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Unread 06/13/2010, 02:08 PM   #1
Greenmaster
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Exclamation DIY rock with VIDEO tutorial and Q/A












Some things of note.

-With the formula I have you need to let the molds sit for 48 hours to cure properly. If you want it stronger (also it will be less porous and heavier) you can remove the salt from the formula or add extra cement.
-You can't make things too thin or they will brake.
-Will flake lots of stuff off (using more cement stops that)
-You can use sand as the medium for molding your rocks in.
-If you use balloons for making shapes you need to make sure you take out the balloons when done. (some times the balloons pop and you have to chisel the balloon out or just through out the rock)
-The oyster shell can be substituted by aragonite sand or crushed/pieces of coral. (It is not anywhere near as porous but is way stronger... but I would prefer to use no salt or more cement then aragonite or crushed coral)
-After being made it needs to soak for up to 2 months to make sure most of what can leach out has leached out. (with a proper set-up you could possibly do it in 1 month or less with the formula I have used as there is lots of water flow through the entire structure... a downside of that is there is much less anaerobic areas in the rock turning nitrates to nitrogen... most tanks don't try to do that process anyways, on the upside there is lots of aerobic area for turning ammonia/ammonium all the way into nitrates... and that's the most important part of the nitrogen cycle in most tanks.


Formula:

-3 Parts washed crushed oyster shell (can be picked up at almost all feed stores, very inexpensive... in a city you might have to go to the edge of town as not many people in cities keep chickens )
-1 Part Aragonite sand (picked up at most fish stores can be substituted for pool sand or removed from the formula all together... I like to keep it in there)
-1 part White Portland Cement type 10 or general use (can be picked up at some places where cement supplies can be purchased. You can use the gray stuff as it is cheaper and easier to find, but I have heard that it takes longer to cure and it doesn't look as good IMO, also to make your rock stronger you can add extra cement to your mix... makes it slightly less porous and slightly heavier... would also make more anaerobic areas)
- 1 part Course Rock Salt. (I used water softening salt it can be purchased at some grocery stores as well as at some appliance stores and some hardware stores... also very cheap... can be removed from formula to make rock stronger... also makes it less porous and heavier... also makes slightly more anaerobic areas)

If you would like to see more pictures of the rock or see it in an operating system (operating as of September 2010) take a look at my build thread. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1840581


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Unread 06/13/2010, 06:55 PM   #2
Foxy Brown
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Fantastic info, I always wanted to know how to do that. Cheers!


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Unread 06/14/2010, 09:52 PM   #3
Greenmaster
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If you are making more elaborate shapes and/or you want it to flake less you could do 1.2-1.5 parts cement and it is still quite porous and not too heavy. The formula I posted is the minimum amount of cement you would want... in the video I was saying that "you don't need to be exact" but if you put heaping scoops of the oyster shell and sand with shallow scoops of the cement your rock will be weak.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Foxy Brown View Post
Fantastic info, I always wanted to know how to do that. Cheers!
No prob... if you have any questions I'm here to help.


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Last edited by Greenmaster; 06/14/2010 at 09:57 PM.
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Unread 06/14/2010, 10:50 PM   #4
jakeh24
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i may have missed it but what is your "soaking" formula


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Unread 06/14/2010, 11:19 PM   #5
Greenmaster
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jakeh24 View Post
i may have missed it but what is your "soaking" formula
I do not believe that I said... but here you go.
I live near the ocean... I take a canoe out to a small island and place the rocks in the water at low tide then pick them up in a month or two. Other ways of soaking are to take a large tote/bucket/kiddie pool and having a power head or two inside to circulate the water and have water dripping in slowly for a month or so... another way rather then the constant drip is to change the water completely every 2-4 days. If you live near a stream or creek you could also put it there... but I would soak for 1 day change water then soak for one more day before bringing it to the stream to prevent too many toxins getting into the water in to high a concentration... I do this with all my rock before putting it into the ocean... also the soaking after letting it dry you can really see the detail and the holes made by the salt and it's quite lite and easy to transport as well. Did that answer your question?


