making bulk live rock

mwaraxa

mwaraxa

Member
Ok, heres the situation. I currently have a 72 gal bow. I have my eyes on a 210 perhaps within the next year or so. So i'm thinking that maybe in the next few months i would start trying to make live rock so when i get the tank i already have stuff to pack into her. My question would be. . . Whats the best way to make live rock as cheap as possible. Remember i have a year to do it. What i would have done with no advice is get some larger rubbermaid continers fill em with some sand (so i'd have live sand right away also) put a piece of live rock in there, and i suppose a powerhead and just let her do her thing. So, i guess questions i have with that are. . . Would i just trow some saltwater, sand and a piece of live rock in there with my dead rock? Do i need to start any sort of cycle? (with a coctail shrimp) Is the powerhead enough since nothing else will go in it or do i need an actual filter? I will of course put a heater in tehre. Would i need to feed my rock anything? What kind of light and for how long? Regular 10,000K or actinic? Ummm. :notsure: I guess thats all i can think of for now. Let me know if you have any other recomendations to add or do differantly.
 
acekjd83

acekjd83

Member
:thinking:
if you set the rubbermaid container up like a refugium, it would be seeded by the MT water and provide biological filtration, especially if you looked at it as a scalable component to be used in your transition to a larger tank. basically any setup that exchanges water with the main tank will give you "live" rock in a year... whether it gets any nifty little coral seeds or cool growths is another story...:joy:
 
thegrog

thegrog

Active Member
I agree with ^^^^^^^
I am setting up a large refugium for my breeder tanks that I will use to seed new live rock.
Simply put, I will mix current live rock with tufu or coral skeletons. Plenty of light and circulation and voila! In my experience, it takes 4-6 months to get a good peice of live rock this way. If you just have base rock in the fuge connected to the main tank, mor like a year. The more mixed in the LR is with the new rock, the quicker it will seed.
Good lighting for the new LR system is important too as well as keeping your calcium levels up.
Good luck!
 
mumbulog

mumbulog

Member
I have about 100lbs of base rock in my main tank , 5lbs live rock in my refugium , and about 8lbs of live rock in my main tank. I have 260 watts of coralife lighting on the main tank and 28 watts 50/50 in the refugium. This is on a 75 gallon by the way. I also add calcium to my tank daily.
With this set up will my base rock eventually become living?
If not what else do I need to do to get it there eventually.
 
scott9311

scott9311

Member
...or.... you can use 1 part Portland Type I/II Cement, mixed w/ 4-5 parts crushed oyster shells and water... and make your own! I'm currently in the process of doing that now (made my 1st one last night). Just have to make sure you cure it (5-6 weeks) or your PH will go through the roof.
 
A

andretti

Guest
I did the same as thing as "Scotty 9311." I made my own base rock and then kept it in my 55 for about 8 months and presto...I got 100 lbs of "live" rock for about $38.00, a lot of elbow grease, and a lot of waiting. I knew I was going to get another tank (125) and did not feel like paying $500 for something that was already provided for free by nature; plus, I feel that by doing this, we can help mother earth. Think about how popular this hobby has become in the last 10 years and how many people use live rock. That stuff takes takes hundreds of thousands of years to grow . And if we keep taking all of the rock out of reefs, eventually there will be nothing left for the species who need it for survival. Just my 2 1/2 cents.
:happyfish :notsure:
 
scott9311

scott9311

Member
It actually seems to work out to be less than .8 per lb for me... I bought the cement (90something lbs), 3 50lb bags of oyster shells, and 4 50lb bags Tropical Play Sand (for making the molds) for $40. I already have about 200 lbs made, and have enough material to make another 300. Like Andretti said... it just takes a lot of elbow grease... and imagination. Here's a pic of what I've made so far (I'm doing my aquascaping before I put it in the water):
 
thegrog

thegrog

Active Member
VERY NICE WORK!!!!!!!

How did you get the crossbar peice made? What type of molding did you use (if any)?
 
scott9311

scott9311

Member
Thanks Grog!:) I used that "ever-so-hard-to-find" Tropical Play Sand as my mold. You just need to moisten it enough to hold it's form, dig out how you want your rock to look, drop in your mix, and allow about 2 days to set. You're imagination is the only limit as to what you can make! And the beauty of this is you get EXACTLY what you want!
Here's the box I make my molds in:
 
scott9311

scott9311

Member
Granted, it doesn't have the nice coraline algae growth as live rock... but in time it will grow. I plan to "dress it up" so to speak with maybe 20-40 lbs of live rock to help seed what I made. That, coupled with various corals placed on it, should give it the color we strive for. To me... it looks just as natural as what you buy online or at the LFS. Here's another shot:
 
memole

memole

Member
those rocks look great...so I take it its a deep box and you would dig down into the sand to get the 360 degree look instead of just laying it sideways and getting one side somewhat flat...if that makes sense in what I am saying...
 
scott9311

scott9311

Member
Exactly! I had a couple that turned out a bit flat on one side... but I just put them back in the sand and put more mix on that particular side to help round it out, so to speak.
 
scott9311

scott9311

Member

Originally posted by CHAWAWA
hats off man very nice DYI where have you found the tropical play sand. keep up the good work

Thank you:D I found a small store that deals direct with Old Castle... the company that makes it. They went up to PA and got it for me! Charged me less that $4 a bag!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top