The Ultimate DIY Rocks!

[DeathWish302]

Great info, thanks man. I dabbled in the magnet idea until I realized I didn't need them (I still can't believe I missed that :lol: ).

I'd love to see your koralia enclosure, sounds cool. Looking forward to it.

Wow...! I totally forgot the pic, I'll see if I can post one this weekend. Work, travel, work, house work, holiday shopping...... repeat. Seems November and December has not nearly enough days or hours for everything!:crazy1:

 

[xcelprintingcom]

Insane Reefer:

I am making my rock this weekend, was hoping tofind out before then if mason sand can be used?

The 3 ingredients I am using are White Portland Cement Type 1, Rock Salt, and Mason Sand, but wasn't sure if there is anything in mason sand that could be harmful.

Anyone? I'm actually doing my rock today, but waiting to hear from you guys as im unfamiliar if mason sand may contain anything harmful.

 

[Rhodophyta]

Mason sand is washed and screened (for uniform particle size) local sand. It would be derived from erosion of your local rock, so it would be a mix of whatever rocks are native to your area. Especially after the washing it should be close to inert.

Leaving the concrete in the sand mold for 28 days is a good way to help keep the concrete moist. You should air cure the way Deathwish apparently does it, keeping the new rock moist but not submerged. The term is confusing since you do not want to let the rock dry out. You must keep it moist. Concrete needs both oxygen and water to continue its curing process.

 

[goldmaniac]

For the person who asked to see what the rock looks like after a while in the tank:

This tank has about 80-90% live rock and has been in there for about 18 months:

<img src="http://goldmaniac.com/fishtank/fishtank_20090710/right_corner_FTS_450.jpg" border="0"

alt="" /><br />

<img src="http://goldmaniac.com/fishtank/20090710_fts_cropped_640.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><br />

 

[ximmortaldeathx]

thanks goldmaniac! they look great...

IMO i doubt someone can tell a difference between that an "life rock"from the LFS labeled base rock or fiji rock.

 

[Remn]

Wow pretty cool, I've been trying to find shelf rock, now I might just make em myself.

 

[bigffish]

just chimim' in

just chimim' in

1. Has anyone tried good old fashioned rock candy? Basically just H2O and sugar. It would create the voids we are looking for to increase surface area and would certaintly disolved out during the initial soaking, and not leave any chems. behind. It can be purchased in loose rocks much like rock salt.


2. I was also thinking, propably overthinking it about using something most of us have on our kithen counter to help buffer the Ph during the cure, Baking soda?


3. I have recently been making some rock and have had the best success with
using 3 parts agrogate: in my case a mixture of carib sea seaflore and crushed oyster shells to 1 part type ll white portland with the right amount of moisture a little wet has yeilded me the best results. I can easily pour water through it and it is not any heavier than some fossilized coral and rock I
collected on the beach in Fla. and Cancun.

 

[Rhodophyta]

Sugar may have some effects on the concrete.

http://www.romixchem.com/romix_cart/news.php

If a sugar byproduct can be used instead of acid to dissolve and loosen cured concrete from forms and other places it has stuck too, I would test this idea before making a lot of rock with it.

 

[WmTasker]

1. Has anyone tried good old fashioned rock candy? Basically just H2O and sugar. It would create the voids we are looking for to increase surface area and would certaintly disolved out during the initial soaking, and not leave any chems. behind. It can be purchased in loose rocks much like rock salt.


2. I was also thinking, propably overthinking it about using something most of us have on our kithen counter to help buffer the Ph during the cure, Baking soda?


3. I have recently been making some rock and have had the best success with
using 3 parts agrogate: in my case a mixture of carib sea seaflore and crushed oyster shells to 1 part type ll white portland with the right amount of moisture a little wet has yeilded me the best results. I can easily pour water through it and it is not any heavier than some fossilized coral and rock I
collected on the beach in Fla. and Cancun.

This rock looks real. All it needs is coraline algea. Did you use anything to creates voids in the rock? Thanks

 

[lordofthereef]

This rock looks real. All it needs is coraline algea. Did you use anything to creates voids in the rock? Thanks

I like the look of it as well. Can you give us your exact recipe so we may try and replicate?

 

[goldmaniac]

wow, I just went back to the page (the link above) to Insane Reefer's final Tips & Tricks on how to make man-made Live Rock.

She really blew a gasget, I guess it was the final straw and her concerns were brewing for a while...

If I was subscribed at that time, I would have told her that my RO/DI is unhooked until I need to replenish my storage containers of topoff water (about every 3 months), and that I couldn't test my RO/DI for the pH of the wastewater.

I was wondering where IR went... although .... have I seen her posts on this thread recently?

