DIY Live Rocks

[oceana]

Originally Posted by cynelson
so after you make them you need to cure them in freshwater? do you need to put a power head in the container you put them in to cure in or anything else. is a plastic tote good to cure in? How many weeks to cure?

i sure fine in a large plastic tote with a power head, i cure for about 6-8 weeks.
I also keep mine lights and i cure it along with some very nice licve rock to help seed the coralline growth

 

[bronco300]

i tried oceana...boy did i get upset at that cement, lol....it was quite pasty, but it didnt want to stay up for me..so i assume its to wet...?? then i decided to just build it from bottom up again, but this time use sand as a brace whenever needed...to make holes, caverns, etc....think thats ok??? I dont know, i think my mixture was like 5C water, 12 C cement, 3-5C sand....i dont know, it was a mess...i just hope it comes out alright...or it was a lot of wasted time,lol. i'll try and get some pictures posted of my process, dont know how they came out yet....

 

[shiby1510]

Well just give it a little more time to sit and dry if you think it was too watery and it may hold.. the problem I have found is that... usually when the mixture is too watery it does not hold as well.. It is okay tho just give it another try... it takes a few batches before getting the feel for the mixture
:happyfish

 

[oceana]

Originally Posted by Bronco300

i tried oceana...boy did i get upset at that cement, lol....it was quite pasty, but it didnt want to stay up for me..so i assume its to wet...?? then i decided to just build it from bottom up again, but this time use sand as a brace whenever needed...to make holes, caverns, etc....think thats ok??? I dont know, i think my mixture was like 5C water, 12 C cement, 3-5C sand....i dont know, it was a mess...i just hope it comes out alright...or it was a lot of wasted time,lol. i'll try and get some pictures posted of my process, dont know how they came out yet....

thats fine. matter a fact its just what we do. build up sand under places you want things like ledges. then when it drys you brush away the sand and your left with your ledge.
remember yhat you can get a really tall piece all in one shot. if you can only get it 2 inches tall before it falls down then stop there and let it dry. then build on top of that .

 

[bronco300]

ok, thanks!..did alot of sand stick to your cement or did it all brush off completely?

 

[oceana]

Originally Posted by Bronco300
ok, thanks!..did alot of sand stick to your cement or did it all brush off completely?

not much sticks to it but it will stick. most just brushes of with a stiff brush and after you cure it even more will some off

 

[bronco300]

did your stuff fall over easy? or is that not much of a concern as long as you use something to brace it up?

 

[oceana]

Originally Posted by Bronco300
did your stuff fall over easy? or is that not much of a concern as long as you use something to brace it up?

ok here is the best i can do to explain this.
picture a Base slab(rock
on that rock pack sand on it in any shape you want then take your cement and pack that on top of the sand in all the spots you want there to be rock . make sure to leave a part of the base rock open so that the new cement has enough placed to attach to in oder to be stable. then once it dry you brush out all the sand and the rock will remain..
in ym pics you can see that it look like cement piled over a sand pile. well that becasue it is. then when i brush away all the sand you get what you see in the last pic
.
here is a VERYVERY basic and silly i might add cross section drawing of what a rock would lo0ok like is you could view it from the side while being made.
you can see base rock. then sand. STOP let dry
then more sand and a new ledge STOP let dry.
and so on. now this would be a VERy basic rock but it should help you see how to do it. you will then take that basic idea and make the rock as crazy as you want. the rock i showed pictured above was done in four steps just like i described

 

[bronco300]

wow...thats crazy, i'll have to try that this next time...i didnt do layer,dry,layer,dry...we'll see how it turns out, but i'll try that too. THANK!!
Luke P

 

[oceana]

Originally Posted by Bronco300
did your stuff fall over easy? or is that not much of a concern as long as you use something to brace it up?

also i ment to mention that you should plan ahead when making your rocks.
draw out how you would like your whole tank formation to look . then make your rocks so that they fit together like a big puzzle. it helps make it VERY studry and you know you will end up with just want you want. if you find pictures of my reef you will see that the rocks seem to flow together in a very natural way. this did not happen by chance. most of the reefs in nature are not just a bunch of randone rocks all oevr the place . they are formed over 100's of thousands of years from coral upon corals untill a huge vast reef is formed. i try to make that same flow in the tank. now mother nature is alot better at it then i am but i atleast try lol

 

[hckycoz]

Well i got another question for you guys. where did you guys find test kits that had high enough PH levels to read the rock water. I went to the local petsmart and all they had was a kit the read PH from 6.8-7.2

 

[thegrog]

Originally Posted by hckycoz
Well i got another question for you guys. where did you guys find test kits that had high enough PH levels to read the rock water. I went to the local petsmart and all they had was a kit the read PH from 6.8-7.2
I use a digital meter. Salt water kits also go to 8.5 or something.

