The Ultimate DIY Rocks!

[Neptune777]

I picked up my Silica Fume tonight and made my first batches.

One thing to note about the Micro Silica is that most brands are sold as "densified"...meaning the ultra fine particles were rolled in a tumbler where they gain a charge and clump together. This is done simply to bulk it up so that it is more economical to ship. Because of this you need to really mix it well in the wetted portland cement in order to break these tiny clumps up.....this is where a drill mixer really comes in handy.
My recipe tonight was: 1:2 Portland cemeterlite by volume, 2% calcium chloride by weight, 5% Micro Silica by weight. I used Solar Salt for the casting material. FYI a 25# bag of micro silica will go a looooong way!
There was no noticable difference in the mix as I start off on the wet side and add the perlite last to dry things up again. These rocks will spend 1 week in very high humidity to make sure the Hydration process completes....I will test PH each day on some chunks to see how it progresses.
I will be taking some pictures tomorrow evening as I made some interesting shapes.......

 

[badfish03]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10552642#post10552642 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Insane Reefer
Hmmm. I must have missed something...

Let's pretend that this is the first time someone is posting about glue - and maybe give a how, when, where and why something like this might be used - because, I have to admit, I am stumped...

As we both know concrete products are used to make things (MMLR, sidewalks etc.), they are also used to bond things together (stone work) and they are used to stabilize others(roadways, ditches etc.)

When you need to repair or cover a concrete item with another concrete item you use a concrete glue to help the new cement stick to the old. Concrete glue is used to increase the bonding strength of concrete paste, it's stickiness so to speak. You would add the glue to your batch of concrete and paint it over the old right before applying the fresh cement

As far as making rock goes it may help with the ability of the mix to stick to itself when building intricate shapes. It would also help when applying additional mix to an already poured item.

Robert

 

[eshook]

mosthated00,

Just for clarification. Is the refugium new or is the entire tank new? If you recently added a refugium to an already established tank. Then added new MMLR rock to the refugium it will become live rock (including pods, coralline, bugs, bacteria, etc). If you added your MMLR rock to a new tank and refugium with absolutely nothing in it, then you will only get bacteria and possibly algae.

 

[Insane Reefer]

Good point - Eshook - my info was based on a completely new system - might not want to add ammonia to a established system, though a small shot would probably be handled by the bacteria without much harm.
But still, good job catching that, Eshook

 

[Neptune777]

Just checked the rocks this AM and they hardened up very nicely over night! I will be pulling them from the salt molds this afternoon for some photos.

 

[mosthated00]

i upgraded from a 29gal, (which is the fuge now) to a 75gal. I had some nice live rock and CC for the sub in the 29 so i added all that to the 75 plus some more liverock and pool sand, i now have about 100lbs of live rock in the 75 and about a 5" to 6" sand bed in there. the rock i made hasnt finished KURING yet, i will take some pics when it has, i am not all that impressed with my first try at this stuff but i figured it would do good in my fuge, i plan on making some more but putting a little more effort into the look of it. thanks for the info guys, the bacteria is what i was wanting to get going, on that note, would this bacteria grow on other objects as well? I have a empty section in my sump that just has water flowing through it, i have some extra bio balls and was wondering if i that same or similar bacteria that grows on and in the live rock would grow on them?

 

[Insane Reefer]

Yeah - I'm finding with the Calcium Chloride, that I can typically remove rocks from the sand mold within 12 hours, if I am careful. 8 hours is too soon, and I've broken one nice piece by being in too much of a hurry to see what I made, lol. I'm really working hard to get the tiny main piece for my 'Cube, but keep overshooting on size - 10x14, minus the 1" around for the Mag-float - it is sort of hard working that small and trying to get good detail and places for coral too...
I've cast 7 pieces so far, and all have not been right - either too big (DOH!), or it just wasn't what I wanted (POO!). That's ok - the LFS has taken a couple of them from me, and will take the rest on my next load, but still. I want MY rock done, lol

Neptune, I'll get with you on Friday for my portion of the Silica, ok?

 

[Neptune777]

PM sent IR...

 

[mosthated00]

Insane Reefer, could you post some pics of your latest pieces? i would could use some good ideas on shapes and stuff.. i plan on making some more very soon.

 

[Insane Reefer]

Well, I took a couple to the LFS on Sunday, so what I have handy is limited, but I'll charge the batteries and post something for you
I'll tell you what though - I've been working on micro-sized pieces - you want to see some nice big sized pieces, check out this thread:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1183539
And take a gander at what Airinhere has done - those are some really nice pieces.

Sometimes, I search google images - terms like "coral reef" & "reef rock" sometimes brings up pictures of the reefs, and sometimes I get idea's from that...

 

[mosthated00]

i do have a two more questions.. lol.
would mixing in baking soda when making the rock help with the kuring process? anyone tried it?
and do you have to change the water that the rock is in for it to kure? i mean i have been doing water changes on the rock i made for about 5 weeks and the ph is still through the roof. but i was wondering would the mix still kure if left in the same water?

 

[Chasmodes]

Wow, go away for 10 days and come back to almost another split thread! :rollface: Still, this is a great read...

