The Ultimate DIY Rocks!

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Just a quick update... I made my rocks with 100% hydraulic cement. I let them dry cure for 3 days before putting them in water. After 1 day the ph was a 10 +. I did my first water change yesterday and the ph is just over 9. I have the rocks in a garbage pail with the water only 1" above the highest rock. With that small amount of water I'm confident that in a system with a substantial amount of water there won't be a huge impact regarding ph.. I'll post as I go...
 
i made some rocks using aragonite and cement theve been curing for like 2 months.. granted there big but i change the water every other day in the tub but the PH is still off the chart !!!! iknow i saw it somewhere that you can use vinegar to help but i cant find the page now can anyone advise how to bring the PH down ?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9121728#post9121728 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by magnon
Something just occurred to me in the shower this morning. I'm sure there is a reason this won't work since I haven't sen any posts about it, but I thought I'd ask. Has anyone ever tried using concrete block (cinder block) as a base rock? It would seem to work since its made of concrete and has lots of pores for the critters and would be a nice stable base to stack real or DIY rock on.

Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

This was the base for a "reef" in a 5000 gallon concrete tank I helped empty out and then sand down and repaint. I think it was about 1972 or 73. There was nowhere near enough light for real corals, so every "coral" and "sponge"was fake, made from different colors of epoxy paint and mixed with varying amounts of diatomaceous earth or other materials to create different textures.

The cinder blocks made about half of an "igloo" then tufa rock (a kind of limestone found in areas with springs or artesian wells) was wedged in and the gaps were filled with a mortar made from dryer chips (crushed and screened dolomitic limestone) and portland cement. Then the fake corals and sponges were applied. I got to rescue some of the discarded limestone that would otherwise have gone to the dumpster. There were some pieces with chunks of cinder block and bits of the epoxy paint on them. They have cycled through freshwater and marine tanks, and spent most of the last decade outside with hens and chickens my wife snuck into them. Tufa rock can be very light and porous so it is usually easy to drill with a concrete drill. I used drill bits of different sizes, and grouped some close together so that could connect the "dots" by chipping them with an old screwdriver. a friend from the saltwater club traded me for enough to completely line the back three walls of his 330 gallon pentagon tank with them. He still has them in the tank, but has converted it from marine to :eek1: rift lake cichlids. :eek1:

I'm surprised no one else has mentioned the dryer chips before. Once dolomite was the preferred substrate of many marine aquarists due to a misunderstanding. It is actually not very soluble, but someone mistakenly assumed it was from a misreading of its chemical formula. For our purposes, a less soluble aggregate is ideal. We have enough alkalinity already! Plus we really don't want our hard work and artistry to melt away.
 
Has anyone used Quickcrete Fast Cure Cement? Its white and has little pieces of fiberglass in it. Sold at Home Depot. I was wondering if this stuff would be safe to use in a reef tank? Thanks!
 
Just a quick update... After only 2 water changes ( because I'm lazy ) and the PH is already down to 8.8.. Hydraulic water plug may be the way to go when cure time is an issue...
 
Heres is a rock mound I made out of dry Fiji rock and DIY rock according to the recipe on here but I added some sand. This will go into my 125 build tank. It is the left rock mound that covers the overflow. This pic is in the tank still have to put together the center mound and the right side mound. Pic does not do it justice cause there really is a lot of depth and detail but I just can't capture it with my camera and clor is off also but you get the general idea I think:
Rock7.jpg


If you guys want more info visit the thread click on the red house and thanks for all of the help on rock making even though I did not post much but I learned allot by just reading.
Michael Mota
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9126711#post9126711 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rhodophyta
...I'm surprised no one else has mentioned the dryer chips before. Once dolomite was the preferred substrate of many marine aquarists due to a misunderstanding. It is actually not very soluble, but someone mistakenly assumed it was from a misreading of its chemical formula. For our purposes, a less soluble aggregate is ideal. We have enough alkalinity already! Plus we really don't want our hard work and artistry to melt away.
Click to expand...

Hey Rhody,
Is that stuff anything like Limestone Sand? There is a post somewhere here I read, were limestone sand was being experimented with...

