environment is usually very high in pH/alkalinity. If you're going to use your DIYLR in this environment, the SW soak/curing should not be necessary. As the rock ages in your tank (after proper curing), it will pick up various FW algae/microorganisms just like in a SW system that will help change the rock's coloration.

Central/South American cichlids on the other hand, usually are from low pH/more acidic waters and adding DIY 'crete rocks would not be the wisest of choices. For these cichlids, you would be better off with the more inert rockwork like slate, sandstone, granite, etc.

As far as coloring your DIYLR, at many places that deal in masonry supplies, you can often find concrete dye to add in the mix. If you go the dye route, be very careful. The dye is an extremely fine powder (easy to inhale) and a little bit will go a long way.

HTH
 
Umm, if you do use a dye, I would still be inclined to go through at least some curing process.
While the increased PH is great for Africans, I believe phosphorous is also leeched...not quite as beneficial
 
Frank,
The phosphorous leaching you are referring to, is that from using dyes to color the rock?

I don't know how much I would encourage the use of dyes in making this rock. I don't know a lot about the properties of the dyes, but I just wouldn't be comfortable in trying this in an aquarium.

My friend had this done to his concrete on a patio. It worked out well, but they also sealed it after it air dried a few days.

Someone asked earlier in this thread about using plastice beads or something to that effect to give the appearance of bubbled corraline algae. Might even use colored aquarium gravel and put it in the mix or sand to give a nice live rock look for a FW tank. Just ideas to think of.

I agree that a curing process of some sort would be a good idea before introducing it to the tank as Coyote stated in his reply also.

Great input from both of you guys. Thanks for the considerations.
 
The phosphorous would definitely leech from the concrete, and quite possibly the dye.

There was an interesting thread someone started about using lava rocks with adhesive, supplied great shape and color, no curing time
 
Definitely cure your DIYLR in FW (dyes or not), possibly even a little longer for FW use... though if being used in FW, the extra SW curing phase you would use to prepare it for a FOWLR/reef system would not be necessary.

IMHO, the tales of exhorbitant phosphorous/phosphates is highly exaggerated, my Salifert test has been reading zero, or at least so close to zero I can't read it since the second week (even before that, it was less than 0.25ppm). It seems to me (again IMHO), that many of these nightmare stories come from some people that have a lot to lose by not being able to sell their $5-$10 per pound live rock to somebody that can make their own for 10Ã"šÃ‚¢-20Ã"šÃ‚¢ per pound and then seed it with only a couple of pounds of the expensive stuff.

Prime example is GARF ... they've been using DIYLR for many years with, it seems, no ill effects.

Just my 2Ã"šÃ‚¢ :smokin:
 
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