IR, about your death start idea and someone, forget who (with limited time to post this and research), posted about having a solar system tank. You could rig up some one to keep things stable in orbit, but how about strategically places pulsing xenia as the propulsion for maintaining orbit? (I'm kidding, but that would be funny and kewl at the same time)

About rock, I was thinking about additional ways to make random caverns, holes, crevices as previously mentioned and thought of perhaps an idea. Not sure if anyone tried it either, but if not, how about ramming a bicycle pump into a semi dry rock (thus creating one hole perhaps) and pumping once real hard to create a sort of air explosion and perhaps a cavity. Would it be possible as the mix firms up to do this? I would think that it might create a totally random cool looking cave too...

Perhaps this technique could improve the cow pie pieces before completely dry and keep them from being tossed?

Think of this as the big bang method? LOL

Thoughts?

 

[pdhenderson]

Been following these threads on rock, and I have decided to start my project this weekend.
I have located o.s. ( by the way dont tell the people that you are using to feed your kids, they didnt like that joke at all!)
I was thinking about using grout, as up here we dont have portland cement, we have st lawrence cement and I have noticed that polyblend has portland in it, although any suggestion in what I should look for when purchasing cement would be greatly appreciated, can I use any cement?
If I do use the polyblend, would my ratios be the same as using portland?
And through your experiences, what was the best ration using o.s.?
Thanks
will post pics when project is started.

 

[Insane Reefer]

Someone take the crack pipe away from Kevin, I think he has had enough, lol
:bum:
Seriously, I think if you tried that, you'd just end up busting the rock to no avail. If you want to make a cave, a bladder/balloon/wet sand would be the better choice. It is an interesting idea, but if you made your mix wet enough that something like this might be the likely outcome, well, I don't think it would be very porous rock...

Pdh, Welcome to the thread!
Portland is not a brand name, or even a manufacturer, but a "blend" you might almost say. Blends differ, but it is pretty much all the same from our standpoint. I checked out your St. Lawrence Cement, and found that according to their site, they do make standard portland types. You will want "Type III", if you can find it, otherwise, like most of us, you will likely find "Type I" or "Type I/II".

As far as using grout, well, I don't use it, so will have to defer to someone with experience.

You should check with Mr. Wilson - he is a local to you, I think - or at least he is in Ontario - maybe not local, but the same province anyway.

 

[Neptune777]

Here are the results from last nights rock making venture!


Psuedo Coral Branches:

Coral Branches Take 2:

Small Cave and a Mystery coral skeleton (Experimenting artistically a bit ):

Big Rock with caves:

Big Rock # 2:

Hope you like them!

 

[Insane Reefer]

Excellent, Neptune, simply excellent.

Jeez. Now I feel like I make Poopy rocks, lol - some of you guys have so outstripped me with making cool shapes, that it isn't even funny anymore

So spill the beans - give details for those of us who are sculpture challenged...

 

[Neptune777]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10561247#post10561247 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Insane Reefer
Excellent, Neptune, simply excellent.

Jeez. Now I feel like I make Poopy rocks, lol - some of you guys have so outstripped me with making cool shapes, that it isn't even funny anymore

So spill the beans - give details for those of us who are sculpture challenged...

Hey Thanks!

It's an ancient chinese secret!


Actually, I just cast in solar salt...and get creative with the shapes and layer properly. No real secrets....

 

[eshook]

That rock looks great Neptune! I just tried my first pieces using solar salt as a mold. I think its by far the best mold material I have used (compared to CC and sand). Plus it is dirt cheap so kudos to Travis, or whoever, for discovering it.

My perlcrete rock is starting to harden a little bit, but is by no means cured. I just don't think I had enough water and I'm wondering if this is going to be one of those 'crumbly rocks'. The pieces I used in the salt above were very wet to my standards, but seem to be hardening up great.

 

[Insane Reefer]

Salt around here is a dollar more a bag than the sand/grit is, and you can't recycle the salt - the stuff stuck on the outside, and the pockets you may have made with it, is mostly lost. I was going through salt like crazy when I used it as a molding material. I can reclaim a lot of the sand I use by rinsing the rock in a bucket, and dumping off the water. I rarely have to replace my sand.
I also stopped using salt to mold in, as it tends to wick moisture from the rock, though honestly, I can't say I've noticed a difference in hydration for rock in salt vs rock in sand/other...

Yeah, there is a very fine line between just wet enough, and too dry/ too wet. And the perlcrete, because the perlite is a much weaker aggregate, really needs the support of well hydrated cement to support it. Once it is done though, it seems to be almost as strong as any of the other recipes.

 

[Insane Reefer]

I told MostHated that I'd post a few pictures, though after Neptunes', I'm not sure there is a point, lol.

This is one I broke, and I sort of liked it - it has a center hole going through that you can't see in the photo, but I can't get that "plate" to stick back on (hence my hand in the pic) :sad2:

This one looks a little cooler in real life, I'm trying to learn to do plating corals, like elkhorn, but only have moderate success...

Custom pillar that was requested.