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Unread 06/15/2010, 12:00 AM   #6
jakeh24
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yes, thank you!


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Unread 06/16/2010, 11:42 PM   #7
Greenmaster
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If you are making more elaborate shapes and/or you want it to flake less you could do 1.2-1.5 parts cement and it is still quite porous and not too heavy. The formula I posted is the minimum amount of cement you would want... in the video I was saying that "you don't need to be exact" but if you put heaping scoops of the oyster shell and sand with shallow scoops of the cement your rock will be weak.


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Unread 06/17/2010, 03:02 PM   #8
Edward Smith
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If the thickness was only about 1/2", would it be drillable?

If so, anyone know what kind of bit?


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Unread 06/17/2010, 05:01 PM   #9
Greenmaster
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umm... I used a pair of needle nosed pliers and chiseled a hole... masonry bit would work well too.


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Unread 06/28/2010, 12:12 AM   #10
Greenmaster
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As stated above I would use 1.5 parts white portland cement in the recipe next time. The formula I used crumbles a bit too much for me... (but the stuff I made I am still going to use, I'm not going to redo it.)


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Unread 06/28/2010, 02:49 PM   #11
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I can't find Type 10 or GU in my area.

They only one I found was Type one. Is this safe? Will it work?


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Unread 06/28/2010, 03:23 PM   #12
Greenmaster
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Yes it will work. I do suggest getting the white portland though.


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Unread 06/28/2010, 06:38 PM   #13
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These look great! I loved to vids but how hard is it to remove the ballons from the rocks?


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Unread 06/28/2010, 06:40 PM   #14
Greenmaster
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Easy... pop the balloon and take it out.


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Unread 06/28/2010, 09:37 PM   #15
capecoral
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First two vids worked, but the others would not play. They work for others?


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Unread 06/28/2010, 10:59 PM   #16
Greenmaster
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Try again... just reset the computer if it didn't work and try again... If you can watch YouTube you can watch these.


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Unread 06/28/2010, 11:04 PM   #17
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Super nice,

To avoid the smooth inside of the cave wall, you could always lace the area next to the balloon with free oyster shell. That would pull away when the balloon is popped, and you wouldn't get a smooth interior wall. Just an idea to add authenticity.

You could also use surgeons gloves blown up, that would allow the fingers to cut out of the edges to make all sorts of caverns. Also, balloon animal balloons tied into all sorts of knots would also add more interesting shapes.

Well done. Looks light and porous.

Aaron


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Unread 06/28/2010, 11:12 PM   #18
Greenmaster
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The problem with that is then you have sharp edges that can cut your fish... and you need to go in with a small file to smooth the walls.


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Unread 06/29/2010, 10:44 PM   #19
capecoral
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I saw them all... looks like a fun weekend project!


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Unread 06/30/2010, 02:08 AM   #20
Greenmaster
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For me it's a fun month long project... a few rocks a week as I perfect my molding skills and decide on the final rocks to include in my build.


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Unread 09/08/2010, 12:09 AM   #21
Greenmaster
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These are some of the rocks I have made.






This stuff is also very porous. Water flows right through.


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Unread 09/08/2010, 12:12 AM   #22
Greenmaster
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If you look closely at the pic you can see the water just flowing through the rock.


Right now I am having PH problems because I didn't let my rocks leach long enough... once PH is balanced I will be adding fish and such to my tank.


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Unread 09/08/2010, 09:08 AM   #23
WillFB3
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Great thread! Especially video 4. I'm glad to see that I am not the only one with a wife that nags me about the fish tank!


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Unread 09/09/2010, 11:44 PM   #24
Greenmaster
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Originally Posted by WillFB3 View Post
Great thread! Especially video 4. I'm glad to see that I am not the only one with a wife that nags me about the fish tank!
Thanks, with all the people who enjoyed the videos I'm glad that I made them... also enough people liked the part that I meant to edit out that I'm glad I left that too


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Unread 09/12/2010, 02:14 PM   #25
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They were great


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