Michelesreef
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Love this..def watching!!!
DIY Rock Tutorial/Info Thread (Rocks, walls, floors, etc.)
- Thread starter Electrobes
- Start date
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Nick Rose
Active Member
I had made some rock a few months ago. I had it out side in a 20 gallon brute can for the curing and kuring process. Did this for i think 1-2 months. I then put a test rock into a bucket with salt water from a water change. Tested the water 3 days later and the PH was 8.4. So then I put all the rocks in with a pump and heater. Did this for about two weeks and today tested the PH and it was 10.5. Also the water has a smell of I would guess the white Portland cement. Is this normal or did I do something wrong in my process of making the rock?
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Reverend Turtle
Active Member
Did you do daily water changes for the first week or two? If you just filled it and let it sit, it won't leach out all of the alkalinity.
Nick Rose
Active Member
Yes I did Daily water changes or at least almost everyday for 2 weeks or more.
I pulled the newly formed rocks out of the sand and put it into a 20 gallon can and did the water changes for probably a month or more. I kind of lost track how long it was.
Reverend Turtle
Active Member
I would just keep changing water. Keep a pump in with the rocks for circulation, I understand this helps.
Best of luck!
NeonRabbit221B
2500 Club Member
My mom frequently gives me conch shells, sea glass and driftwood to add to my plethora of tanks. Rinse it well and you should be fine.can I or should I use the small sea shells I find on the beach , crashed into small peaces as an add-on to the cement mix ? or they have probably bad chemicals etc...
About a year after, this is the Star Destroyer now..Just an upadate on the Star Destroyer
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headdr
Well-Known Member
Andrey Grodno
Active Member
Hello friends, my name is Andrew, I live in Belarus. I have developed a technology for making homemade living stones and I want to show you the result. There is a video on my channel, in which the technology is explained in detail, but it is without English subtitles, in Russian. I am writing with the help of an online translator. If you would be interested, I will ask a friend to translate it into English and make subtitles. In the meantime, these are the stones I get.
It can be like that with some subjects. This subject takes a bit of reading, planning, work and time... That is too much for many and they just go out and buy rock. But if you want something unique or simply want to help save the planet, this is the way to go.
I did it because I wanted a return column and overflows that were capable of growing coral on that was live and wasn't a black box.
My rock after 1.5 years
first off, your contributions to the thread have been great, and really kept the topic moving. thank you for that. I know it can be time consuming, especially with grown kids. we all appreciate it.
after all this time, and seeing the results of your labor...... is there anything you would have done differently? anything you would have changed to the 'mold' or 'shapes?'
-cap
KomsCorals
Active Member
Any ideas on how they making these shapes and textures? Looks so real, would love to try making something similar for kg upcoming build.
SolviReef has a Unique line of Man Made Live Rock | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog
‘Real’ live rock is really falling out of favor in the reef aquarium hobby and dry or artificial rock is really starting to take over aquarium reefscapes. Solvireef is a new company from South Africa…
reefbuilders.com
Austintatious
New Member
I came across this old thread and have to commend those of you who have made your own rocks and had successful tanks by doing so.
For my first reef tank I attempted to do this with portland and oyster shells. The rock was fantastically porous. I cured it all in a 55 gallon barrel which I changed the water daily for 3 months. Ever day there was a layer of ice looking crust on the top of the water in the barrel. I would scoop it out and drain the barrel and fill it back up. For THREE months. Once the ice like crust stopped forming I thought I was OK.
Well, I was not. The tank started off OK. Fish were happy... But I could not keep ANY coral alive. All water parameters were OK except for CA. I was reading 1500 PPM on the calcium. No one in the club I was part of would believe it. Finally another member came by to see if I was wrong and brought his own test kit. Sure enough 1500 PPm Ca.
The tank was 250 gallons and I was doing a 110 gallon water change every other day for several weeks in an attempt to remedy the situation. The fish were always happy, but no coral would survive.
I also discovered that all the live sand had bonded together and become one huge solid rock at the bottom of the tank.
I was hell bent to salvage the situation, but unexpectedly, I got a great job offer that meant I was going to have to move. So I sold off the fish and broke down the tank and sold it all.
The whole experience was a disaster and soo soo much work. It was over 10 years before I decided to try my hand at the hobby again. I 100 percent blame it on the DIY rock. If I was to EVER try to make my own rock again (NOT LIKELY) the way I would cure the rocks is to put them in burlap sacks and sink them into a lake for 3-4 months and then go retrieve them.
Just my experience... So Kudos to those that have done so successfully.
For my first reef tank I attempted to do this with portland and oyster shells. The rock was fantastically porous. I cured it all in a 55 gallon barrel which I changed the water daily for 3 months. Ever day there was a layer of ice looking crust on the top of the water in the barrel. I would scoop it out and drain the barrel and fill it back up. For THREE months. Once the ice like crust stopped forming I thought I was OK.
Well, I was not. The tank started off OK. Fish were happy... But I could not keep ANY coral alive. All water parameters were OK except for CA. I was reading 1500 PPM on the calcium. No one in the club I was part of would believe it. Finally another member came by to see if I was wrong and brought his own test kit. Sure enough 1500 PPm Ca.
The tank was 250 gallons and I was doing a 110 gallon water change every other day for several weeks in an attempt to remedy the situation. The fish were always happy, but no coral would survive.
I also discovered that all the live sand had bonded together and become one huge solid rock at the bottom of the tank.
I was hell bent to salvage the situation, but unexpectedly, I got a great job offer that meant I was going to have to move. So I sold off the fish and broke down the tank and sold it all.
The whole experience was a disaster and soo soo much work. It was over 10 years before I decided to try my hand at the hobby again. I 100 percent blame it on the DIY rock. If I was to EVER try to make my own rock again (NOT LIKELY) the way I would cure the rocks is to put them in burlap sacks and sink them into a lake for 3-4 months and then go retrieve them.
Just my experience... So Kudos to those that have done so successfully.
Austintatious
New Member
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