*******Man made live rock********

carolinespine · 02/01/2008, 04:03 PM

I have been looking everywhere for Agronite sand and I cant find any to make some live rock with.... I live 5 min from some of the nicest beaches in the nation, since I will be baking the rock in the oven so it hardens can I use the sand from the beach?

paulyl61 · 02/01/2008, 04:44 PM

You can use beach sand but you would probably be better off without it. Look through the link you were given on your thread yesterday. You DO NOT want to bake the rock in an oven, anything above 200 degrees will do more harm than good and dry heat is bad as well. You really need to take some time and read the Ultimate DIY Rocks thread, much better info than the GARF recipe.

kgouso · 02/01/2008, 04:56 PM

Are you attempting to speed up the cure process by baking it?

If that is your goal, I would suggest searching on the "shotcrete" mix methods. Supposedly it has a much faster cure time since it is designed to be used for pools

carolinespine · 02/01/2008, 05:15 PM

not really trying to speed up that process... I dont even know how long that would take anyway.

I am more concerned about the pollution in the sand.

silverwolf72 · 02/01/2008, 06:08 PM

I just used oyster shell and play sand

widmer · 02/01/2008, 09:32 PM

I donno man I did the garf recipe before I knew reef central exists, and there's no way that I could have made better rock. This stuff is as porous as a dish sponge and looks beautiful. But we have too many threads on the man made live rock. Someone should just make the Ultimate DIY Rocks thread sticky.

jonbry123 · 02/02/2008, 02:05 PM

Just a suggestion but look at the post by Kannin in the DIY forum showing how he made his rock using eggcrate, Great Stuff and epoxy. What he has done is increadable and I'm going to do the same for my new tank. Pollution is a concern but I would think that you would be fine to wash the sand then use something like Seachem's Prime to be sure any pollutints were removed. I love this stuff. I clean my sand once every two weeks in my FOWLR buy using a hose to draw out of the tank then wash in tap water. I then soak it in a water/Prime mixture and place back in the tank. The water here in my area is horrible. Never had a problem doing this.

Scott

02/01/2008, 04:03 PM	#1
carolinespine Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Naples, Florida Posts: 103	*****Man made live rock****** I have been looking everywhere for Agronite sand and I cant find any to make some live rock with.... I live 5 min from some of the nicest beaches in the nation, since I will be baking the rock in the oven so it hardens can I use the sand from the beach? __________________ SPINE Current Tank Info: 72 Gal Bow Front Reef

02/01/2008, 05:15 PM	#4
carolinespine Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Naples, Florida Posts: 103	not really trying to speed up that process... I dont even know how long that would take anyway. I am more concerned about the pollution in the sand. __________________ SPINE Current Tank Info: 72 Gal Bow Front Reef

02/02/2008, 02:05 PM	#7
jonbry123 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: allentown, pa Posts: 581	Just a suggestion but look at the post by Kannin in the DIY forum showing how he made his rock using eggcrate, Great Stuff and epoxy. What he has done is increadable and I'm going to do the same for my new tank. Pollution is a concern but I would think that you would be fine to wash the sand then use something like Seachem's Prime to be sure any pollutints were removed. I love this stuff. I clean my sand once every two weeks in my FOWLR buy using a hose to draw out of the tank then wash in tap water. I then soak it in a water/Prime mixture and place back in the tank. The water here in my area is horrible. Never had a problem doing this. Scott __________________ Bryan "You can swim all day in the Sea of Knowledge and still come out completely dry."-Norman Juster Current Tank Info: 300gl FOWLR/155glRT

02/01/2008, 04:44 PM	#2
paulyl61 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Harrah, OK Posts: 280	You can use beach sand but you would probably be better off without it. Look through the link you were given on your thread yesterday. You DO NOT want to bake the rock in an oven, anything above 200 degrees will do more harm than good and dry heat is bad as well. You really need to take some time and read the Ultimate DIY Rocks thread, much better info than the GARF recipe.

02/01/2008, 04:56 PM	#3
kgouso Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 321	Are you attempting to speed up the cure process by baking it? If that is your goal, I would suggest searching on the "shotcrete" mix methods. Supposedly it has a much faster cure time since it is designed to be used for pools

02/01/2008, 06:08 PM	#5
silverwolf72 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Lake Forrest CA Posts: 1,732	I just used oyster shell and play sand

02/01/2008, 09:32 PM	#6
widmer Drug Enthusiast Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Rochester, MN Posts: 2,958	I donno man I did the garf recipe before I knew reef central exists, and there's no way that I could have made better rock. This stuff is as porous as a dish sponge and looks beautiful. But we have too many threads on the man made live rock. Someone should just make the Ultimate DIY Rocks thread sticky.