DIY colored dry rock?

[joshua1316]

Hello fellow aquarists,

I'm currently in the planning stages of setting up my saltwater aquarium, and I'm eager to transform my dry rock into something resembling live rock. While researching online, I've come across various methods, such as using plumbers primer to achieve a purple coloration and allowing it to dry out for several days. Yes i know i can just buy live rock or already colored rock but that's not the point. im looking into a cheap way for people to save some money but do it safely.

Before proceeding with any method, I wanted to tap into the collective wisdom of this community. Are there any methods or techniques that you've personally used or heard of to simulate the appearance and functionality of live rock? Whether it's altering the color, texture, or enhancing its biological properties, I'm open to exploring different approaches.

Your insights and experiences would be invaluable in helping me make an informed decision. Thank you in advance for sharing your knowledge!

 

[tzabor10]

Many reefers consider painted rock to be less than desirable. Your primer solution will work. You may also want to consider using coralline algae. Or have the corals on your rock be the highlight. Good luck

 

[mfinn]

There is a vendor in Florida called Addictive Reef Keeping ( ARK) that sells different dyes that he uses for coloring dry rock. He can be found on ebay

 

[jon93]

ARK also has Etsy. I’d purchase from the website. I’ve purchased the dyed rock, it was pretty good.

Addictive Reef Keeping — Live Coral Farmed in the Florida Keys

WYSIWYG corals, saltwater fish, clean-up crews, and ARK reef rock — farmed in the Florida Keys, shipped overnight with a live arrival guarantee.

addictivereefkeeping.com

 

[Devilfish]

I “painted” mine with E-Marco-400 Aquascaping Mortar. It’s reef safe and has been used in tank pretty extensively. Seemed like a safer option. I also made my own rock. A word of caution however, I am still in the process of my build out and it hasn’t been used in anything with life in it yet. So take my advice with a grain of salt. This could wind up as a spectacular failure. I have been letting everything cure in water for a couple months now and haven’t been in a rush to get started.

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

Marco sells the colorant now too.

MR Coralline Colorant Spray

MarcoRocks Aquascape Aquarium Rock Live and Dry

marcorocks.com

 

[rhitee93]

After having gone through my fist year, I don't think I would bother trying to color the rocks. They will turn a grey color in a few months anyway.

Here was my dry rock on day one: (There are a couple that were pre-colored purple and a little bit of active rock from the LFS)

Here is was after 6 months:

Even the original purple rock is blue-grey now.

FWIW, this is what it looks like at one year.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

The changes from New to mature is half the fun. Why take that away from yourself

 

[italquam]

After having gone through my fist year, I don't think I would bother trying to color the rocks. They will turn a grey color in a few months anyway.

Here was my dry rock on day one: (There are a couple that were pre-colored purple and a little bit of active rock from the LFS)

Here is was after 6 months:

Even the original purple rock is blue-grey now.

FWIW, this is what it looks like at one year.

Did you add any coralline? Are you dosing or using CA Reactor ?

 

[rhitee93]

Did you add any coralline? Are you dosing or using CA Reactor ?

I didn't intentionally seed any Coraline, but have plenty of it growing. I started dosing kalkwasser this summer to keep up with Ca and alk consumption, but that is all.

 

[italquam]

I didn't intentionally seed any Coraline, but have plenty of it growing. I started dosing kalkwasser this summer to keep up with Ca and alk consumption, but that is all.

Tank looks excellent, so you just dosed kalk. I have never tried kalk , what brand reactor are you using?

Do you have a fail safe so you don't have any issues with kalk ?

 

[rhitee93]

Tank looks excellent, so you just dosed kalk. I have never tried kalk , what brand reactor are you using?

Do you have a fail safe so you don't have any issues with kalk ?

I'm not using a reactor, just dosing the saturated limewater at 1.6ml/min with a continuous duty dosing pump. I don't have any preventative safety measures built in. It doesn't seem too likely that the dosing pump will speed up on it own, and my daily visual checks will catch that before it goes too far.

All the issues I have had were because I let my kalk reservoir run dry.

I just crept up on the right dose with weekly Alk and Ca tests, which I still do to catch any drifting.

 

[Vested]

Marco sells the colorant now too.

MR Coralline Colorant Spray

MarcoRocks Aquascape Aquarium Rock Live and Dry

marcorocks.com

Id recommend this stuff, spent awhile trying to figure out cement dyes etc. and wish I knew marco had their own product before that.

It works great, you’ll need more then you think if you want a solid purple looking rock.