 

[bronco300]

here are the two i tried to make your way oceana...not the best, but i like em, they have some holes under the little ledges...i'm gettin there, i made another today..i think it should turn out nice...we'll see though.

 

[bronco300]

here are the lasts ones i just made that are drying right now...i like the one...the other i need a better picture of(on the left).

 

[oceana]

looking good so far. i can see your designs getting more and more complicated. gj

 

[bronco300]

i played with it tooooo much, lol...i just couldnt let it sit, and the top part broke off on me.....i need to learn my lesson, lol. it still looks ok, and maybe i can piece it back together if i make more, huh??
and Oceana, for the curing process, you said you use the leftover saltwater from your tank to start seeding...do you use all saltwater in the tub, or is it whatever saltwater you can you add it to the freshwater...i have a 10...so i cant really get a ton of saltwater, ya know, but i like the idea....what do you think?
Luke P :happyfish :happyfish :happyfish :happyfish

 

[oceana]

Originally Posted by Bronco300

i played with it tooooo much, lol...i just couldnt let it sit, and the top part broke off on me.....i need to learn my lesson, lol. it still looks ok, and maybe i can piece it back together if i make more, huh??
and Oceana, for the curing process, you said you use the leftover saltwater from your tank to start seeding...do you use all saltwater in the tub, or is it whatever saltwater you can you add it to the freshwater...i have a 10...so i cant really get a ton of saltwater, ya know, but i like the idea....what do you think?
Luke P :happyfish :happyfish :happyfish :happyfish

not sure it would matter in your case since a water change would only be like 1 gallon.
When we do water changes in our tanks we end up with around 36 gallons of waste water. i then put that into the curing tubes which are 25 gallon rubbermain containers.
in your case you should call your LFS and ask them when they do there next water change if you can have some. some stores even sell this water but IMO thoise stores are a$$clowns and ripping off there customers. if they try to charge you for something they would be throwing down the drian look around at other small stores
after you get your water
then toss in some real live rock rubble with coraline on it. most store have a rubble barrel with tiny rocks for around 199 per pound
take the coralline covered rock and scrub it with a stiff brush. to help spread it around.
light the tub with basic lighting leaning more towards actinic then daylight Place a powerhead or two in the tubs. by the end of curing most times you will already see life on your new rocks.
PS: i do the same thing. my wife will come into the room and ask if i had been touching the new rocks becaseu some are broken or she could tell i moved them lol. i try to blame my son but that never works lol gl to ya

 

[thangbom]

i say bad idea on asking lfs for there used saltwater.... dont u guys know that u should never!!! introduce there water into your tank??? they have so many deseases and parasite come and go through there system u dont even know what to do... so if u cure or seed your rock with there water = u introducing all the good and lots of bad stuff into your tank...

 

[bronco300]

PS: i do the same thing. my wife will come into the room and ask if i had been touching the new rocks becaseu some are broken or she could tell i moved them lol. i try to blame my son but that never works lol gl to ya

thats great...i'll see if my lfs will help me out, knowing them they'll be rotten, but gotta try, lol...so you get rock that already has some algae on it?? all i could buy is just regular live rock, no stuff growing yet on it...but maybe i could put it in my 10gallon to let it grow, then take it out of there??
and also, can i just use aquarium sealant and put the broken pieces back on???

 

[bronco300]

Originally Posted by ThaNgBom
i say bad idea on asking lfs for there used saltwater.... dont u guys know that u should never!!! introduce there water into your tank??? they have so many deseases and parasite come and go through there system u dont even know what to do... so if u cure or seed your rock with there water = u introducing all the good and lots of bad stuff into your tank...

well, i'm new to this so i have no clue...but i want to hear what oceana has to say....