DIY Concrete Rock River Curing Times

[Jay1982]

Hey everyone, I'm jumping back into the hobby after spending 5-6 years out of it. During my last stint I made some concrete DIY rocks (portland, crushed corals, aragonite) and I changed the water daily for months and ended having the rocks out in buckets for 10 months. This time I just threw the rocks into a river up north about 45 minutes away from anything (clean river, low traffic). Has anyone who has done this method have an estimate on how long it normally takes for rocks to cure in the river? Granted, this will depend on how much concrete was used and how big the rocks are. I think that knowing how long, on average, people had their rocks in a river would give me a good extrapolation on what I should expect.

Thanks!!

 

[Reeferdood]

Hey everyone, I'm jumping back into the hobby after spending 5-6 years out of it. During my last stint I made some concrete DIY rocks (portland, crushed corals, aragonite) and I changed the water daily for months and ended having the rocks out in buckets for 10 months. This time I just threw the rocks into a river up north about 45 minutes away from anything (clean river, low traffic). Has anyone who has done this method have an estimate on how long it normally takes for rocks to cure in the river? Granted, this will depend on how much concrete was used and how big the rocks are. I think that knowing how long, on average, people had their rocks in a river would give me a good extrapolation on what I should expect.

Thanks!!

What River are you referring to? I live in Florida where we have brackish rivers but they are loaded with runoff from the land. I would never use that for curing due to the unknown chemicals in the water..

 

[Jay1982]

It's a river in upper Canada. It's clean as per my call with Parks Canada. It runs through a forest. My biggest concern is what could be living in it when I grab the rocks, lol.

 

[Reeferdood]

It's a river in upper Canada. It's clean as per my call with Parks Canada. It runs through a forest. My biggest concern is what could be living in it when I grab the rocks, lol.

So, are we talking curing rocks in freshwater for use in a reef tank?

 

[Jay1982]

Correct. Curing concrete in a moving body of water to eventually put in a new tank. It's a method that a lot of people have used in the mega thread I used to participate in over at RC.

 

[Reeferdood]

Correct. Curing concrete in a moving body of water to eventually put in a new tank. It's a method that a lot of people have used in the mega thread I used to participate in over at RC.

Awesome, I’ve never heard of doing that!

 

[Jay1982]

Yeah, I'll post some pictures once they come out of the water!

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Hey everyone, I'm jumping back into the hobby after spending 5-6 years out of it. During my last stint I made some concrete DIY rocks (portland, crushed corals, aragonite) and I changed the water daily for months and ended having the rocks out in buckets for 10 months. This time I just threw the rocks into a river up north about 45 minutes away from anything (clean river, low traffic). Has anyone who has done this method have an estimate on how long it normally takes for rocks to cure in the river? Granted, this will depend on how much concrete was used and how big the rocks are. I think that knowing how long, on average, people had their rocks in a river would give me a good extrapolation on what I should expect.

Thanks!!

Walt smith makes fake live rock at one of his aquaculture facilities in Fiji. Uses cement with coral sand/rubble.
He leaves it to cure in tha air for six weeks before placing it in the ocean to seed it. Any sooner than six weeks & the rock isn't fully cured & disolves when put into the ocean

 

[Jay1982]

Man I'd love to be able to put my rocks in the ocean haha. Good video though!! Thanks for sharing!

 

[EW_Fish]

Walt smith makes fake live rock at one of his aquaculture facilities in Fiji. Uses cement with coral sand/rubble.
He leaves it to cure in tha air for six weeks before placing it in the ocean to seed it. Any sooner than six weeks & the rock isn't fully cured & disolves when put into the ocean

Love the video