 

[coraltastic]

i would just like to say i just read this hole thread from front to this point and wow. that took me about 3 days on and off reading. i am still confused alittle. mr wilson i would like to ask u a question if i may? what exact mix do u use for the back walls and overflow boxes, do u put the mix straight on the glass, and last do u let THE ROCK OR TANK "SAY" CURE BEFORE U PUT FISH IN

 

[coraltastic]

bump

 

[brian.julia07]

some information for what its worth! I have seen many different versions and methods to make diy rock I dont know if anyone has noted this information yet. I am planning on doing a rock wall in my 180g and I was curious since there are so many methods I started to make a test and I asked my wife for some info. My wife is a project manager for a large construction company and has taken multiple concrete courses in college and loves working with concrete. She stated that you do not want to dry your rock by putting it in the oven, this only dries out the rock by evaporation. the cement uses water to cure. Also she stated as soon as the rock is solid enough to move into water it should be done, concrete cures stronger under water. She stated that the total cure phase for the strength of concrete is 28 days you can start using concrete for load reasons after 7 days but it is not recommended. I know that in an aquarium the rocks arent going to be very load bearing but just some info, there going to be in water this long anyways for the ph to regulate.

So in other words you dont have to let the rock dry before putting it in water, put it in water as soon as possible and dont put it in the oven. Just some info hope it helps someone if this hasnt already been stated. good luck I hope my rock turns out well especially if she helps lol

 

[goldmaniac]

good info - thanks brian.julia

for heating the rock - the method that was being tested in this thread included a steam environment, not just a dry oven environment. But your somments make sense, though, that heating the rock will cause moisture to evaporate, leaving a dry cement, which would not be good. Oven heating is probably a bad idea, unless you REALLY loaded up the oven with lots and lots of pans of water that would be boiling while cooking the rock. Seems tedious and I would goof it up.

I like the idea of being able to put the made rock into water ASAP, maybe after 48 hours? or before? I usually would leave rock in my mail crates of salt for a day or two, then soak in a tub to remove salt as quickly as possible. I guess that at that point, putting it in buckets of water would be the way to go. I was letting the rock dry-cure in the garage for a few weeks at that point, it sounds like you're saying that the garage curing would not be necessary.

Thanks -

 

[brian.julia07]

thats right from what my wife said there is no need to garage cure first I mixed up a batch and it was dry enough for me to put into a bucket about 12 hours later so i moved it then. All of the labs she has done they usually use a mold pour it and then put it under water immediately. but for our uses we want to keep more shape than a rectangular piece so we will have to let it dry for a little longer before its movable. but that should save some time letting it cure to the point its dry.

 

[JoelNB]

You want to make sure it has "gone off" and begun to go hard before you put it in water, ie at least a day, so it holds its shape and doesn't crumble. In this time you need to do two things...keep it warm and moist.

For three reasons...
1. Keeping it warm improves cure times (a little higher than room temperature)
2. Changing the temperature in the first few days increases the chance it may crack and,
3. Letting it dry too quickly may also cause it to crack.

You only need to cover it with a wet cloth in a warm environment to achieve this.

If you used salt to give the rock holes, it is good to soak it out as soon as you can and it will take a couple of water changes so first time you immerse the rock don't leave it there for too long before doing your first water change.

 

[Rhodes19]

some information for what its worth! I have seen many different versions and methods to make diy rock I dont know if anyone has noted this information yet. I am planning on doing a rock wall in my 180g and I was curious since there are so many methods I started to make a test and I asked my wife for some info. My wife is a project manager for a large construction company and has taken multiple concrete courses in college and loves working with concrete. She stated that you do not want to dry your rock by putting it in the oven, this only dries out the rock by evaporation. the cement uses water to cure. Also she stated as soon as the rock is solid enough to move into water it should be done, concrete cures stronger under water. She stated that the total cure phase for the strength of concrete is 28 days you can start using concrete for load reasons after 7 days but it is not recommended. I know that in an aquarium the rocks arent going to be very load bearing but just some info, there going to be in water this long anyways for the ph to regulate.

So in other words you dont have to let the rock dry before putting it in water, put it in water as soon as possible and dont put it in the oven. Just some info hope it helps someone if this hasnt already been stated. good luck I hope my rock turns out well especially if she helps lol

Good info. Thanks. That conforms to what other folks have told me who work with cement. FWIW, thats how I made my diy rock and its in my tank now. Not the most artistic but it works. It sat in water much longer only because my stand and plumping were not ready. Here's a shameless plug.

 

[brian.julia07]

ive have a question Ive read that adding the salt last works best, well I wasnt thinking when I made my test batch and added the salt early, I did 2 parts crushed oyster shell, 2 parts salt 1 cement. well im looking at the rock in water and Ive noticed that the cement had covered the salt crystals and the salt has dissolved now there are hollow molds made of cement where the salt crystals were. any ideas?

 

[goldmaniac]

that's why we add the salt. makes lots of crevices, etc. for pods, bugs, worms, bacteria, etc.

I'm unsure of your question... are you unhappy with the look of the rock after the salt has dissolved?