reefermac

Kent E

One Millionth Poster
Premium Member
Just wondering how all the DIY rock is holding up? Do you like it? WOuld you make it again?
 
LOL! Fuzzy twigs. ;)
Yes, I like it. Would do it again, do it on a semi-regular basis... frag plugs. ;)
Don't get me wrong... arragocrete is great for base rock.. I'd still get some primo Fiji or Tonga to really make it looks nice, but if you need something to fill up a bathtub, it works very well, and I like it's versatility vs. Cinder blocks. :p

- Mac
 
geeeeeeeez. lol

"OH."
I pmed this one guy once complimenting him on his rock stack, and I got kind of a cold response... saying, "It's tonga branch. Not a rock stack."
Figured I was using poor terminology. :D
 
mac

mac

If you decide to make more, I would be interested in learning/buying some. I need a good 50 to 100lbs.
 
It's not hard to make, plenty of recipe's on the web and here on RC... I don't think it would be cost effective to pay me to make some for you, but I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about how I do it, once you've researched it a bit. ;)

- Mac
 
I believe Gary coined that one just plain old loaf. Implying meat is just too cruel, someone might actually eat it! :eek1:
Funny you should mention it. Will likely be having a get together to 'share' the recipe in the near future.

- Mac
 
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lol
I would definitely make it myself, but I only have a 30 gallon. We should make mac's recipe into cupcakes. :P
 
Gawd! A Cupcake? That would feed my tank for a month! The Loaf is super-powerful, concentrated reefer goodness. Not to be toyed w/ by mere mortals. ;)

I use a little bit more than a marble sized piece in my tank every other day, and that's a lot in my book.

- Mac
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7104490#post7104490 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReeferMac
I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about how I do it, once you've researched it a bit. ;)

- Mac

What type/brand of cement did you use? Quickrete, duracast? With/without gravel? I already have a 5 gallon bucket of old livesand and cc. I have a 50gallon rubbermain tub and an empty 75 gallon tank. So curing large pieces, I do not see as a problem.
 
Well, about 79 of the 80lbs. of Quikrete Portland Type A cement from Home Depot is still sitting out in my garage, If ya need a scoop or two.... ;) I used the crushed oyster shells as 'bulk', and a little sand to give it a smoother, more solid texture. The Concrete is all you really need... Oyster shells made it nice and porous, but too much, and it fell apart. Sand was the same way. The ratio takes some time and practice to get down.. I do it more by feel now, and screw up every other batch. Took some practice. Make a couple batches and cure it out, to see how to make things strong enough. I got a lot of brittle 'branches'.
Use the discharge/reject water from your RO unit to filter through the rubbermaids for curing.. took mine forever. Mine spent a month or so out in a spring-fed stream out by Tim, and I still had to cure it out in vat's.

- Mac
 
There anything bad to the environment about it curing in a stream?

Another question, does the WEP ever make visits to fish stores to see what they do with the water?

And to keep the chaos going....
A cupcake would feed mine for a year I'm sure. I need the freezer room for vodka. :D
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7111372#post7111372 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Stephany
There anything bad to the environment about it curing in a stream?

No worse than someone using concrete around the house/yard. And I only used a tiny fraction of a bag... What was a bigger concern, was what was in the water I was curing the rock in? Being springfed, and considering folks drink from the same source... I figured it was relatively safe for the fishies. The stuff spent... 6 weeks in there? And still tested out w/ a high pH initially, and took several weeks of soaks in the RO reject water, and still had a slightly elevated pH, when I added it to the tank. Didn't seem to affect things initially, and it's not posing a problem now (that I can tell at least :worried: ).

- Mac
 
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