The Ultimate DIY Rocks!

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right hand one is 5 parts salt - quite crumbly but looks great (pics dont do any of them justice!) will be fine as a non-structural bit, like a cover for a closed loop inlet)

other two bits are about 1.5-2.5 parts salt....left hand one was dripped onto a mold with lots of salt added as i went to form nocks and holes and gaps....the other bit was more "molded".

They all look good and i will use all ratios in my final mixes depending on what the rock is for (big rock wall to hide a 34 inch weir will be low salt for strength for example)

Only thing i would do different is add more holes! will make the next lot with a load of small pipes stuck in it that i will remove before the cement sets hard.
 
The glove cave is a good idea, and it looks cool

Tigsy I like the back one. Looks like it will be alot of fun for hermits to crawl all over.

:D
 
IMG_3325.jpg


same rock different angle.
 
no mold really, i just plopped a lump dowm in a tray (this means a perfectly flat base so great for rock sat on the bottom of the tank)

I then just "built" it up into a sort of island shape! Every now and then i layed a semi inflated ballon (like the clowns use for making anaimals!) accross the mold to create tunnels.

as i went i built up around the island with dry sand/salt mix to give it support and allow me to create little over hangs and stuff....like you can see on the left. I just packed the sand under that ledge and built the ledge out onto the sand.

When i build my weir rock it will be 32" tall so i will do the same and build from the bottom up covering with sand as i go (will build it in a dustbin!)
 
Roughly 6 months and you won't be able to tell it from the real thing. About 3 months to be well colonized with bacteria. Of course, your time will vary from tank to tank. That's just the general assumption.
 
not only will it be colonized but it will also be far better shapes than you can buy in the store...in the UK all LR is just lumps, very few decent shapes and no way to stack it high without just piling it all up.
 
i just tried by first batch this weekend. used 1 part rock salt to 2 parts portland cement. the out side looks like i used much more because i moulded the rocks in the rock salt and then covered the exposed parts and let dry. i let them sit 24 hours in the salt and then took them out to soak. so far so good but those thing were sharp! i have cuts all over my hands from where the salt dissolved. im soaking them at my GF's mom's house right now so i wont get to see them till the weekend.
does the water get too high in pH after a certain point and cease leaching? id guess so, hope it rains. ill post some pics this weekend if i remember to bring my camera. thanks for all the info guys.
-nick
 
Tigsy I really like the way your rocks come out. They look really neat with all the crevices and caves. Keep up the good work.
 
Tiggs, that rock is bad @$$!!! I read this whole thread over the weekend and am excited to start soon. Thanks for all the inspiration and tips all.
 
TRAVIS: I just found this thread. I wish the original pics of the rock you made were still posted. I didn't have a chance to read all 35 pages. Did you also post them elsewhere else?

Also, I agree with what a previous poster said about heat and concrete. My senior project in college was on high strength concrete beams. The most significant part of the time came in figuring out how to make high strength concrete. Concrete doesn't harden because it dries, but because the chemical reactions are complete. Hot water will help you. Hot dry heat will weaken the concrete. Also, a dry mix is stronger than a wet mix. My final mix was so strong that a standard 8" diameter x 12" cylinder finally crushed at 110,000 lbs. That's more than enough to hold even the largest turbo snail.

Great idea, thanks for the R&D
 
Re mix, I use basically the same I did 10 years ago, one part cement, 2 parts sand(or crushed coral) 2 parts oyster shell, mix well, when its plastic add up to 2 parts salt crystals(pure water softener salt) and mold. For molding the easiest 'inside' I have found to work with is damp sand, just mold over it, I do this on a sheet of plywood with sand on it, I try to avoid super flat bottoms, the inflated glove Tom Miller and I came up with for the garf site, about 8 yrs ago. But the damp sand is simpler. I let them dry 48 hours then put into the fresh water soak, I only change it once a week, maybe twice if I think of it, after 4 weeks I add salt to bring it up to marine density. I have used the white portland cement, but once they are covered with coraline there just isnt a whole lot of difference and my white cement costs me more. I have made some fair sized holes by starting the shape then putting into a part a fair number of salt crystals then more mix on top, it dissolves out leaving some nice holes, caves are simple to mold just by making a damp sand shape and then layering the mix over and around it. I also poke in plastic straws for 'worm holes', lay in large shell pasta for the shapes, have put ziti pasta through them, it peels out easily after a couple days, to me the 'ultimate rock' is the one I just did, the next one will be better some way.

Interesting thread, thanks for the input,
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8033888#post8033888 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ZoeReef
TRAVIS: I just found this thread. I wish the original pics of the rock you made were still posted. I didn't have a chance to read all 35 pages. Did you also post them elsewhere else?
Click to expand...

If you look at my signature line, you can find out how to find them ;) FWIW, I'll eventually get the original posts updated with the correct links to the pictures. I just rearranged my photobucket account, that's all.

Here is a direct link to the rock section in my Photobucket account.
If you would like to view all my pictures, then click the red house above it.
 
Well being one of the first ones to try Travis's recipe. I have now been thru all of the curing and such and 25# of rock has been in the tank for about a month now. Here are some pics.
DIYrock1.jpg


DIYrock2.jpg


Pros:
The price. Spent less than $20 for 94#+ pounds of rock. The texture turned out perfect with the "Just salt and cement" recpie, no CC or anything.

Cons:
It took 2 months to get tank safe and it still buffers the tank. Before the DIY rock my ph ran 8.1 to 8.3 now it runs 8.2 to 8.4. Not bad but I don't want it over 8.4. That why you can see my rock rack in the one pic because I haven't been able add the second half of the rock yet.

The other reget I have is I might of jumped the gun to early as you guy came up with some real cool idea for tunnels and stuff. I love that tower rock on the last page.

Anyway it was a cool project and worth the effort.
 
Wow...am I dreaming, or is this really the end (for now anyway)? Anyway, thank you so much Travis for all of the help you offered me in the messages. Well now that I'm at the end of the thread, I have only a couple more questions. First, Someone mentioned that they used Quikrete Portland in a yellow? bag. The only portland concrete I can find anywhere is Quikrete Portland 1. Is this a problem? Should I make an online order instead to make sure I don't get quikrete? The salt will be the same as yours. Will this make such a difference in the end? I hope not. Also, people have mentioned every way in the book to save on water except the type I want to use. I do have city water if it is necessary, but outside for the pool, pond, and garden, I have well water. Just guessing, but I would say it has moderate levels of both Iron and Sulfur. Would this matter in the end if I did the last bit of kuring in tap? Oh and do you think it would be beneficial at all to add a little sand to the mix for more stability, or are you confident that your 3rd batch recipe will hold together for the long haul? If you do suggest a little sand, is there any type you know of off hand that I can pick up at Lowe's tomorrow when I go to get my materials?.......Wait a minute, you probably won't read this until tomorrow, but I would appreciate any input anyway. Second trips are usually worth it.
 
OOPS, bumped it, but Btw everyone..I have seen some of the absolute BEST looking rock ever just in this thread. Excellent work!
 
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