Rock making (1 Viewer)

[jdeveaux]

Nah I got it I was just being a pain...

I can't believe how many little things I still have left to do on mine... uggh...but it gives me something to do while the tank cycles. I don't know that I'm going to see much of a cycle on mine though. I had everything curing for so long.

Can't wait to see your tank. How much longer before they ship it?

 

[MarkieB]

You mean how much longer before they build it!
Ha Ha ! One thing I have not been pleased with is communications.

Unless I write them they don't call or write me with updates.
My uderstanding is the glass was ordered this week. That takes 3 weeks.
1 more for them to assemble so thats end on Nov. So I will assume shipping will occure mid dec or so, which is fine as it is my Christmas gift to myself.

Here is one last shot for a while showing how my rocks, because of the shapes I made, should provide a very open stack. It's probably hard to tell, but there are caves everywhere.

I was pleased last night when I ran them under the faucet to find the water runs right through them instead of over them. A porousness I had hoped to achieve.

 

[jdeveaux]

Looks great.

Your right though, pictures never do it justice. I've been trying to get a good picture of my tank that really shows the depth and openess, but I think I'll just need to invite everybody over for a party.


Haven't done a kegger in atleast 10 years.

 

[MarkieB]

Thanksgiving party at John's place!

 

[LaTechReefer]

those rocks turned out really nice. I think i might have to try it out when I finally get ready to set my tank up. It takes a several weeks before the rock is safe to put in the tank right. Like 8-12 weeks or something like that???

 

[MarkieB]

Thank you!

4 -6 weeks seems to be what most people experience.
I am in no rush so that is fine.

I think mine will be ready in about 4 weeks because they are so porous but only time will tell for sure.

 

[Scott]

I think I am going to give this a shot either this weekend or next, it's a good thing I have another pond just laying around !

Thanks for all the info Mark, and please keep the updates coming!

:blob3: :blob5: :blob6: :blob7: :blob8: :blob9:

 

[MarkieB]

Scott---


I found the 1 part white concrete, 5 part crushed oyster, one part water to be the best formula. This will make a VERY porus rock, but it can't be moved for a few days or it will literally crumble in your hand. The you can move it with care, but give them another week to completely dry out before starting the bathing process.

Rocl salt from home depot is you friend.
You can make a lot of really neat shapes with it as a mold.

 

[goby1kanobi]

Great project and the rock looks great!
Saw it on Saturday-impressive.
cj

 

[MarkieB]

Thanks Cynthia!

 

[MarkieB]

Several people have asked for more pics and how to tips!
The mix is 1 part white concrete
1 part water
5 part crush oyster shell from the feed store.

Mix it well and use salt to make unique shapes and holes.
Don't make any part less than 2 inches or it might crumble in your hands.
Don't move them for 2 days ( even if your best friend insist they are dry enough to move ) to let them dry enough to delicately handle, and let them dry another 5 days to be able to handle without care. It is a very light delicate mix and does not handle well for a 5 days. Do not mix in salt. Those I tried like that just crumbled.

For more photo secrets try here.


http://s8.photobucket.com/remix/pla...stname=stream8.photobucket.com&fs=1&os=1&ap=1

 

[jdeveaux]

Very nice

I think you need something to do with your spare time

 

[thangbom4321]

diy rock is neat to do if you have a good idea of how to aquascape your tank.... you can do a bunch of cool thing to it .. ( like use dowels and poke hole in it while wet so you can put frag plugs in it) or even make kool looking shapes like a cave/shelf or whatnot.. the only downfall of diy rock imo is that it weight a 2x more for it's size then real LR... it's just more dense... diy lr will turn and will eventually look like real LR overtime so thats a plus...

what i hav e done while making rock was wetting the sand/ simi-shaping it.. then take small clumps of the mixture at a time and ploping them on-top and connecting to each other at about 1 spoon full at a time to make a structure ( use something that is not too smooth.. that way it will look more natural ) it turns out really cool looking like.. and more natural..

ill have to dig some up and post pic later..

Great roch and have fun by the way

YzGyz

 

[MarkieB]

the only downfall of diy rock imo is that it weight a 2x more for it's size then real LR... it's just more dense...

Depends on the mix you use.
Mine it the lightest rock I have ever lifted and not dense at all.

 

[thangbom4321]

thas a big + in my book makieb.... i did a 2 1/2 sand, 1 crush coral and 1 part portland cement... what mix did you use??

YzGyz

 

[MarkieB]

1 part cement
1 part water
5 parts crushed oyster shell

 

[thangbom4321]

wow.. guess that sand in my mix is why it's soo heavy...

some pics of what i made

YzGyz

 

[MarkieB]

Looks great

 

[MarkieB]

Yahoo the PH is dropping and can be measured now.
I am now about about 10.

 

[LaTechReefer]

awesome keep us updated!!! I think my wife and I are going to give this a shot pretty soon.