Jump to content

making your own liverock


dieselndixie

Recommended Posts

If you have a spare tank, lighting, circulating pump, skimmer(optional) and maybe a hang over filter pump (optional) you could do it. You could start by seeding off from a previous rock with coraline or maybe even coraline you scrape off the tank (walls). What we used to do.....every time we made water changes on the main tank; we add the water that's been disposed to curing tank. Strong lighting seems to be a big plus on getting things running, but its not a matter of being able to....but to have patience; like anything else in this hobby you have to wait and let cure.

Give it try and good luck!

Cindy :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yeah, GARF is where I got the idea.

sounds like some sand, and concrete mix...and start getting creative.

did you see the one they used a rubber glove inside to make caves?

thats what I want to do....I may tackle that in the next month or so...got a new sump coming, but after that, the next step is more rock.

can those that have done it post pics of the final product? and would you recomend that over buying about 30lbs of LR?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

this thread has everything re DIY rocks. Speckled Trout has a good technique for sculpting. I havnt gotten around to making some myself, but i will soon. keep in mind that the curing process of cement based rock is lengthy, with many water changes to decrease the very high ph of the cement.

here is the link. i think Speckled Trout jumps in half way down this page.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...ck&pagenumber=4

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought the little 5 pound bag of "crete" as Home Depot. I kept it in water for 3 or 4 days, changing the water daily. I have not seen any PH spikes. Lord knows a high PH has not been my history in my tank. I will try to post some shots. I have very little coraline growing in my tank, so they are an ugly tan, hehe. Im still waiting for them to color up a little.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

what i did with my DIY rock was to make the pieces small enuff to fit in the back of my toilet and then for about six weeks every time i flushed they would get a fresh water change and also lower water consumption. 6 weeks seemed ample for my rock to stop leaching anything and be ready for the main tank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Is it just me or does it seem impossible to "truly" create live rock that has never been in the ocean? I have been reading Anthony Calfo's book "Invertebrates" and I just don't see how something we make can ever really replicate what is made naturally?

Now, having said that, I'm not against the idea, just curious I guess. Of course, when you see some of the "live" rock at some LFS that looks as base as all get out for $6.00 a pound making it sounds pretty reasonable.

Just thinking.

Lee

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well, my 55g has 65lbs of LR and I am just looking to supplement that with about 30lbs of homeade rock. everything I am reading states that I will get enough growth on the these rock in time that they will be carrying out similar functionality of actual LR. my needs are more for looks and the ability to create a better reef structure. i think it will be great, especially because of how well my rock shapes/caves/crevices turned out.

i tested the ph last night btw, and it was a bit over 9.

so, i drilled 2 tiny holes about the water lever in my rubbermaid, and set my water hose in the tub with a constant rate of water that will turn over my total water volume 2.5 times every 24hrs.

i had to do this because daily water changes werent cutting it....my water was hitting a ph of 10 within 6 hours of a water change. my buddy (aquaculturist) told me that the water was not accepting anymore of the "leaching" ph after 6 hours.

anyway...for those of you doing this....this may be the way to go.

for those of you not doing this.....I will have about 45lbs of rock that wont fit in my tank...I am curing it all, and then yall can get the leftovers from me - already cured!

p.s I have about 75lbs of portland cement left over....anyone need it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I have been making some DIY LR per the instructions on the Reef Central site, which is 2.5 parts salt, 1 part concrete. I found the salt has retarded the hardening time by a factor of 2. In addition most of the rock is crumbly. Concrete hardens by taking the hydrogen out of water and forming a bond with the concrete mix. Salt attracts water and I think inhibits the concrete from getting the hydrogen it needs to fully harden making the final product a little brittle.

On my next batch, I abandoned using rock salt. That batch completely hardened in 48 hours instead of the 72 to 96 hours with salt.

I do use the salt on the outside layer which makes nice holes and texture for bacteria and other little animals.

The GARF site recommends using ice chips instead of salt, which might be a good idea. But where do you get the right sized ice chips? In addition, concrete needs to cure at temperatures above 40 degrees so I don’t know what kind of effect the ice will have on the stability of the rock.

