The Ultimate DIY Rocks!

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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7780871#post7780871 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis L. Stevens
Interesting, I've never had a problem with anything changing between freshwater and saltwater. ;)
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Just because you haven't, doesn't mean it isn't a good idea, and that others haven't experienced it.
I'd say that "wasting" a few gallons of saltwater is a worthwhile sacrifice on the side of caution, even if it is useless. And if it does spike, would you prefer it to be in some waste water, or in your cycled tank?
;)
 
Can't tell you the difference Arconom, except it works as well as straight typeI or typeIII - just isn't as low in Alk as the typeIII, which seems to almost not exist...
 
I'd say that "wasting" a few gallons of saltwater is a worthwhile sacrifice on the side of caution,
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One source I've read advises to use a salt water aproximation comprised of plain aquarium salt and epsom salts. A lot cheaper than marine salt mix.
 
I've been hearing a lot about epsom's lately. Seems it is an Excellent fertilizer, high in magnesium and sulphur. Not really sure if that Would be a good combo, and might lead to a vast algae bloom if the MG sucks into the surface of the rock...

I have asked my LFS guy if I can have about 50gals of his used change water when the time comes, and he readily agreed - free is good and will work for the purpose, however there is the issue of getting 50gals home, lol...
 
Tpes I-III of cements refers to drying time, III is supposed to be better for cold weather/winter use.

GARFs rock making advice has stayed the same since 1998 as thats when the two guys that got them squared away on diy rocks stopped writing for them.
 
Ref to salt curing for rocks,

I have used rock salt with good results, a one week fresh water cure then a month in rock salt water, rock salt is about the cehapest salt I know of, and then water softener salt.

you can put small mass rocks into a big tank after a week of fresh water curing usually with minimal effects, ideally, almost the best place to cure rocks would be in a basket in a fast water flow, not legal someplaces.

Lastly, using oyster shell as part of the aggregate helps both the appearance and the buffering capability.
 
Well I had been wondering what was taking my rocks so long and I wanted to know if testing them is freshwater for tank-safeness was acurate. I went and asked Randy Holmes-Farley.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=889061
Then I did what I should have done in the first place. Tested it myself. I tested one of my larger rocks in a 5g bucket for 24 hrs.
FW
pH 9.4
SW
pH 8.6

So as it turns out at least for my soft tap water it was in fact masking the readings.

And it turns out that most of my rock is likely tank safe.
 
I think it kust takes a long time. Be patient. I still have mine curing in a creek. Their probably long since done but my new tank isn't ready to take them so they might as well continue to cure.
For a quik recap; I made the first batch over a year ago. II tried the bucket curing method with no success in 5 months. I gave up and let them sit dry. Afterward I had a friend allow me to put them in his (annoyingly shallow) creek. There they have sat for about 3 and 1/2 months. As I said, the're probably done. I've just decided to let them continue to cure until my new setup is ready to take them.
 
Hi Travis your rocks look great. I have also used rock salt and it sure works. Re the pasta, in the curing vats a couple dozen crayfish will pick the pasta out real clean ! I poke the pasta into the shapes rather then putting in the mix. When making caves which are just mix molded over a mound of damp sand I poke the pasta through, ziti seems to work the best, I also use cut straws but they are very uniform, they do give direct holes for water circulation through cave roofs and sides.

Imagination works on all of these and yours is doing great.

Baking is a bad idea, the slower the concrete cures the better it will be.

Ref to the salt:cement ratio, better to add about 2-3 parts oyster shell to a part of salt to make the concrete harder, otherwise you are making concrete with only cement and it'll break easier.

FWIW, the oyster shell is cheaper by far then arragonite and will buffer as well or better.Also, on mixing, I throw in a few handfuls of sand to make the mix more plastic and easier to mold.
 
Joe, sounds like your mix is close to mine, although I have a personal vendetta against Crushed Oyster Shell, I use Crushed Coral, which does bump the cost, but I have a deal with my LFS for cost on 40lbs bags (you'd be surprised how cheap that is). I Seriously think that CO leads to persistent and heinous algae blooms - just seems if you read back in various sites' forums, a lot of the tanks that had the worst blooms seemed to share DIY rock made with CO. Granted - all DIY rock is going to produce blooms, or at least rock that doesn't have the advantage of constant renewed flow - cement has lots of nutrients left in it that algae loves...

Covey, if you haven't removed the rock from the saltwater yet, you might want to leave it for 48-72 hours before testing - can take that long for the testable pH level to rise to the true level...
 
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Oh, and to the auto-topoff subject that had been raised a while back.
The LFS I deal with is going to use his RO waste water in our kuring vats - his plan is to use 50gal drums (plastic) and run the waste line to them, putting them outside and allowing the drums to constantly overfill and overflow. The waste water has a pH of 7.2, and granted is full of icky things, do you guys think that they will need to be resoaked in clean fresh for a few days, or is this "residue"negligible?
 
IMO no...but could not hurt...granted higher in phos and trates...but should leach out fairly quckly...but nice to hear from others.

Grant
 
Finally found the right cement and added a little sand to help it bond and I came out with some AWSOME rocks. I love them.
 
I think I am going to make a second batch and use CO2 so I don't have to do water changes.

I don't need the rock so it will be good for the experiment.

I will change the water for the first week when it is real bad and full of salt and then I am going to set up a yeast fermented CO2 system I had from my planted tank days. If the only thing causing the pH in the cement is lime then the CO2 will fight it pretty straight forward.

DIY rock nearly no water changes.

Who's curious. I am.

Someone tell me why it won't work.
 
This is my first try at the concrete live rock what do you all think?

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<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7824009#post7824009 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Thumper171
Yeah I had to use those giant water softener crystals and a big hammer LOL. Need to find smaller salt for the next batch.
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I wish I could find some of the large Sodium Chloride crystals. I would mix a little in with a batch of mostly small salt just to give it a unique texture. I have to admit, yours looks the closest to real. speckledtrout has great formation in his, but your texture is great.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7824009#post7824009 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Thumper171
Yeah I had to use those giant water softener crystals and a big hammer LOL. Need to find smaller salt for the next batch.
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I'm not sure but are they flat"ish" on the bottom? If you dont want that, what I do is turn the rock upside down and build up the bottom with another batch of the mix. This way I've gotten some nice BIG roundish rocks...
 
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