First batch of DIY live rock

aslo,forgot to mention.cement will cure no matter what.i has cement sitting dry in my shed curing.it just takes a really long time that way.longer than its worth.

 

Concrete is "green" for about 28 days. By the end of that period it should stop leaching kalkwasser, and the curing process finished.

 

I found this site that has allot of info about making your own live rock and how to cure it. I also includes info on making live sand and growing coralline algae

The Complete Cookbook for Making Live Rock from Cement and Other Types of Rock.

 

My tank has 300 lbs of DIY rock and about 40 lbs of Figi. The rock is 3 years old. Here is a pic.

 

Hello all. I've been making DIY rock for close to 10 years. I've easliy made 10 tons of it. I am also a mason contractor and work with cementious items on a daily basis.

On the curing. The best way to cure is to place your rock in a fast moving river or stream. This will leach the Alkalines in about 30 days. If you must cure at home I use a 300 gallon rubbemaid with a pond pump inside. I change the water every two days for about 6 weeks. I monitor it daily with a pH meter and record the numbers. You will start to see a steady drop after about 3 weeks. Once the pH reaches 8.5-9 and is stable I then soak the rock in waste RO/DI water for a couple days. Once it dries out I begin the culturing process. One good way to speed things up is to allow the rock to dry for two weeks before putting it in water.





Heres a bit of my rock.





Generally when I make rock I make a lot. I tend to make my mixes in a Commercial Stone 2 bag motar mixer



DIY Rock is so easy that even my daughter gets involved. She helped make all the rock for her tank!


Heres my most recent work. A 1000 gallon reef with all DIY rock. Some of the pics of the rock on the floor has some real baserock





Heres the tank 'scaped



And a vid of the 'scaping
YouTube - Aquascape Party v.2

 

Man, you make your daughter drive herself to work...lol.. Thats awesome rock work... Amazing...

 

Wow! 1000 gal! Looks amazing! Good luck! Please keep us updated ! 8)

 

Its not my tank. I am just helping with the building and engineering.

Theres a build thread for it here fingerlakesreef.com ::

Warning the build has moved pretty slow.

 

Just way too cool.....I was speed reading through the build....mighty fine work you guys have done there. My wife wants a pit tank inour basement next year....care to drop on by and help in the dig.....lol......? Great work, and your rock is just perfact

Maximo

 

Scott, I've made 3 pieces, they're in a bucket of water with a powerhead for a week now. I did them last Sat and changed the water this past Sat. I figure at this rate I'll have it done around the end of April, which is fine with me. I'm planning on doing some more as soon as I get another powerhead for the water movement. Pretty cool! The 1st 2 shapes are flat with like fat "spikes" coming out of the bottom, so my engineer goby can have his tunnels. and the other is a bowl shape. I was just playing on those first ones, so I don't really even know if I can use them in the tank, but it's worth a try! My hubby and his best friend(& next door neighbor) think I'm nuts!: