tbrown
Nominated Cronie Intern - Might be failing?
So I started an experiment! I have made some Aragocrete rocks in the past and they're doing swell. I made an Aragocrete cover for my PVC return pipe inside the tank and it's also doing swell. However, there have been some recent discussions about frag racks and I have several egg crate light diffuser frag racks in my display tank and they don't look quite so swell. I decided I was going to do an experiment and hybridize the Aragocrete rocks and the egg crate racks and make Aragoeggcratecrete Racks! Ok, that's kinda long. Areggocrate Racks? Well, whatever. I made an egg crate frag rack and added some Aragocrete! I used some wooden dowels for the frag plug holes and, if these work, I'll be using some 1.5" PVC for frag disc holes on later projects. I made two - a hanging rack for Acros and a standing rack for Blastos or Bowerbankis. The hanging one doesn't have any before or during pictures, just the after pics so I apologize in advance, but the procedure is basically the same for both.
Step 1:
Cut the egg crate to the size you need
Step 2:
Heat the egg crate at the point you plan to bend it - be careful not to overheat it or it will warp, under heating it will cause it to crack when you bend so be careful - heat slowly and test frequently
Step 3:
Add a base layer of moist aragonite sand to the curing/drying container - not too wet but moist enough that it sticks together and holds shape. At this point you have two options: place the egg crate upside down and insert dowels then remove the egg crate, or, like I did, put the egg crate in right side up and fill in around the edges just up to the base of the egg crate
Step 4:
Add wooden dowels where you want the frag plug holes
Step 5:
Mix the Aragocrete - I used Portland cement and coarse aragonite sand in portions of 1 part cement to 1.5 parts sand (1 cup of cement to 1.5 cups of sand etc.)
Step 6:
After mixing the sand and cement together slowly add water and mix until the mixture is sticky but chunky - over mixing becomes soupy and won't hold a good shape, too dry and it'll be crumbly. When it's a good consistency mix in some water softener crystals to add some more texture (these dissolve leaving small craters and make the Aragocrete more porous) and then scoop the mixture onto the egg crate.
Step 7:
Remove the dowels and gently cover the entire project with 1"-2" of moist aragonite sand and then put the lid on the curing/drying container.
Step 8:
Allow to dry for 24-48 hours in the container - bigger pieces may require longer drying time before removing from the container. If you leave it longer, spray the sand once or twice a day to keep it moist which will help your project not crack while drying. Remove it from the container and allow it to finish drying.
Step 9:
After drying, rinse well to get the loose sand off and then start a freshwater soak. Fill a container with water, and add the project. Measure the pH at the start of the soak, then take a reading each day after. Replace the water daily or every couple of days. When the pH stops spiking you're ready for a saltwater soak for a couple of days to weeks.
Some of my other Aragocrete projects:
Step 1:
Cut the egg crate to the size you need
Step 2:
Heat the egg crate at the point you plan to bend it - be careful not to overheat it or it will warp, under heating it will cause it to crack when you bend so be careful - heat slowly and test frequently
Step 3:
Add a base layer of moist aragonite sand to the curing/drying container - not too wet but moist enough that it sticks together and holds shape. At this point you have two options: place the egg crate upside down and insert dowels then remove the egg crate, or, like I did, put the egg crate in right side up and fill in around the edges just up to the base of the egg crate
Step 4:
Add wooden dowels where you want the frag plug holes
Step 5:
Mix the Aragocrete - I used Portland cement and coarse aragonite sand in portions of 1 part cement to 1.5 parts sand (1 cup of cement to 1.5 cups of sand etc.)
Step 6:
After mixing the sand and cement together slowly add water and mix until the mixture is sticky but chunky - over mixing becomes soupy and won't hold a good shape, too dry and it'll be crumbly. When it's a good consistency mix in some water softener crystals to add some more texture (these dissolve leaving small craters and make the Aragocrete more porous) and then scoop the mixture onto the egg crate.
Step 7:
Remove the dowels and gently cover the entire project with 1"-2" of moist aragonite sand and then put the lid on the curing/drying container.
Step 8:
Allow to dry for 24-48 hours in the container - bigger pieces may require longer drying time before removing from the container. If you leave it longer, spray the sand once or twice a day to keep it moist which will help your project not crack while drying. Remove it from the container and allow it to finish drying.
Step 9:
After drying, rinse well to get the loose sand off and then start a freshwater soak. Fill a container with water, and add the project. Measure the pH at the start of the soak, then take a reading each day after. Replace the water daily or every couple of days. When the pH stops spiking you're ready for a saltwater soak for a couple of days to weeks.
Some of my other Aragocrete projects:
