JCole's big ol box of Acro's

I guess I can show some "pretty" pictures at least. ;)

I removed the front milka stylos because they where looking bad. I removed some other pieces as well. You can see how bare it looks now along with the brown corals.

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Cool, I tried making rock many years ago with portland cement and oyster shells. I ended up using them to border one of our gardens because I didn't like the look of them. To be honest, I really don't have an artistic/creative bone in my body :ROFLMAO:
 
Nice! Which process did you use?

2 parts Portland cement
1 part special grade seaflor sand
1 part Florida crushed coral
2 parts rock salt - 1 part small/1 part large

I think it will turn out really well but I might have to scrap these pieces. I wasn't thinking and used play sand for the molds and now a little concerned with silica, etc.
 
Cool, I tried making rock many years ago with portland cement and oyster shells. I ended up using them to border one of our gardens because I didn't like the look of them. To be honest, I really don't have an artistic/creative bone in my body :ROFLMAO:

LOL! I don't know if my wife will allow that, as they look like elephant droppings! :LOL: This is more than likely a trial run, as I used play sand for the molds and I am second guessing that now. I am resetting the system and going a different route with the aquascape. It will take a little while to create the scape and cure but I think once things fill in, it will look pretty good.
 
LOL! I don't know if my wife will allow that, as they look like elephant droppings! :LOL: This is more than likely a trial run, as I used play sand for the molds and I am second guessing that now. I am resetting the system and going a different route with the aquascape. It will take a little while to create the scape and cure but I think once things fill in, it will look pretty good.
I used Aragamax for my molds.
 
I used Aragamax for my molds.

Perfect! Thanks for the tip! I just purchased 4 bags. I think it would be better to mix that with the cement anyway, with it being smaller sand. Plus I don't have to use all of the Seaflor sand I planned on using in the tank.
 
Trial rocks didn't turn out that great. They look like large piles of crap and they seem pretty weak. A drop test from a couple of inches will break the shelf rocks right in half. I think its because of the large chunks of rock salt.

I used the following
2 parts grey portland cement
1 part special floor aragonite sand
1 part crushed coral
1 part corse rock salt
1 part chunky rock salt

I dont know if it's because of the large rock salt that is creating weak spots in the cement or just it needs to cure for much longer. Or........maybe I shouldn't drop test them? :)

I just picked up some pricey bags of white portland limestone cement, some new sand, carribian crushed coral, and perlite to make some new rocks. I want to get it right before I waste a good bit of money.

Anyone have any tips? Should I leave the salt out of the mixture?
 
Busy weekend.

Made some new rocks with a different mix inclusing perlite and white Portland cement. I think these will turn out much better. Thanks for the tip on the sand @griss!

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Base rock from tank was bleached and then acid washed today. The acid wash really opens up the pores and removes buildup.

Before acid wash
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After acid wash
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Drained the DT, removed the fish, and cleaned out the sludge buildup from the bottom. I am going to clean the coralline off with HCL tomorrow then work on sanding the tank this weekend.

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Needless to say, I am sore!
 
Busy weekend.

Made some new rocks with a different mix inclusing perlite and white Portland cement. I think these will turn out much better. Thanks for the tip on the sand @griss!

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Base rock from tank was bleached and then acid washed today. The acid wash really opens up the pores and removes buildup.

Before acid wash
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After acid wash
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Drained the DT, removed the fish, and cleaned out the sludge buildup from the bottom. I am going to clean the coralline off with HCL tomorrow then work on sanding the tank this weekend.

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Needless to say, I am sore!
Those look fantastic, so much better than my attempt.
 
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