The Ultimate DIY Rocks!

[skey44]

i think diy design contests would be fun!!! diy rock contest? anyone agree... move the ideas forward!

 

[kraze3]

I used the quikrete portland type I. Grey bag. I let my first batch dry one week without touching them at all and my second went two weeks. Both batches seemed very strong and sat in tubs in my backyard for leeching. After being in my tank for about a week they all slowly crumbled. theres nothing left of them now. So Im looking to try a new kind of cement.

 

[skey44]

btw the two pics of rx on this page are awesome!

 

[Azazael13]

Here is the Concrete and the sand I plan on using. I have the water softener salt and will be getting CO this weekend. That concrete will work right?

(Sorry the images are big, didn't have time to resize them ><)

 

[dixonba]

I'm getting ready for a batch. I'm trying to get some Portland type 3 white. I'm looking for a shorter cure time and whiter rocks. I'll post pics when I get around to it.

 

[skey44]

i hope not to see my rocks in a few years anyways... haha. prob just bitter about you guys super cool rx and being able to find type III

 

[Rhodophyta]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9361810#post9361810 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kraze3
I used the quikrete portland type I. Grey bag. I let my first batch dry one week without touching them at all and my second went two weeks. Both batches seemed very strong and sat in tubs in my backyard for leeching. After being in my tank for about a week they all slowly crumbled. theres nothing left of them now. So Im looking to try a new kind of cement.

I think you might have better luck following the manufacturer's suggestion to let the concrete cure in a moist environment for 28 days before submerging it.

 

[kraze3]

I could try the 28 day period but i just dont want to waste my time anymore with crumbling rocks. In the begining of this thread some were only letting there concrete dry/set for a few days. Mine sat under plastic for 2 weeks and still crumbled. I guess i was just lookin to try a diff concrete. Maybe ill give it another shot

 

[ebe]

I made my first batch of salt added mix. I will tell the rock is not as strong as my other mix. My standard forumula was crushed oyster shell, southdown sand, & portland I/II. After 1 day of set time the rocks are strong enough to gently lift out the mold. I then rinse the rocks gently and then put them in walmart bags for a couple days to set it a bit better, and then in 5 gallon buckets with water. I added the solar salt to my mix and the rocks broke apart after the 1 day set time. I guess if I would have made the rocks thicker than I normally do they would have held. I think on my next batch I am going to used the solar salt as my molding material and press it into outsides of my rocks.

 

[Azazael13]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9364624#post9364624 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ebe
I made my first batch of salt added mix. I will tell the rock is not as strong as my other mix. My standard forumula was crushed oyster shell, southdown sand, & portland I/II.

Where did you find Southdown at? I thought it was no longer being made.

 

[ebe]

I got a few bags years ago and have been storing them in my garage. I am using them exclusively for my DIY rocks.

 

[Ball]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9363570#post9363570 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kraze3
I could try the 28 day period but i just dont want to waste my time anymore with crumbling rocks. In the begining of this thread some were only letting there concrete dry/set for a few days. Mine sat under plastic for 2 weeks and still crumbled. I guess i was just lookin to try a diff concrete. Maybe ill give it another shot

What ratio of salt to cement did you use?

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Speckled Trout: I've seen many pictures of your rock, and I have to say that you are more of the exception and not the norm. You do wonderfully porous rock compared to even "professional" rock makers that use the same recipe. You wouldn't happen to have a cross section of one of your rocks that you could take a picture of would you?

 

[ebe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9365212#post9365212 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Travis L. Stevens
Speckled Trout: I've seen many pictures of your rock, and I have to say that you are more of the exception and not the norm. You do wonderfully porous rock compared to even "professional" rock makers that use the same recipe. You wouldn't happen to have a cross section of one of your rocks that you could take a picture of would you?

If straight salt/concrete is porous enough to allow the salt to leech out, why wouldn't any non-salt diy rock be porous enough to allow bacteria leech into the rock?

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9365368#post9365368 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ebe
If straight salt/concrete is porous enough to allow the salt to leech out, why wouldn't any non-salt diy rock be porous enough to allow bacteria leech into the rock?

It depends on how dense you make the mix. Speckled Trout does a wonderful mixture that is formed while quite dry. But some people make it too wet and the cement seeps into most of the gaps and fills them in.

 

[Fishboy1230]

Ill Post a few pictures of rock that has been made from QuickWall(it's the type with fiberglass piceces). It colored up well since I put it in a few weeks ago!

 

[kraze3]

one of my batches was 2:1 cement/salt and one was about 2:1.5 cement/salt.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Cement:Salt or Salt:Cement?

 

[Azazael13]

which concrete are you guys using?

While at lowes this weekend this was the kind that I ended up getting. I couldn't find any just Portland Type I, it was all quickcrete portland.

 

[Fishboy1230]

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