DIY ROCK

[garfield]

Has anyone tried this and has it worked? Which recipe did you use? Also a friend gave me an idea on the best place for curing in which it could get rinsed constantly without wasting water. They asked why I couldn't place rocks in the tank of toilets and every time you flush the diy rock would get rinsed and any salt etc.(if I use that recipe) would just get flushed away. Does this sound reasonable?

 

[shayneh]

Why do it when you can buy reef safe rock for $3/lb. I would think storing your diy rock in a toilet tank would allow it to slowly build up with all the nasty crap from our water and leach it back out feeding that nice wavy green algae that will choke out everything in the tank.

Although I have seen this done successfully for a small portion of a tank using the proper cement and aragonite mixture and then curing the diy live rock for months in tubs of RO/di water. Problem is you still don't get the porosity that comes with actual ancient reef rock which allows more surface area for the beneficial bacteria.......so in short save your money and buy your rock.....check out www.ecoreefer.com their reefer rock is amazing.

 

[Blob-79]

Has anyone tried this and has it worked? Which recipe did you use? Also a friend gave me an idea on the best place for curing in which it could get rinsed constantly without wasting water. They asked why I couldn't place rocks in the tank of toilets and every time you flush the diy rock would get rinsed and any salt etc.(if I use that recipe) would just get flushed away. Does this sound reasonable?

I was actually considering making some rock myself back in the day. If you use that rock salt in your mixture, as it kures the rock salt disolves and you wouldnt believe how porous it is. As far as the toilet trick....dammit I wish I woulda thought of that one lol I might have actually tried it

One of the main advantages of making your own rock shayneh is that you can make it any shape and size you want. Instead of searching thru a pile of rock only to settle with somthing that wasnt what you were really looking for.

Absolutly though, If I were in the market for more rock, eco reefer would have my buisness.

 

[patrickborowski]

Actually I have done this and it turned out really good. All you need is portland cement and salt pellets and chicken feed from tsc. You just need sand (which I got from port stanly) for a mold to make the shape of the rock. Then mix in, 3 part chicken feed (oyster shells), 2 part salt, 1 part cement, and just enough water to make it like oatmeal. Make the shape you want in the sand and put it in. Wait a day, take it out and clean all of the sand off with water. Than put it in a bucket of water for 2-3 months changing the water ever week. The more water the better. Once its ready put it in a tank, or your sump. I have made so much of it, if you look at my 75 gallon tank on members tanks, half of it is home made rock and the other half is fiji. You can also make frag disks with it too, works wonders lol

 

[garfield]

I bought crushed oyster shell at Fingal farm supply and it's not 100% oyster shell but crushed coral as well. Consistency is the same as freshwater aquarium gravel. I saw a youtube video of a recipe using rocksalt so that after it dissolves during the the curing process you have a great porous rock.

As for the nasty things in the water if I use the toilet tank method I am on a well and my big problem is calcium which people seem to need to add anyway. So I have no nasties to build up and the constant rinsing would help speed up the dissolving the salt and curing the rock.

Also, I figure the DIY part of the forum is for those who enjoy trying something that when they  are successful have the satisfaction of doing it themselves, making it to fit their situation/circumstances etc. and hopefully saving money at the same time.

If it was just a few pounds of rock one may have a point but even at eco reefers prices I should be able to save up to a couple hundred dollars which I can then put towards other items such as lighting or pumps, livestock etc.

Oh and Patrick since I'm local to you if you'd like me to see your handy work and how DIY rock can turn out in person...(hint,hint)...lol

 

[xxmurrxx]

If you do make your own if you don't mind posting the costs of supplies.
I need to set up a 90 gal soon and def don't want to spend a fortune for rock. With that said most of my DIY end up costing a lot though local prices are not great for supplies. 

 

[shayneh]

Blob-79 I have seen it done for a few pieces to finish up an aquascape and I'm not saying it can't be done but I personally don't think it's a good idea for an entire system because I still don't think it is truly as porous as actual coral rock. I would say that waiting all that time (2-3months minimum) plus cost of materials to save a few bucks on what will be the backbone of your system (biological filter) is potentially a risky endeavour.

I'd would seriously be interested to find out the cost of the project when all is said and done and how many pounds of rock it produces vs $225.00 for 75lbs that would suit a 90g tank (once it gained it's extra 20-30% of water weight) that can instantly be added.

garfield if you can give a cost to manufacture including costs of molds, sand, salt, substrate(chicken feed), cement and whatever else I would appreciate it. Mabye you can do a build thread if you decide to go this route.

