The Ultimate DIY Rocks!

[kentrob11]

Well, the tank itself would be epoxy coated so there wouldn't be any cure time to speak of there other than what it needed to harden fully which I would guess would be around a month or so. I was speaking more in terms of the rock structures I build inside the tank. With that much water volume, I would most likely be fine with bi monthly water changes. I'm not entirely convinced that with that much water, saturation that would stop seepage would become an issue...

 

[cmpenney]

I'll have to get an updated full tank shot tonight and post it. All the pictures of that side of the tank are older.

I assembled the rockwork before putting any water in the tank. The rock is all sitting on PVC and DIY rock pillars so very little of it comes in direct contact with the sand and on top of that since the rock as assembled dry I actually used an Aragocrete mixture to motar the rockwork together and to the PVC. I have no problems with tumbling rocks in my tank!

 

[Rysam]

life is good!
just happened to be getting some screws at the local podunk ace hardware that seems to have every cool thing known to man, when i found pallets and pallets of dolomite ag lime for 5.99/50 lbs. this store is the reefers holy grail! it has everything led's, plumbing (they let me special order anything i want), aglime, solarsalt, mrs wages, and apparently everything else i need to reef away. the best part is i get a contractors discount there. 300 lbs of fixins should be less than 25$
now i just need some money.

i did get the small steamer from my sister, it may be big enough for a cooler but it certainly will require frequent fill-ups. i have a garage sale addict as a family member so i put the word in with her for an upright drapery steamer. we'll see how long that takes.

 

[impur]

I posted my pics awhile back, i'm sure they are buried here in one of the splits :lol:

First rock i made, no salt

Second with salt

 

[kentrob11]

OK...Here are the pics. These really don't do it justice- I think I'll take some more outside where the lighting is better when this thing cures a bit...

 

[cmpenney]

Here's one of the right side of the tank

And a full tank shot:

 

[salty joe]

Kentrob

That is a nice looking MMLR. How did you cast it?

Joe

 

[Insane Reefer]

Wow, you've all done great work! Those are some nice rocks.

Kinghokus - have you checked the grain size on the Aglime yet? Could you post particulars or a picture of the bag?

Cmpenny - love that arch! Now is it real, MLR, or a composite piece?

Kentrob, you can definitely find a home for that piece if you decide not to use it.

Impur - really nice technique on the last piece - lots of natural voids and crevasses. Bugs and worms are going to love that rock.

 

[Rysam]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12355666#post12355666 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Insane Reefer


Kinghokus - have you checked the grain size on the Aglime yet? Could you post particulars or a picture of the bag?
[/B]

the grain size is great IMO. its slightly larger/comparable to playsand. i dont have a bag yet, i was in a hurry and saw it on my way out the door. i just took long enough to give a quick check. It is very white from the little spillage i saw and for the price, if it checks out ok it may end up as my new sandbed as well!. I'll rob my wifes tip jar when she's not looking and get a bag this weekend and post pics. i'll run some tests on it too and see if i can get anything from it.

 

[Insane Reefer]

That is really cool, Kinghokus, I'm glad you found something that will work. I was just concerned that it might be powdery, and not sandy, hence asking about the grain size. From the sound of it, I think this is akin to the stuff that was widely used before Aragonite became "the thing". It would be ironic if the hobby ended up returning to the dolomite sand because aragonite is just too expensive and getting harder to find outside of the LFS's...

Good score! Now you just need to get it all together and make some rock
And leave your wife's tip jar alone. What's wrong with you, tappin' your wife's tips...
Jeez.
:hmm4:

 

[cmpenney]

Originally posted by Insane Reefer
Cmpenny - love that arch! Now is it real, MLR, or a composite piece?

The arch is actually made up of two pieces that are joined with a plastic rod. and then cemented together. The long flat part is DIY rock. The smaller rounder rock on the right is a piece of dry base rock.

As far as I know only 4 lbs of the rock in that tank actually came directly out of the ocean. That consists of 2 small 2lb rocks used to seed the tank when it was first setup.

 

[kentrob11]

As far as I know only 4 lbs of the rock in that tank actually came directly out of the ocean

I think that in the next 10 years or so liverock is gonna be tough to get and this kinda thing is going to be more mainstream.

Here's a few pics I took this morning of the finished rock. It still needs to cure for another day or so I think before doing anything else with it. I made a slurry out of cement and water tinted with non toxic acrylic paint to make the fake coralline. We'll see how that works out

 

[cmpenney]

That's a cool idea kentrob11!

Where did you get the paint? What brand was it?

Did you jusy drizzle the slury over the rock after the fact or was in mixed when you molded the rock?

Last question: I'm doing a presentation and workshop for our club in May on DIY rock. Mind if I use those pics?

 

[kentrob11]

The brand was Van Gogh and I got it from a hobby store. I used a magenta and also a deep purple color and it came out pretty good. After adding the paint to the slurry it thickens up really quick- Add more water to it to thin it out and then drizzle it with a spoon where you want it As far as your club goes, go right ahead! Actually I have high resolution, larger versions if you want me to email them to you. These are kinda small....

 

[cmpenney]

That'd be great. Just email them to cpenney@alro.com

 

[Rysam]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12357110#post12357110 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kentrob11
I think that in the next 10 years or so liverock is gonna be tough to get and this kinda thing is going to be more mainstream.

i have 2 stores that want to sell my rocks already. one online and one as a storefront. we have already decided to give it the eco spin. obviously i need to make a buttload more rock and define my recipe but its a good possibility that they will be a big sellers. i just need to finish this semester and then i'll have all summer to play.

 

[kentrob11]

That's great! I was thinking of the same thing but would stick to single rock structures instead of traditional liverock shapes. I wonder if there is a cement alternative out there that would eliminate PH issues...

 

[cmpenney]

Yeah. the Kuring times would make it tough to produce and manage inventory in any significant amounts.

 

[Insane Reefer]

That acrylic paint is not going to retain color for that fake coralline - sorry
The paint, even mixed into a cement slurry will fade even quicker than the grout coloring does. In the Super Long Post, I've list a place to get real cement coloring, very cheaply, and that will last for a while.

 

[Insane Reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12357654#post12357654 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kentrob11
That's great! I was thinking of the same thing but would stick to single rock structures instead of traditional liverock shapes. I wonder if there is a cement alternative out there that would eliminate PH issues...

My experience selling rock is that people actually want real rock shapes - the fancier the shape, the longer it usually takes to sell it.

And as far as cement alternatives, well there is fast set cement, but being impermeable, it isn't the first choice for MLR - even though you can get it "porous", that isn't the same as being permeable. Same goes for anything that can be added to cement to reduce the pH issues. They tend to make the cement impermeable, which makes it sort of useless...