The Ultimate DIY Rocks!

[Insane Reefer]

Oh, and MMM, you asked for a link to a good cement site.
www.cement.org
Has a lot of useful information, worded for the layman, and is a great springboard for those who want to understand more about what cement is.
HTH

 

[mmm55645]

thanks for the advice and links

IR, I did not mean to ask a loaded question.

 

[Insane Reefer]

NP, MMM
You had a legitimate question - don't apologize for the asking, that is what this thread is for

 

[eshook]

I guess I mispoke, I did not understand the scale you were talking about. I stand corrected and if you were building a large aquarium cement could be an option. Perhaps even for a smaller one?

My apologies

 

[pdhenderson]

I went to my local hardware store and couldnt find any portland cement tpres I,II, or III but portland normal type 10
would this be okay?

manufacturer is lafarge - appears to their site that 1,2,3 is a US model#

 

[Insane Reefer]

If this is it:
http://bomix.ca/produits.php?id=34&cat=base&lang=en&p=71

Then I'd say, "Yes."

 

[Insane Reefer]

Bad or Good...

Bad or Good...

I took my last piece out a little early. I said I'd post it, good or bad.
The jury is out on this one. I was going for a piece smaller than 10X14. I want to use only one piece in my nano, so need a lot of places to mount stuff. Tried to go more open and branching like Neptune's piece, but with more shelving area to make it more functional. My mix was too dry to get really good detail, will try for a different consistency if I do this again.

The photos make it hard to see, but the whole thing is sort of open - it isn't really a solid mass like it looks in the photo.

I like it well enough, but I may try one more time to get my nano piece, lol.

 

[pdhenderson]

thats the stuff, thanks
Thats a great piece!
Mine so far is good for a base
Been working on new ideas, How did you get your piece like that

(PS For GTA folks Rens on Trafalgar & Burnhamthorpe O.Shells 13.00 per 50lbs)

 

[Insane Reefer]

Thanks PDH

Basically, I tried doing the "pinch" with the mud, but it was too dry to hold any sort of shape, so I sort of took some and rolled it a bit to form rough tubes and placed those around, added globs which I sort of flattened to form mounting spaces, and very carefully added sand to build up layers, leaving at least 3 places on each level where cement was not covered.
Next time might go better - I'll make the mix a little thicker, stickier and wetter and see if I can get more distinction.

Rock shaped rocks are so much easier to make, lol.

 

[WharfRat]

IR thats awesome looking !!
I just added my first two small chunks to my 90 and all seems well with them. Having a minor neon green algae bloom and my Lawnmower Blenny is in hog heaven. Any idea what that weighs ?? Oh and what method did you use to cast that and what mix? I didn't back up on the thread to see if you already mentioned it.

 

[Insane Reefer]

Thanks Micronaut - see my above post - not very detailed, but that is basically what I did.

It weights exactly 10lbs.

I used a mix of 1sand 1cement 1OS 2perlite
Next try will be 1.5sand 2cement 1OS and 1perlite

See if that makes it better for this sort of sculpture.

 

[bigtex52]

IR, Are you using any Calcium Chloride or Microsilica in your mix?

I like the way the latest rock turned out. Almost has a porite look to it.

 

[mr.wilson]

That's an excellent show piece IR. Your best so far. The only consideration is you may want more of a terraced (shelved) rock to better illuminate corals, without shadowing the lower areas, and to offer a stable perch for corals. It's still an amazing rock, and would work well as a one rock aquascape.

Your task is much harder than most, as you have to design a 3D piece (in layers) that will fit the space, allow for (water) flow through, house corals safely, and look nice. It's too bad you can't fill the tank with salt and cast it in place.

 

[jasonh]

Well I went shopping today, finally. I got:

60lbs "rapid-set" white (more off-whitish) cement. ($11)
10lbs crushed OS ($4 - I didn't want 50lbs for $14 just yet)
50lbs off-white silica-based play sand ($5)
50lbs Morton water softener salt ($4)
and 3.5 cu ft perlite ($18)

IR, I know you've been having a hard time finding large quantities of perlite for decent prices, so I have to say "neener neener"

Anyway, I found it at my local HD. It was the only thing I could find that didn't have additives..both walmart and HD only had the Miracle Grow stuff (except for this)

A couple weeks ago I also got a large Rubbermaid tub (~57gal) for like $8.

I'll start of with a few small batches to figure out what mixture I want, and then purchase more of the materials I require more of (sand, salt, OS)

Just thought I'd share

 

[Insane Reefer]

BigTex, I'm using bio-calcium as a substitute for calcium chloride - I haven't found any at the hardware stores, so am going to call the masonry places on Monday.

Thanks Mr Wilson. Yeah, I wish I had thought of that at the time, but have too much in there to even consider it. I consider it good practice; if I can make nice micro-pieces, I should be able to make really nice larger pieces

Oh, and I should mention that this rock will lose 1 to 2lbs by the time it is done - water accounts for some of the "extra" weight.

 

[pdhenderson]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10583531#post10583531 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jasonh

50lbs off-white silica-based play sand ($5)

silica-
from diatomceaous organisms=silica=diatom algae+tap water =uh ho

 

[jasonh]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10584102#post10584102 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pdhenderson
silica-
from diatomceaous organisms=silica=diatom algae+tap water =uh ho

The (non-)issues of silica-based sands have already been thoroughly discussed earlier in this thread. Each can come to his own conclusion about using silica sand in the rock or as a casting material. Not to mention, we have people in here now putting silica (in the form of silica fume) IN the mix.

That is all.

 

[Insane Reefer]

The cement itself contains silicate/silica compounds - up to 75%. The nice thing about this though is that diatoms quickly consume the available silicate and die out.

 

[jasonh]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10584489#post10584489 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Insane Reefer
The cement itself contains silicate/silica compounds - up to 75%. The nice thing about this though is that diatoms quickly consume the available silicate and die out.

That's what was going through my head.

Anyway, I just cast two test pieces to see what I liked better as far as a casting material, salt or sand.

I'm a bit disappointed honestly. When I was looking at the cement in HD, the powder coming out of the bag was a nice off-white. but once I opened it up and started using it, it looks more of a drab gray. This could also just be the fact that I was outside in the dark with a single incandescent bulb lighting my way. Also, somehow after reading the bag 3 times, I still didn't realize there are rocks in the mix They were really easy to sift out though.

I really like using the perlite and OS though, it gives it a nice chunky look. It did tend to make the mix a bit crumbly though. Even when I added more water, it was still crumbly, and then I had a nice slurry left over at the bottom of the container.

I just kind of eyeballed it, but I think I ended up with around 1 cement, 2 perlite, 1 OS, 0.5 sand

You're supposed to be able to drive on this stuff an hour after it's set up, so I'll see if I can pull them out of the molds tomorrow and see what they look like. So far, it looks like my casting skills leave something to be desired You guys make this look WAY too easy.

 

[pdhenderson]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10584177#post10584177 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jasonh
The (non-)issues of silica-based sands have already been thoroughly discussed earlier in this thread. Each can come to his own conclusion about using silica sand in the rock or as a casting material. Not to mention, we have people in here now putting silica (in the form of silica fume) IN the mix.

That is all.

fair enough