jtrzerocool
Active Member
so how easy is it to make your own rock?
is it as porous(sp?) as fiji??
is it as porous(sp?) as fiji??
Chuck's DIY journal
- Thread starter chuckcac
- Start date
azaintcold
Member
With those shapes you should get some great aquascaping.
chuckcac
Member
jtzerocool - it was actually really easy - i think i'll be sad when i'm done making them 'cause it was alot of fun... i always liked playing in the sand box as a kid....
as far as its pourosity... its reeeeealy pourous. the irregular shapes and sizes of the crushed shell + the lower content of cement made them great. for example... as i was washing the sand off them i held the hose over the top... and water just trickles out the bottom it basically runs right through it.
thanks Azaintcold - i did a little sketch of what i hoped the aquascaping would look like and what shapes i would have to make to acheive 'that look'...
i've got a great 'vertical' shape coming out of the mold tonight...
as far as its pourosity... its reeeeealy pourous. the irregular shapes and sizes of the crushed shell + the lower content of cement made them great. for example... as i was washing the sand off them i held the hose over the top... and water just trickles out the bottom it basically runs right through it.
thanks Azaintcold - i did a little sketch of what i hoped the aquascaping would look like and what shapes i would have to make to acheive 'that look'...
i've got a great 'vertical' shape coming out of the mold tonight...
jtrzerocool
Active Member
well they are truly unique and beautiful pieces. good luck with the tank and the black bar chromis!
chuckcac
Member
OK - i made a super cool rock the other night and when i took it out of the mold... i broke it
oops...
i should be done making rocks by tommorow - then i'll start to cure them. (wow - 6 weeks is a long time - but hey, i've been working on this for 8 months now i guess one more month wont kill me)
ill probably set up all the base rock in the tank tonight before curing them - just to see how they look... i'll post shots on Monday of that and all the work i do on the stand.
i should be done making rocks by tommorow - then i'll start to cure them. (wow - 6 weeks is a long time - but hey, i've been working on this for 8 months now i guess one more month wont kill me)
ill probably set up all the base rock in the tank tonight before curing them - just to see how they look... i'll post shots on Monday of that and all the work i do on the stand.
N
nemo_66
Guest
i would cure them more than six weeks. maybe 10 or 12. i made some and cured it for 5 weeks or so, and nothing would live in the tank, until i did a 75% water change (it was cycling or was supposed to.)
chuckcac
Member
Nemo_66 said:i would cure them more than six weeks. maybe 10 or 12. i made some and cured it for 5 weeks or so, and nothing would live in the tank, until i did a 75% water change (it was cycling or was supposed to.)[/QUOTE
you can consider them complete after the pH has dropped down to 8.4 and lower. (according to GARF). after teh first day soaking in the water the pH is off the charts high (over 9.0 )... so i added 1/2 gallon of distilled white vinegar to the water. i plan to change 100% on next saturday and add another 1/2 gallon white vinegar... then after a week - begin changing out 50% of the water every 2 days untill the pH is low enough fo my tank...
i know the 6 weeks is sort of an estimate, and i should have mentioned that... looks like its another waiting game
chuckcac
Member
hey renograw - the air-line is all the way closed right now. i plan to use that particular MJ-600 to mix my saltwater for water changes, i just havn't bought the MJ 12000 i intend to keep in the QT...
Am I right in thinking its good to airate the saltwater for water changes? Or should i get rid of it entirely?
TriGa22 - thanks man, i appreciate it (its always good to know people like my stuff)
so this weekend i spray-painted the back of the DT (marine blue with a sort of 'fade to black' towards the bottom)
And, i did alot of work on the stand. i finished off the exterior bead-board panels and added the trim & moulding.
Tonight i plan to fill any gaps with wood filler - and sand down the whole thing.
Tommorow night i start to make the doors...
By the end of the week i plan to have it stained, sealed, and ready to put back together...
also.. finally starting to see a change in my QT parameters;
ammonia - .25
trite - 0
trate - 0
pH - 8.0
temp - 78
Sp Gr - 1.025
will test again tonight - if it reaches .5 i will do a water change.
