Making Live Rock

[jessp]

I know that the school tank used rock that came from a construction site. I have been driving past sites the past few days looking at huge piles of construction rubble rock and it looks just like live rock from a tank, except whiter. I am gonna try and clean up this rock and seed it w/ live rock.

Anyone ever do this, and do you have any advice if you have done this.

I was thinking of collecting a few big chunks and rinsing them off good and scrubbing em down. Then I would place them in a big container w/ fw and bleach solution. Let it sit for a while and then replace water/bleach solution a few times. Then let the rock sit w/ water and dechlorinator and do this a few times as well. I do not think a powerhead or heater is needed because the rock is dead already.

 

[jessp]

Of course after the rock was clean I would add a couple pieces of live rock to seed the dead stuff. Add a PH and keep the water clean.

 

[frh674]

Jess, most of my rock is from construction sites I never bleached it just threw it in after a few rinses to get the loose stuff off. I'm about to add some more in a few days. it gets color pretty fast too cant tell the difference between the old and new within a month or so

btw thats again for the skimmer !

 

[45commando]

Jess,
the rock will be fine.It is basically very old coral fossils,so will actually help with buffering.The only slightly negative thing I've ever noticed about it,is that it is a lot more dense than regular live rock.HTH

 

[jessp]

I just went and collected four nice pieces this morning. I have them sitting in a bleach bath and I scrubbed them off pretty good. They have nice shape and the density is not that bad. I'll take a few pics after the rock is nice and clean.

I don't think flow is neccessary because the rock is already dead.

 

[Husky_1]

I would also be cautious of any type of pesticides or the like that could have contaminated the rock. I am not sure how to make sure the rock is 100% clean. Bleach will kill the living stuff, but not sure about other things.

 

[jessp]

Yeah I thought the same thing, i'm gonna let it soak in bleach and then fw for a long time before even thinking of using it.

I was thinking that after cleaning it well placing it in it's own container w/ saltwater. After the rocks is in the sw for a few days of testing for any chemicals that may be leeching back into the water.

 

[bishoptaner]

id be very cautions when taking rock from a construction site. they dont like it when you do that. i work for Hardrives of Delray and i know we have prosecuted people for stealing rock, even a small amount.
i just hope no one gets caught. Just a heads up guys.

 

[jessp]

I asked first just to be safe.

 

[bishoptaner]

ok cool. just wanted to warn people.

 

[venom00viper]

I knew a guy back in orlando that made his own by mixing some concrete with rock salt. molding it as it hardened then let it set in a tub of water once it was solid and the salt desolved and made some cool creations. Just a thought!

-ben

 

[lildraken]

concrete takes a while to fully hydrate and become inert enough to be able to use in the aquarium. I've made concrete rocks for my aquarium and it took 4 months before it was stable enough to use. Otherwise the pH goes off the charts! Concrete over a month old would be okay. there's like 32 pages of making your own concrete rocks in the DIY section if you feel like reading for hours!