Home Made Live Rock/Bedrock?!?

where do you guys get the aragonite sand from?

[NOWICKI]

It is actually just Portland cement and crushed oyster shell. I would get sand from home depot but it isn't carried in my region so I'm stumped. There are a few places online but the shipping! I'll keep my eyes open.

[Matt Rogers]

hey dog -

A lot people like sand from:
http://www.purearagonite.com

Ryan is right, shipping will get you though...

Look for CaribSea at your fish stores or Southdown at Home Depot..

RYAN -

Your aqua-scaping looks great! :thumbsup2:

My only advice, besides checking pH, would be to give it the shake test to make sure it doesn't collapse later.....

later!

matt

[NOWICKI]

I actually got a quote from purearagonite.com and it was like $80 for 20lbs or something like that. Either way it was too much for my wallet. The worst is that Home Depot and every other "home improvement" store doesn't have Southdown givemeabreak I have tried 6 different stores and no luck. They all say it isn't in our region oh_no

Matt- Thanks for the tip! For the most part it is pretty stable. The frags of the cement with the crushed oyster shell all over it acts like a 3D puzzle that interlocks! It's pretty cool! But you are right, if I get any sort of diggers along the way I will need a super sturdy setup!

I've had no luck findind the sand at home depot either. i got the oyseter shell at a local feed shop. 12 bucks for a 50 pound bag. i can't find the aragonite sand anywhwere. home depot does sell a premium "play" sand for sand boxes. it is cleaned and sanitized for children. i mixed in a cup with my first batch, just for the heck of it. i mostly used it to make the molds in my "sand box". do you think there would be anyharm in using it in the mix?

how do you guys feel about curing in salt water? i live on the ocean in FL. i made a bunch of rock this weekend using mostly porter cement and oyster shells. came out pretty cool. i don't think it looks as good as real rock, but i guess it will look better with time after it has been in the aquarium for a while. well, back to my original question, can i cure the cement rocks in salt water. i let them harden over night and then sit in fresh water for 24 hours. i have a salt water canal in my back yard, so i said what the heck and threw them all in? is that okay? i figured it would be easier than putting them in a bucket and changing the water every day? in theory, it should cure faster since the water is constantly moving....i don't know. did i "F" this up?

[NOWICKI]

Sounds pretty cool! I'd love to see some pictures! I'm not sure about curing in saltwater. I havn't read anything about that. I got most of my info off http://www.mindspear.com/reef/concrete/ Maybe you can get some inspiration here. Feel free to check out my site for some pictures and even a video. http://homepage.mac.com/nowicki

Good Luck!

[NOWICKI]

Update Update Update

Right now I have three 20 gallon tubs of leaching rock all of which are in stages of about 1 - 3 weeks apart. I just took pH readings and (side note, I hate the pH color thingy, I can't be acurate!) are all between 8.2 and 8.5. Not bad I must say!

In a few days I will retest the lowest pH tub and if still around 8.2 or lower, I will add the contents to my tank to begin it's cure as it grows the much needed algea.

Let me know what you think and wish me luck

[karlas]

deputydog95
i dont see where the regular sand wouldnt work is it a fine grain sand like the aragonite if it is it should work about the same. since you have the option of the canal that should be ok but i dont know how long it would take to cure it that way. but i would leave it in there for a little while because you dont want that ph spike in your tank. maby make a bucket of salt water and put it in there for a couple of days after you tak it out of the canal just to make sure and test it there if it doesnt spike the bucket water you should be good to go. since your posting why dont you join the forum as a member (its free) :thumbsup2:

Nowicki gratz on your rock the pics u showed looked pretty awesome. if its ready for your tank go ahead and try it nice job

[chetrod]

How many rocks did you get out of a bag of cement and crushed oyster shell they look very nice. Once coraline encrusted they will look natural.