How To Make Diy Rock??????????

aloysiusii

aloysiusii

Member
Originally Posted by grubsnaek
ill look for a week around here if not then im gonna order it from them. not in a rush.
Rick's Saddle Shop & Feed Supl, 7 Water St, Englishtown, NJ 07726
(732) 446-4330
7 Water St, Englishtown, NJ 07726
check out this place for the oyster shells??? I do not know I don't live there but you can try!!!! Good luck
 
nietzsche

nietzsche

Active Member
Originally Posted by chuckcac
what ratio did you use to make em'?
i used
7 parts oyster shell
2 parts cement (type I/II)
2 parts water
they're both strong & pourous....
too much cement = higher strenth/ less porosity
too little cement = less strenth / more porosity

i used the old one which was like a 4:1 ratio, salt:cement just made one today using the new 2:1 ratio--- salt:cement. going tomorrow to look for oyster shell and make some using salt, cement, oyster shell, -- 1:1-1.5:1.5
do you need to mix it with sand? or is that just to make it look natural?
im thinking maybe next time i should leave it out for 14-21 days for it strengthen before putting them in water
 
chuckcac

chuckcac

Member
Originally Posted by nietzsche
i used the old one which was like a 4:1 ratio, salt:cement just made one today using the new 2:1 ratio--- salt:cement. going tomorrow to look for oyster shell and make some using salt, cement, oyster shell, -- 1:1-1.5:1.5
do you need to mix it with sand? or is that just to make it look natural?
im thinking maybe next time i should leave it out for 14-21 days for it strengthen before putting them in water
salt?!?
dont use salt in the mix - it will degrade the integrity of the cement... you wont get a very strong bond...
just use shell, cement, water.....
 
nietzsche

nietzsche

Active Member
Originally Posted by chuckcac
salt?!?
dont use salt in the mix - it will degrade the integrity of the cement... you wont get a very strong bond...
just use shell, cement, water.....
its just the water softner. from the -- thread it said it was okay to use? hmm. i did make some more using a 2:1 ratio salt:cement, but this time didnt add as much water and it came out way better than before.
lol well, i guess ill try this again
 
chuckcac

chuckcac

Member
Originally Posted by nietzsche
its just the water softner. from the -- thread it said it was okay to use? hmm. i did make some more using a 2:1 ratio salt:cement, but this time didnt add as much water and it came out way better than before.
lol well, i guess ill try this again
i guess you have hard water... be careful with additions to the mix, some things may effect the integrity of the concrete...
the consistancy should be that of lumpy oatmeal... if it's runny - its too wet...
try the 'mudball test' ;
take a handfull of the mix and squezze it into a ball...
if water drips out... too wet
if you put it down and it flattens out too much (from ball shape to pancake shape)... to wet
if no water drips out when you sqyueeze it, and it retains somwhat of a ball shape when you put it down... good to go
 
nietzsche

nietzsche

Active Member
Originally Posted by chuckcac
i guess you have hard water... be careful with additions to the mix, some things may effect the integrity of the concrete...
the consistancy should be that of lumpy oatmeal... if it's runny - its too wet...
try the 'mudball test' ;
take a handfull of the mix and squezze it into a ball...
if water drips out... too wet
if you put it down and it flattens out too much (from ball shape to pancake shape)... to wet
if no water drips out when you sqyueeze it, and it retains somwhat of a ball shape when you put it down... good to go

im not sure why you add water softner, but im guessing it was because when the salt begins to dissolve in the water it makes the rock more porous so you can have your small bugs hide away in the rock and bacteria. this other batch i did that was a 2:1 was a lot better and would be perfect once i make the new batch and add the crushed oyster shell, guessing for the buffering capacity it has
 
grubsnaek

grubsnaek

Active Member
i know i can get away with not using oyster shells if i cant find them. i think i could use just cement and water. just a dumb question, the sand is only used to mold right. and by sand i live litteraly next to the beach, can i use this sand for molding. and whats a good mix ratio here. let me have it.
 
grubsnaek

grubsnaek

Active Member
i was reading the archieves and there was something about using clothing dye to make fake coraline. can this really work.
 
zman1

zman1

Active Member
Originally Posted by grubsnaek
i know i can get away with not using oyster shells if i cant find them. i think i could use just cement and water. just a dumb question, the sand is only used to mold right. and by sand i live litteraly next to the beach, can i use this sand for molding. and whats a good mix ratio here. let me have it.

You will need to use something other than just Portland cement and water. Cement is the glue or bonding agent. I guess you can use Aragonite sand or Crushed Coral instead of crushed Oyster shells. The crushed oyster shells are just much cheaper that the other two.
Normal cement mixes have gravel and sand as the media.
I used Wal-Mart non colored play sand for the molding.
 
chuckcac

chuckcac

Member
Originally Posted by zman1
You will need to use something other than just Portland cement and water. Cement is the glue or bonding agent. I guess you can use Aragonite sand or Crushed Coral instead of crushed Oyster shells. The crushed oyster shells are just much cheaper that the other two.
Normal cement mixes have gravel and sand as the media.
I used Wal-Mart non colored play sand for the molding.
zman1 is right grubsnaek, the cement is just that... glue that holds an aggregate together... water + cement = a sticky useless mess

if you use a premixed bag o'concrete' like 'quickcrete ready mix' or something... you will obtain rocks, but not of the composition suitable for salt water aquaria... you dont want a concrete with a silicate aggregate which is why people are suggesting the shell or aragonite (calcium based)...

i also used non-colored playsand to make the molds
whatever happened with all those feed stores from google... anything near you? if you want to PM me and tell me where you're from, i'll help you locate one...
 
grubsnaek

grubsnaek

Active Member
so the beach sand would be no good to use. also im not really a big fan of the egg crate in the tank. its too white for me. i was thinking of making some rocks look like pillers and have a slab on top making it look like a roof. if that makes any sense. i would only make it about 1.5" thick. and what about this clothing dye for the fake coraline look. i just think that sounds pritty cool.
 
grubsnaek

grubsnaek

Active Member
can one of you tell me a step by step how to do it. leave no detail out. will be doing this in about 2 to 3 weeks. so if i can read it over and over, i will have a good idea and mental picture of each step. hope that made sense.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top