 

[Blob-79]

man made rock can be as porous or non porous as you want. It all depends on how much rock salt you use. Ive seen demos of a large rock made. the rock was put over a pail and another pail of water was poured on it, and i mean poured fast. all the water went thru the rock and into the pail under it. hardly any water spilled over the face of the rock....very porous.

 

[patrickborowski]

You can potentially make all of your rocks diy, but you will still need to seed it with some already cured rock, and the more the better. For cost wise its very very cheap. Each thing came to in total about $30. But you will run out of oyster shells. You can prob go through 3-4 bags of the oyster shells before you run out of teh other stuff. With one bag you can make about 50-75 pounds of rock if not more.

 

[pulpfiction1]

i found a video on making live rock,no mention of toilets though

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFPebEdEoMA

 

[Blob-79]

I really dont see any issues with kuring your rock in the back of your toilet. just do some quick water tests to make sure your well water isnt high in nitrates, phosphates, and actually definitly check it for copper and whatnot.

 

[teebone110]

Never heard of curing live rock in the back of a toilet???

Wouldn't it need to cure in salt water?

 

[garfield]

Not Live rock yet. Looking at making some DIY rock that has to have the cement cure and also dissolve and leach out the rock salt to make it more porous etc. The video Pulpfiction listed is the first one I found that originally got me thinking of this project. Here is another that also shows how porous it can be if done right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17FgBaWcw-A&feature=related

 

[patrickborowski]

If you are making a big piece of rock than the toilet wont work for obvious reasons.... :  but it will work for small frag disks, Im doing it now and have had them in there for a month and their all ready. I have sooooo many of them lol

 

[Blob-79]

Never heard of curing live rock in the back of a toilet???

Wouldn't it need to cure in salt water?

not so much

maybe we should all get our spelling straight here lol.

Curing rock pertains to, well preparing live rock for use in an aquarium.

Kuring cement pertains to allowing the calcium hydroxide (kalk) that is a natural product when mixing cement to leach out into the water. Thats why many many water changes are required for long periods of time. the amound of "kalk" produced is way too much for an aquarium to handle. so we have to "soak" it out of the rock first.

 

[Blob-79]

If you are making a big piece of rock than the toilet wont work for obvious reasons.... :  but it will work for small frag disks, Im doing it now and have had them in there for a month and their all ready. I have sooooo many of them lol

well, I guess that just depends on how big ur toilet is.  They say you can measure a man by the size of his toilet........


that cant be right...

 

[teebone110]

[quote author=teebone110 link=topic=373.msg1987#msg1987 date=1296611434]
Never heard of curing live rock in the back of a toilet???

Wouldn't it need to cure in salt water?

not so much

maybe we should all get our spelling straight here lol.

Curing rock pertains to, well preparing live rock for use in an aquarium.

Kuring cement pertains to allowing the calcium hydroxide (kalk) that is a natural product when mixing cement to leach out into the water. Thats why many many water changes are required for long periods of time. the amound of "kalk" produced is way too much for an aquarium to handle. so we have to "soak" it out of the rock first.
[/quote]


Now I see what your sayn'

 

[pulpfiction1]

come nicer weather i think im gonna try this out,let the cement cure outside in a large bucket

 

[Gulexx]

This is a project I have done many times for several different applications for both saltwater and fresh water aquariums. Experimenting with different materials and portions leads to some awesome creations. Surfing around on the net for ideas will definitely get your creative juices flowing.
My smaller pieces are often sitting in the back of my toilets getting rinsed through and through and more so when i have company  .
Cost wise it is the best way but does involve a little bit of work and imagination if you want to create some interesting forms for your aquarium.
Effectively 40$ (including colourant - yes it CAN be used) to make over 100 lbs of rock VS 3$ a pound store bought definitely had given me the incentive to roll up my sleeves and get creative including the point of being able to make specific form fitting shapes, caves, arches, wall ledges and other neat structures you'd be hard pressed to find in any box of bought rock.
I had over 45 tanks running and people went crazy for some of the rocks and structures I had, thus selling some of them off and coming out ahead cost wise. Not to mention trying to buy rocks for that many tanks was just outrageous at almost any price !

a single note though .. if this is something you end up doing a lot you might want to invest in a box of cheap plastic gloves, 10$ for 100 in home depot or Rona or even a few pairs for a buck at the dollar store. The cement is very drying and harsh on the hands.

 

[Salty1]

I'm presently curing some rock, I used white cement mixed with crushed shells and reef sand. Its a fun project but takes a long time to reduce the PH. Mine still reads way off the charts. I have been soaking my rock in vinegar every other water change to speedup the process (the 5% acid in the vinegar will helps). Looking forward to adding it to the main tank as the base. The rock that I produced has many holes and cave area's.