Growing Your Own Live Rock

S

sarah fair

Guest
Ok well someone on here told me that you can grow your own lr...this would be great for me since im on a budget! I dont care if this takes along time and patince and work...
(i am a stay at home mom so I need something to keep me busy and happy! I read that people with salt water tanks live less stressful lives and I think thats true because I have been a more postive person since ive had mine!)
So i need to know
what I need
How much rock to start with (I want to put some in my 55 gal to start the cycle so add that much in so i can buy it all at once)
and how to do it (specific instructions)
if there is more than one way id like to hear them all!
 
my way

my way

Active Member
you put base rock in your tank with some live rock and as long as everything is running properly the bacteria and critters will multiply and inhabit the base rock. I would get about 40 or 50 lbs. of base and 20 to 25 lbs of live. In about 6 months to a year it should all be live .
 
dingo0722

dingo0722

Member
Do a SWF search for DIY live rock or google it.
ingredients:
type 1 or 2 or 1/2 Portland cement. I just bought a bag of Type 1/2 at Home Depot last weekend it cost like $8.00. It is a heavy bag, 98lbs
Oyster shells. You can get them at a feed store. a 50lb bag $7.00
Play sand. I use the sand that you get at home depot. I bought 2 50lb bags, $7.00
2 Large totes. Home depot has them for $8.00
5 gallon bucket from HD for mixing, a few bucks
and water, you know where to get that.
Those are the components you need.
Instructions:
Half way fill the tote with play sand. The sand will be used as a mold. Moisten the sand so that you can make shapes out of it.
Measure out 1 part Portland cement to 4 parts oyster shells. Put that into the 5-gallon bucket. Mix in 1 part water, and mix until it forms a homogeneous mixture.
Dig out the desired shape of the live rock you want for you tank into the sand. Use your imagination here; DIY live rock can be any shape you want which is the beauty of it.
Carefully pour your mixture into the sand mold, then cover it with more sand. Wait about 2 days( I always get anxious and pull the rock out after a day) for it to harden, rinse off the sand that is trapped in the pores of the rock.
Place the rock into a tote filled with water. Every week change the water for about 8 weeks. Test the PH; you will notice that in the beginning the PH will be very high 9+. Over the next few weeks the PH will drop. The rock will have been cured when the PH is 7, and it is ready for you tank.
If you bought live rock, live 5 lbs, that rock will seed the new rock with coralline and all the other goodies that make live rock what it is. I am in the process of setting up a 15-gallon reef and am doing this right now. I will post some pictures of the rock and process tonight
Good luck and have fun
 
dingo0722

dingo0722

Member
Here are a few pics of DIY Live Rock.
The top one is the mix poured into the sand and the botton two are a few pieces that I have made. They are currently curing for the next few weeks


 
wieselspor

wieselspor

Member
I'm tinking of making of some in the next week. I thought i'd pass this along, while researching i've heard that oyster shells release phosphates over time. Enlighten me on anything you learned while doing this project.
 
saltfan

saltfan

Active Member
Good lord, all that for some rocks....Get some LR in the tank, then go to the store and buy Lace Rock, at a 1.49 a lb, you can't go wrong, and its looks in form just like LR.
 
nyfisherman

nyfisherman

Member
What I like to do when making live rock out of cement or just buying base rock, is get a masonry bit from HD and drill more holes in it. It makes the rock lighter and looks a little more like the real stuff.
 
dingo0722

dingo0722

Member
I have never heard of oyster shells releasing phosphates. They are mostly calcuim carbonate. The play sand I use is not reef safe, but it doesn't go in the tank. I use it as a mold, pour the mixture into the sand mold and let is harden. The rock is removed from the sand, washed off and sent to cure in another bucket for 8 weeks
 
masterzeus

masterzeus

Member
I don't understand the pasta that is used in the other threads. I assume it is to make it more porous, but how do you get it out afterwards? Should you cook it first?
 
turningtim

turningtim

Active Member
Originally Posted by MasterZeus
I don't understand the pasta that is used in the other threads. I assume it is to make it more porous, but how do you get it out afterwards? Should you cook it first?
You can either use pasta or rock salt and during the curing process these will disinagrate and you will be left with a more porous rock.
HTH
Tim
 
masterzeus

masterzeus

Member
Originally Posted by dingo0722
The Pasta and the Rock Salt will disolve during the 8 week curing proccess
Cool, thanks. Do you have to use warm water to make the pasta dissolve? Do you have to be careful to not totally get the pasta or rocksalt on the inside of the rock/mixture (so the water can't reach it to dissolve it)?
 
dingo0722

dingo0722

Member
use the pasta dry. When the rock is sitting in a tub of moving water, the water will disove all the starch from the pasta. While curing your rock, watch the PH of the tub. I will spike to PH10+ for a few weeks, then begin to slowly lower to a neutral PH. When this happens, the rock is ready for the display tank
 
maxalmon

maxalmon

Active Member
Wow, sounds and looks like a lot of work.....base rock is only $1lb all you do take a hammer and start whacking it to the right shape and then your done, drill it and use zip ties to hold the design together. For people who like to make things like this, your idea sounds like a lot of fun
 
scott9311

scott9311

Member
It is a bit of work, but homemade rock only costs .09 cents a lb to make. Plus, you can make it into any shape/size you want.
 
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