The Ultimate DIY Rocks!

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The balloons will pop when I'm ready to de-mold it all, and the "center" is just plastic bags stuffed into a big ball, covered with plastic wrap, then duct tape. The center has a cardboard "foot", which will be the hardest part to remove, but once that is taken off, "Nessy" will have her guts pulled out and that should be that.

The rock has been cast - if I can hold myself back, it will be removed tomorrow from the mold, and if it doesn't collapse, I'll post pic's.

Rhodophyta. I think those who aren't using ice cream salt are using "Solar Salt", the natural stuff for water softeners - we drink the water from these systems. This salt is commonly harvested from the salt flats, and probably has very few contaminants...
The front of my bag says 100% natural salt.
 
Ok after reading through this a little everyone keeps describing type one as white but the type one I just bought is grey does this very by brand and is this ok to use I am no to worried about the color. I plan on using white sand and CC in the mix so the grey hopefully won't be that bad but it was all I could find.
 
Another thing, Rhodophyta. Travis posted the MSDS for our Solar Salt stuff. It was very specific as to the purity of the stuff. Check back a couple pages or so...
 
in the long run, the type doesn't matter as long as you cure the rock long enough in fresh water to keep the PH down when you put it in your tank.

the color is just a matter of preference.
 
thats a pretty clever idea. do you plan to just run a bent coat hanger inside the holes and pull the bags out that way? won't the cement adhere to the bubble wrap in some spots? i tell ya though, that will be the ultimate hiding spot for a lucky fish lol.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7497031#post7497031 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xdusty6920
thats a pretty clever idea. do you plan to just run a bent coat hanger inside the holes and pull the bags out that way? won't the cement adhere to the bubble wrap in some spots? i tell ya though, that will be the ultimate hiding spot for a lucky fish lol.
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It was not my invention but I have a glove cave I made. I blew into a surgical glove, tied off the wrist like a balloon and then spattered aragocrete around it. Pop one finger and the glove shrinks loose.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7499510#post7499510 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reef_|<eeper
The glove doesn't stick to the cement?
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Not at all. You just have to be careful not to trap the knot in the cement. Pile some sand around it.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7494689#post7494689 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rhodophyta
I feel uneasy about the suggestions of substituting rock salt or ice cream salt for an organic such as macaroni or chopped veggie. I wouldn't use either salt. Rock salt is worse than ice cream salt.Three reasons.... Rock salt contains about 2% or so calcium sulphate, a black insoluble rock that is mixed in with the natural salt deposit. It may also contain additives that make it a better ice removal product by protecting the bed and gears of a salt spreader from corrosion, and preventing caking, enhancing the melt rate or other reasons not very compatible with marine life. It is a mined product, potentially containing a number of contaminants, from explosive residue, ammonium nitrate, diesel fuel, conveyer belt dressing and grease, to the underground mine equivalent of yellow snow.
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I understand your concern. And in fact, the ice cream saly with the Calcium Sulphate has been running in my aquarium for quite a while with no problems. This could be more of an issue with luck though. As far as the Rock Salt that we are getting, it is 100% pure Sodium Chloride. So there are no worries about contaminates. As far as using macaroni, I don't recommend it because as it absorbs water and expands, it has a tendency to break and crack the rock. It also does not dissolve readily. In one week, almost all the salt in the rocks are dissolved. After six weeks when I made Macaroni-Rock, I still had macaroni evident on the outside, let alone the inside. Plus, as the organics from the macaroni break down, they will cause a little cycle and buildup of bacteria. But if you're doing large water changes often, then a cycle never really finishes. Just some thoughts.
 
This DIY rock making is so fun! To get the exact shape that I want, I make some rock, let it dry for the base, and then add more wet cement mix to create the caves and archs that I want.
 
Me and Jonathan (Youngsilver) made a few rocks last night. We used a different method. We placed some premade rocks underneath some garbage bags. This should give it an interesting texture and shape underneath. I won't know what it looks like until tonight though.
 
You have to cook the noodles before using them, or so I've been told - the cooked roni's are already expanded to their largest diameter that way, and no cracking.

I recommend putting a layer of cc or sand over the plastic Travis - or the undersides will resemble wrinkled plastic, lol.

Took "nessy" out of the box earlier. Better than I hoped, though I will need to add some more ledge like places...

Post pics later!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7503008#post7503008 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Insane Reefer
You have to cook the noodles before using them, or so I've been told - the cooked roni's are already expanded to their largest diameter that way, and no cracking.

I recommend putting a layer of cc or sand over the plastic Travis - or the undersides will resemble wrinkled plastic, lol.

Took "nessy" out of the box earlier. Better than I hoped, though I will need to add some more ledge like places...

Post pics later!
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That's okay. It's going on the bottom of a stack of rocks in a 300g tank. I've heard the noodles need to be cooked, but they would get so mangled in the mixing process that it would just turn into mush in the mix and not actually make any indentions.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7503019#post7503019 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis L. Stevens
... I've heard the noodles need to be cooked, but they would get so mangled in the mixing process that it would just turn into mush in the mix and not actually make any indentions.
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Oh really? Or is that an opinion?
 
That's my opinion too, Rhodophyta.

And please note that your tone is turning a little rude. I apologize if that is not what you intended. But that is the way it is reading...
 
I apologize to anyone who thought I was being rude. it's easy to read a tone into plain words that is not present. However I am not sure how to proceed when someone goes beyond expressing an opinion that something that works quite well doesn't work for them when they try it. A very reasonable thing to say is that it doesn't work for you. What you may interpret as rudeness is my reluctance to point out that extending the experience to say that what didn't work for you shouldn't work for anyone is a mistake. I didn't want to be rude or tug the discussion one direction by explaining how to get the process to work right to someone who has already made up their mind not to try it any more. I'd rather contribute ideas they are willing to try than try to talk them out of their decision. After all, there are plenty of other ways to make those holes. In other words, I was just trying to find out if the person was open to finding out how to pasta properly, or wanted another method discussed....without going into a long dialog or criticizing what they did, which was basically listen to how to do it and instead try a shortcut that ended up with an interesting but unintended result. I kind of like the people who don't listen and do it their own way because sometimes they come up with something that works that you'd never think would if you stayed within the box all the time.
 
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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7487373#post7487373 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Insane Reefer
Quick Question?
Anyone know offhand what would happen if you mixed white type 1 with grey/normal type 2?

Curious...
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Nothing at all.









As for the accelerator.......... I have heard that Muriatic Acid at a 60:1 ratio works. That would be 60 parts water and 1 part acid.
 
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