Paver Stones

[giulianom]

I need to get some paver stones to use as a base for my rock.



However all the stone I see listed at HD/Lowes are concrete and not natural stone.



I heard that concrete stones can leach, so I probably don't want concrete.



I'm looking for stone blocks sized roughly around 6x6x1".



Any suggestions?

 

[jc_k]

I don't know of what I'm about to say is something you can use. But you can try doing DIY base rock. It's really not that hard.

 

[giulianom]

Nah, DIY base rock (Aragonite sand + Concrete) won't be solid enough.

I need flat solid pieces of stone that I can drill into and insert fiberglass rods, to hold up my rock structure.


Think of it like a base rock on stilts, with a solid paver at the bottom supporting it.

 

[jc_k]

Wow. Sounds like it's going to turn out looking really cool. Good luck

 

[mastrreefdvr]

2" PVC makes a great base for attaching rods, depending on your sand depth you could use smaller pipe.

 

[skriz]

Concrete is just fine. Depending on how many you use, it may affect your ph as it cures.

 

[eric b]

That is the same paver stones I have and will drill and I got the idea from Sanjay as that is what he used in his tank for rock work support. I did purchase a few of each of the different sizes and I also soaked them in a bucket of water for about a month or so just in case.

 

[giulianom]

Skriz;935745 wrote: Concrete is just fine. Depending on how many you use, it may affect your ph as it cures.

Depending on size, if I can find ones that are about 6"x6", probably 6-8 of them.

If I stick them in the tank and cover them with sand, do you think that would affect how long it takes to cure?

Versus uncovered stone in the water.

 

[skriz]

GiulianoM;935762 wrote: Depending on size, if I can find ones that are about 6"x6", probably 6-8 of them.

If I stick them in the tank and cover them with sand, do you think that would affect how long it takes to cure?

Versus uncovered stone in the water.

Sand won't affect cure time.

Do a test. Fill a bucket with sw and test ph. Make sure it's stable and then add the paver. Test ph again after a day or so amd see if has made a significant change.

I had no issues when doing it.

Eric- funny. Sanjay and I talked a lot during builds. We did a lot of similar things tank wise.

 

[giulianom]

Yeah, I read one of Sanjay's blog posts about doing it with paver stones.



He did his with the rods all the way through the rock tower.



I don't think I'll do the same, though.



I plan to cut the rods into short pins, and use them to pin the rocks together in layers.



Friction fit of the pins should be pretty stable.

 

[markl]

You could always throw a few in your toilet tanks. Automatic water changes every morning. lol

 

[rjrgroup]

I have that pvc board still if you decide to go that route.

 

[eric b]

Skriz;935884 wrote: Sand won't affect cure time.

Do a test. Fill a bucket with sw and test ph. Make sure it's stable and then add the paver. Test ph again after a day or so amd see if has made a significant change.

I had no issues when doing it.

Eric- funny. Sanjay and I talked a lot during builds. We did a lot of similar things tank wise.

:up:

 

[acroholic]

I would look at this: Marco Rocks Key Largo Prime Cuts two sided. Flat, natural reef material, and only requires rinsing.

http://www.marcorocks.com/dry-rock/key-largo-prime-cuts-by-the-pound/">http://www.marcorocks.com/dry-rock/key-largo-prime-cuts-by-the-pound/</a>


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[fishtank]

What about flagstone? Im very new to the saltwater world but I have used my flagstone in freshwater before.

 

[bulkrate]

Another vote for the Marcorocks... they're incredibly easy to scape with, provided you can stand the rockwork looking bleach-white for a few months.

 

[stacy22]

fishtank;936089 wrote: What about flagstone? Im very new to the saltwater world but I have used my flagstone in freshwater before.

Most flagstones have ferrous oxide and lots of quartz in them. These are not minerals most would want in a reef tank.

 

[acroholic]

Some black 1/2" acrylic sheet cut into whatever base size you want would be a decent choice as well. With 1/2" thickness you can also counter sink any nuts you have under the base if you are using threaded acrylic rod. You could also coat the acrylic with sand or whatever substrate you want to use to help it blend in.

 

[giulianom]

Acroholic;936225 wrote: Some black 1/2" acrylic sheet cut into whatever base size you want would be a decent choice as well. With 1/2" thickness you can also counter sink any nuts you have under the base if you are using threaded acrylic rod. You could also coat the acrylic with sand or whatever substrate you want to use to help it blend in.

I had thought about acrylic sheet, as I had a moderately large leftover piece of 3/4" clear acrylic sitting around... but not enough.

I had checked out the price of 6x6x1/2" cut acrylic plates, and it was about $40 for 8 pieces.


What I'm going with now is 7x7x1.5" and 7x10x1.5" concrete pavers and fiberglass rods.

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The pavers were cheap, that entire set was about $11.

The fiberglass rods were about $15 for 3 x 5-foot x 3/8" diameter rods (15 feet).


The pavers will be placed on the bottom of the tank and covered with a few inches of sand - probably somewhere around 4-6" worth.

I plan to drill each paver with a carbide stone bit for 3 rods in a triangle arrangement, drilled about half-way through.

The rods will be friction-fit (no epoxy), with short 4-6" lengths going from each layer of rock instead of going all the way through.