Portland cement vs other cement mixes for making rocks, plugs, etc

[JamesBryan]

I have only heard of Portland being safe. True? False? Chemists in the group? If been answered ad nauseum please direct to thread.

Thanks.

 

[Reefdiver77]

I use hydraulic cement by Quickrete. It fries really fast. I did a demonstration of how I make plugs using this cement at our Feb. meeting.

 

[grannybj]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=807988&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

If you have a few days and an open mind, follow the thread above.It is titled "The Ultimate DIY Rocks" and it was started in 2006 and is still going today .I actually made some rocks with the portland , sand and crushed coral by following this thread and using thier recipes. If you read enough pages(the thread has split many times), you will see results from lots of other mediums such as tile grout and perlite. There is lots of pictures of DIY rocks that I found helpful when I was designing mine.
BJ

 

[Blindside]

just fyi nearly all cements are some form of portland and other mixtures, for drying faster, cold weather applications etc, but like before they all have portland cement in their mixes.

 

[Blindside]

p.s. cement isn't fully cured for at least 16 days. ( i used to sell cement)

 

[ducklabdad]

But should it cure wet or dry and if you cure it wet should it be in salt water??

 

[Reefdiver77]

I cure mine much longer than 16 days. Mine have been in the back of my toilet (fresh water) for a couple of months now. I need to check the Ph tomorrow. I checked it about a month ago and it still was high.

 

[JamesBryan]

Thank You Blindside. Excellent information. I just started using the back of the toilet the other day after a member told my wife about it. Great idea. I have been leaving outside for about a year in sun and rain. I have used quickrete for years in freshwater with never a problem except weight when I get too creative.

My next step is to make my own rocks that have "filler" such as hollow beads to lighten them. I work with Poly Ethylene pipe and it is pretty unreactive and easy to cut so I might cut up some pieces to build around.

Thank You again everyone. I am always so appreciative of this groups willingness to jump in and help one another.