DIY rock

[josh42]

Does anyone here make and cure their own rock? I was wondering if anybody has successfully don't that with cement and oyster shells and rock salt. Or any other tips for saving money. I don't see why you can't use playsand for a mold if you can use it in the tank. But I do see why aragonite sand would be a good attitive to the rock itself. I don't mind waiting 4 weeks to cure it and if it works out well I might buy a product to seed it with.

What are the pro's and cons to making your own rock, and, why should I spend the extra money on aragonite sand for the mold?

Edit: Has successfully done that*

 

[jbdreefs]

Aragonite helps buffer your water. Checkout rickets reef on YouTube. He has a good video on DIY live rock.

 

[josh42]

My brother has a bottle of automatic 8.4 ph stuff or something like that. I might be wrong about the number can't look in his room right now bc he is asleep. Would I still need aragonite sand if I cured it with that stuff?

Edit: The sand isn't even an ingredient in the recipe I was going to be followed only what's retained on the outside of the rock bc the sand is the mold

 

[jbdreefs]

Does making your own rock come out cheaper than $2 a pound? You can get dry rock from a number of online vendors for right at $2 a pound with free shipping. Checkout reefcleaners.org.

 

[josh42]

One guy said 25c a pound but he got a good deal on some limestone sand that didn't have the bad stuff non aragonite sand might have? But I still don't quite understand that.

Also you can mold your own shapes.

Edit: Thanks for the links

 

[jbdreefs]

Molding your own shapes is definitely a pro. I'm not sure what the cons are, other than the extended curing time. I briefly considered it, but decided against it because I had so many other DIY projects going on. I will be setting up another tank in the near future. Maybe I'll try the DIY rock then. I'll follow along and see how your project goes. Good luck!

 

[josh42]

Thanks I will post updates here.

 

[morganatlanta]

I made some, but never used it. It was really heavy, even with a lot of salt in the mix, and wasn't as easy to mold into shapes as I had hoped. I probably wouldn't do it again unless I was doing a rock wall or something like that. I found it easier to create nice shapes by building up structures with pukani rock from BRS.

 

[sea atlanta]

Unless you just have a ton of time on your hands and want </em>to make rock, it's not really worthwhile. We carry "dead" rock for cheap; you don't have to make it or cure it and you can hand pick the exact shapes and sizes you want.

 

[josh42]

Sea Atlanta, I have not been out to see you guys yet, that has to change. But I will say that I have paid 3.50/pound for dry dead rock in your area and it wasn't even great rock. What do you guys charge? And deals on 50 lbs?

Edit: Thanks for the opinions/replies everyone

 

[basscyn]

Reach out to Glenn at Spikes Corals. He makes his own rocks and they are beautiful!

:up:

 

[dakota9]

I think I just threw away all of the home made rock that was made when I hosted DIY Rock day...... Turned out to be Robb Lauren and myself in the backyard.

It was nice, light and porous, even if the shapes wern't exactly what I'd planned, but practice would make perfect.

BigJohn, add a lil bit of vinegar to the curing water, that will help bring the PH down quicker, but don't use too much or it will disolve the cement, and the bonding agents with it. 1oz per gallon of curring water should work!

Edit: Oh, and the only reason I would have tossed it is that I just don't need it....

Edit: not because it was bad or anything

 

[josh42]

Hey, I might do that. My brother has mentioned spikes corals to me before.. I think he is right up the road from me also

 

[basscyn]

BASSCYN;723636 wrote: Reach out to Glenn at Spikes Corals. He makes his own rocks and they are beautiful!

:up:

Glen is up'ar in Fly'ry brainch too!

 

[josh42]

Dakota9;723640 wrote: I think I just threw away all of the home made rock that was made when I hosted DIY Rock day...... Turned out to be Robb Lauren and myself in the backyard.

It was nice, light and porous, even if the shapes wern't exactly what I'd planned, but practice would make perfect.

BigJohn, add a lil bit of vinegar to the curing water, that will help bring the PH down quicker, but don't use too much or it will disolve the cement, and the bonding agents with it. 1oz per gallon of curring water should work!

Edit: Oh, and the only reason I would have tossed it is that I just don't need it....

Edit: not because it was bad or anything

You could have given it to me!

Edit: You guys ever heard of a seeding product before? I guess it would just be LR fragments

 

[dakota9]

I'll check..... I might have put it in storage....

 

[chadramsey]

i made a faux rock wall for a FW tank a while back. Used pink foam board. carved it with a steak knife and used drylock to seal and paint it.

i cant see why you couldnt adhere whatever you wanted to something like this

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[lovejc03]

The recipe we used was:

~3 parts crushed oyster shells
~2 parts type l/ll gray portland cement ((if you can find white it looks better))
~2 parts coarse pool salt

We made 40lbs and it took 4 months for ours to fully cure. We put it in a 40gal tote, about halfway full. Changed water 2-3 times wkly for the first couple months, washed rocks, scrubbed tub & tested ph daily. For circulation we used 3 powerheads. Added vinegar a few times a week. The past month we added some bubble aeration.. which is a good idea. Took a very long time & is a long process. When you see the white film floating on top of the water it needs to be changed. The more bubbles & circulation you have the better.. the more you change it and scrub the container the better. We just used tapwater, it's not necessary to use ro/di water. Well worth the wait though, we're happy that we only need a few lbs of live rock to seed it and then we'll have live rock. Good luck to you.. if you have any questions just ask

Edit: We spent under $40 for the supplies & the ph tester and still have TONS of supplies leftover!

 

[josh42]

Great post!! Thank you! I'll get back to you when I get started. I like DIY projects, its side projects that keep me focused and on the right track in life. When I get bored that is when I am at the worst risk of relapsing.
People keep informing me that I am not obligated to be so open but I find that it gives me strength to carry on. And I welcome all the help and support that I can get. Also.. As of midnight, I'm 22!

 

[lovejc03]

Josh42;732151 wrote: Great post!! Thank you! I'll get back to you when I get started. I like DIY projects, its side projects that keep me focused and on the right track in life. When I get bored that is when I am at the worst risk of relapsing.
People keep informing me that I am not obligated to be so open but I find that it gives me strength to carry on. And I welcome all the help and support that I can get. Also.. As of midnight, I'm 22!

If we can diy something and it's not impossible, we usually do it No problem, we've done it and it worked so it's nice to let people know what worked for us. If we can save money and help other people.. then it's great!