On the PH, I have soaked a rock I made in vinegar for 24 hrs instead of water and the Ph after wards was below 8. But the rock was crumbly afterwards. On the last batch I simply dipped the new rock in vinegar. I have yet had a chance to test the PH afterwards.

Another option that I have been toying with is putting sulfur in the concrete mix to bring down the PH. I think over the long term the sulfur will all me to add more calcium to my tank for the corals and still keep the PH within range. However, this is only intuitive thinking and not based on any research or experience.

If anyone can add anything I would appreciate it.

Michael

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 1 month later...
I haven't made any DIY rock yet, but everything I've read says to use cement, not concrete. Could be the aggregate in the concrete is making your rock crumbly.

ej

Actually, I am using Quikrete.

I tried the salt rock mixture again but in a reverse mixture of 4 cups of quicrete to one cup salt rock. Still retards the setting time by at least 2 x. I did not move this rock for a full 7 days. During that time I draped it in dampened newspaper. I stuck one corner of the paper in a cup of water to keep the entire area moist. The whole set up was covered with a large plastic bag to maximize the hydration of the cement. Seems to be working better than the first batch but I haven’t really handled it much.

Now it is sitting in a certain creek here in town, leeching out the ph and rock salt. (Don't tell SOS!)

When it has fully cured, I wonder if Aquatek will let it seed in one of there sumps!?!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How do you shape your rock? Do you use sand molds like on GARF? Can you take a picture of your rock? BTW the having aquatek seed the stuff in a sump is a great idea. I would be afraid they might charge you rent though. LOL I would also think if you have a tank setup already the rock in it would seed it eventually. If you seeded the rock at aquatek, then drive it across town, and put it directly in your tank you might start a mini-cycle which would be bad. This could probably be avoid if it were in water the whole time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I use a sand mold as well as sculpting. My mixes vary between cement with sand, cement with salt and sand (as well as mixes with oyster shell and crushed coral). I'm still at the experimental stage right now.. but here are a couple of mine in the process of curing for a month before the water soak.

these are cement and sand for the white one.. and cement and sand with salt for the darker one... btw.. the darker one still has the salt in it right now.. haven't done a hot water soak to disolve it yet... pillar1.jpgpillar1and2.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is super fly! :( I will definitely be trying that. You need to give the club a demonstration at one of the meetings. DIY rock give you the chance to make that perfect shape without months of scoring the LFS. NICE!

thanks...

just a few of the things I noticed...

1. make the mix fairly dry (like clay).. too runny and it's a lot harder to form it in the shape you want.. but not so dry that it crumbles

2. keep a spray bottle of water handy for wetting sections you are joining together

3. use bubble wrap or something similar for making large holes (the concrete won't stick to it & it's easy to remove when it's dry)..

4. don't be afraid to shore up the sides with piles of sand (or salt, if using salt as a mold).. it helps to keep it from collapsing

5. if it starts to lean.. stop.. let it dry then come back and add onto it.. just use "wet" concrete to join the old to the new...

6. you can also add onto the bottoms to make it more stable if you find a piece is top heavy.. just use wetter concrete & set the other piece onto it (bracing it with other items).

7. you can join more than one dry piece together ... just use the wetter concrete as the joint.

most of this is common sense.. but things we tend to forget when we are being "artistic"...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Willow, those are way nicer than mine! Awesome style. Looks like I will be copying your design this weekend.

Headless Donkey, I will take a picture of the piece the weekend of May 12th. That's the 30 day mark from it being in the creek. If I could get my hands on a turkey frier, I could get it done quicker.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Those are really nice looking pieces. We made some DIY Liverock here in Jacksonville during one of our meetings. All the supplies were provided by the LFS that hosted the meeting. We used pool chemicals to bring the PH down faster. It took roughly three weeks for it to be safe enough to be put into a tank. I actually have two nice sized pieces in my tank. About 15 members made rock and it all came out nice.

Maybe ARC could hold a Rock Making Meeting. trout2.gif

Edited by Crazy J
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...