And also, about cinder blocks. Are they still made with cinders? If so, phosphates would be the thing to worry about - I remember reading somewhere that charcoal contains phosphates. And I'd find out about the sand, if they are made with any sand - some sands contain silicates...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9126373#post9126373 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gman107
... iknow i saw it somewhere that you can use vinegar to help but i cant find the page now can anyone advise how to bring the PH down ?
Click to expand...

No, actually, you can't. I does appear at first to lower the pH, but it has been found that all it does is mask the true reading for a while - then the pH spikes again.

The only thing that works (that we have found) is Co2, which causes a quicker chemical reaction (or barring Co2, an air pump).

Other than that, it takes time and lots of water changes.

Just to ask, you are using an appropriate test kit? Like, if you are curing with freshwater, you are using a freshwater kit? And like Pito said, try testing in saltwater. Just use some change water from your tank, if you have one - leave it alone for 4 days, then test - the reading might be different.
One last question, do you have circulation in the kuring bin? Still water will take forever to kure...

HTH - Good luck...
 
I think the term "cinder block" is from the old days and has become generic for CMU's (Concrete Masonary Units)
such as all gelatine is jello and all tissues are kleenex

I suppose a little research is in order...
quick wikipedia info below

A Concrete Masonry Unit (CMU) [US], concrete block, or breeze block [UK], cinder block [US], clinker block (if bottom ash or clinker is used as an aggregate) is a large rectangular brick used in construction. Concrete blocks are made from cast concrete, i.e. portland cement and aggregate, usually sand and fine gravel in the case of blocks.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9129788#post9129788 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by KyleP
Has anyone used Quickcrete Fast Cure Cement? Its white and has little pieces of fiberglass in it. Sold at Home Depot. I was wondering if this stuff would be safe to use in a reef tank? Thanks!
Click to expand...

I too would like to know this. You have no idea how hard the right kind of portland cement is to come by in my area...
 
thank you for the response Insane reefer im glad i waited till i did anything.ill try testing in salt water and ill add an air pump and circulate the water and thanks i really do appreciate it.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9134507#post9134507 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by em805
I too would like to know this. You have no idea how hard the right kind of portland cement is to come by in my area...
Click to expand...

I have made rocks from this. Still same cure time...

This stuff right?
140787IMG_0595.JPG
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9135140#post9135140 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fishboy1230
I have made rocks from this. Still same cure time...

This stuff right?
140787IMG_0595.JPG
Click to expand...

Do you know if the chemical composition is still reef safe after curing on this type of cement? Any idea why it's not used instead of Portland cement--which is so hard to come by? Or is it one of those things that everyone does cuz it's always been done that way?

What I really want to know is whether or not there is an alternative kind of white cement that is readily available at most hardware stores.
 
That stuff works fine, so far no problems with anything after curing. It isnt used instead of portland since the little fiber renforcements sorta jutt out, slightly a pain but not bad. Mine are already gaining color of my LR in only about 2 weeks in my tank (plus curing)
 
I too was wondering about the chemical composition. I looked at the MSDS for the Portland and the Quickcure, and from my untrained eye, did not see much difference. I figure you could probably trim off any fiber sticking out from the rock. Or maybe sift out the fiberglass before mixing the cement with water and salt. Actually I think the sifting may work.....
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9146132#post9146132 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fishboy1230
i Think ill try sifting, thanks for the idea!
Click to expand...
The coraline algae seems to like the fibers and starts growing there first, so removing them would slow down the naturalization of the rocks.
 
Hey there! I recently started a pair of 90 gallon reefs that you have to walk between in order to enter my living room. I decided to try making my own rock and have used the formula from reefcentral. I ended up making a full background for each tank that actually pokes out the water in a few places. Both are smooth against the back glass and contour around the overflows. I decided to make each backdrop as three seperate pieces so I could fit them into my tanks. I have tons of live sand to begin seeding the rock, and have around fifty pounds of Live Rock in each sump. I placed some of my purplest rocks into the display area, but am minimizing any chance to sneak in hitch-hikers. I have links to the finished results below.

http://home.comcast.net/~airinhere/reef3
http://home.comcast.net/~airinhere/reef7
http://home.comcast.net/~airinhere/reef2
http://home.comcast.net/~airinhere/reef1
http://home.comcast.net/~airinhere/reef6
http://home.comcast.net/~airinhere/reef5
http://home.comcast.net/~airinhere/reef4
 
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