Am I right in thinking its good to airate the saltwater for water changes? Or should i get rid of it entirely?
TriGa22 - thanks man, i appreciate it (its always good to know people like my stuff)
so this weekend i spray-painted the back of the DT (marine blue with a sort of 'fade to black' towards the bottom)
And, i did alot of work on the stand. i finished off the exterior bead-board panels and added the trim & moulding.
Tonight i plan to fill any gaps with wood filler - and sand down the whole thing.
Tommorow night i start to make the doors...
By the end of the week i plan to have it stained, sealed, and ready to put back together...
also.. finally starting to see a change in my QT parameters;
ammonia - .25
trite - 0
trate - 0
pH - 8.0
temp - 78
Sp Gr - 1.025
will test again tonight - if it reaches .5 i will do a water change.
renogaw
Active Member
Originally Posted by chuckcac
hey renograw - the air-line is all the way closed right now. i plan to use that particular MJ-600 to mix my saltwater for water changes, i just havn't bought the MJ 12000 i intend to keep in the QT...
Am I right in thinking its good to airate the saltwater for water changes? Or should i get rid of it entirely?
TriGa22 - thanks man, i appreciate it (its always good to know people like my stuff)
so this weekend i spray-painted the back of the DT (marine blue with a sort of 'fade to black' towards the bottom)
And, i did alot of work on the stand. i finished off the exterior bead-board panels and added the trim & moulding.
Tonight i plan to fill any gaps with wood filler - and sand down the whole thing.
Tommorow night i start to make the doors...
By the end of the week i plan to have it stained, sealed, and ready to put back together...
also.. finally starting to see a change in my QT parameters;
ammonia - .25
trite - 0
trate - 0
pH - 8.0
temp - 78
Sp Gr - 1.025
will test again tonight - if it reaches .5 i will do a water change.
you can get away with your ammonia getting to 1.0 before worrying about a water change. and yes, its a good idea to aerate your saltwater mix to help out with the pH.
hey renograw - the air-line is all the way closed right now. i plan to use that particular MJ-600 to mix my saltwater for water changes, i just havn't bought the MJ 12000 i intend to keep in the QT...
Am I right in thinking its good to airate the saltwater for water changes? Or should i get rid of it entirely?
TriGa22 - thanks man, i appreciate it (its always good to know people like my stuff)
so this weekend i spray-painted the back of the DT (marine blue with a sort of 'fade to black' towards the bottom)
And, i did alot of work on the stand. i finished off the exterior bead-board panels and added the trim & moulding.
Tonight i plan to fill any gaps with wood filler - and sand down the whole thing.
Tommorow night i start to make the doors...
By the end of the week i plan to have it stained, sealed, and ready to put back together...
also.. finally starting to see a change in my QT parameters;
ammonia - .25
trite - 0
trate - 0
pH - 8.0
temp - 78
Sp Gr - 1.025
will test again tonight - if it reaches .5 i will do a water change.
you can get away with your ammonia getting to 1.0 before worrying about a water change. and yes, its a good idea to aerate your saltwater mix to help out with the pH.
chuckcac
Member
so far this week i have started to complete the stand. Most of the construction is done...
here is the stand before and after a coat of stain. i put the second coat of stain on last night.... and i started to build the doors. i should finish them tomorrow... and put everything back together... then i'll start to glue together all the plumbing!!!
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comments are always welcome
here is the stand before and after a coat of stain. i put the second coat of stain on last night.... and i started to build the doors. i should finish them tomorrow... and put everything back together... then i'll start to glue together all the plumbing!!!
comments are always welcome
jennythebugg
Active Member
everything is looking so great ! love the rocks ive been tossing around the idea of making some of those myself
marcelostank
Member
Originally Posted by DragonZim
Looking great Chuck! Can't wait to see it all together!
...ditto... Those rocks look freakin' awesome!!! Wish I could convince my wife to upgrade
to a 120 gal so I can make some rock of my own!!!
Looking great Chuck! Can't wait to see it all together!
...ditto... Those rocks look freakin' awesome!!! Wish I could convince my wife to upgrade