Arminius Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I'm thinking about making some. I've got time before I will be ready to put water in a tank, and weighing options on building a whole pre-cast reef. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitchell Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I believe dsoz made his own. You can see some of it here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I made some a while back from some "recipes" people had online with Portland cement and rock salt. They seemed to be ok but I've gotten rid of all them over time. They have potential to leach some bad stuff (forgetting exactly what...maybe it was lye or something in the Portland cement mix) over time. You also have to cure them in fresh water for a long time if you use salt to make porous, which is a pain unless you don't make much. Personally I'd keep my eye out for someone closing a tank down or something and try and snag a deal, not sure if I found the hassle to be worth it. There are also good deals on dry/dead rock all the time. I have some nice pieces to seed with if you go that route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arminius Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 I am weighing options between the time of curing cement, aragonite, CaCo3, and maybe corn puffs for hollowed spots -(it melts away very quickly with very limited residuals as opposed to rock salt) and dry pukani rock. Pukani is a more expensive route (trying to stay within a nosy lady-friends watchful-eye budget), but one I have had success with in the past. Plus it looks good. I have a fine art background and sculpting a whole reef sounds like a real-deal challenge...but time consuming even before curing times...like I said weighing options. I am very wary of a crappy algae or (worse) dreaded aiptasia blooms from used rock...a couple of bad experiences in the past... Then seed coralline from Indo-Pacific Sea farms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I am weighing options between the time of curing cement, aragonite, CaCo3, and maybe corn puffs for hollowed spots -(it melts away very quickly with very limited residuals as opposed to rock salt) and dry pukani rock. Pukani is a more expensive route (trying to stay within a nosy lady-friends watchful-eye budget), but one I have had success with in the past. Plus it looks good. I have a fine art background and sculpting a whole reef sounds like a real-deal challenge...but time consuming even before curing times...like I said weighing options. I am very wary of a crappy algae or (worse) dreaded aiptasia blooms from used rock...a couple of bad experiences in the past... Then seed coralline from Indo-Pacific Sea farms Corn puffs is an interesting idea lol I wouldn't worry that much about other rock, apstaisa is easily handled with peppermint shrimp. I had some once, put in 5 shrimp, they were gone in less than a month with no return. If you think using all dead rock is going to produce some sterile environment, your wrong and things can still bloom and grow from single algae spores on new corals or from any outside water (lfs or other). I would use seeded but do whatever you think is best. The pukani looks like fun to shape from the BRS videos. What are your stocking plans for the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I have a bunch of it. It is all ready to put in a tank. It can take 6 months to a year to cure and not be caustic for your tank. I am selling it for $0.50/lb. I have over 300 lbs ready to go. I have had it in my main display, and in my "anemone farm" tank. Send me a PM if you want to get some from me. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arminius Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 Sterility is not the objective. Is there such a thing in a reef?!?!? It's just I have not had good luck with seed material - and I never want to have to "fix" an aiptasia problem. Not trying to offend I just hate those *$*%&* things! I tried the Garf Grunge 2 tanks ago and that produced some of the worst blooms of algae and aiptasia...I took it down and started over after like 2 weeks cleaning and drying everything out , went with dry rock and haven't looked back. As far as stocking, I have always sort of gone with a mixed reef, over time heavily stocked, very little rock base touching the bottom. This will probably be my 12th tank in about twenty years on and off with reef keeping, so I was wondering about any success or failure stories with diy rock. I had the Pukani in my last tank and I got a lot of it for the amount I paid, particularly since it is so hollowed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arminius Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 Dsoz - Don't want to buy, I want to make, but I appreciate the offer. So you're saying you have had success with it??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReefStar Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I have extra live rock if you are interested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saltygobie Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I made some awhile back and I always had a little trouble with it raising my ph it take along time for it to fully cure and I found while making it that u have to pay attention to how evenly think it is because if it is to thin it will break as u pull it out of the mold. Otherwise I had fun making it and shaping it to look the way I wanted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Dsoz - Don't want to buy, I want to make, but I appreciate the offer. So you're saying you have had success with it??? I had a lot of success. If you want some crushed coral and dry sand for the mold, I have several buckets of it that you can get... cheap. I also have a couple of bags of the rock salt that I want to unload. name your price... Seriously, I am going to be moving next summer. If I don't get rid of all this stuff I have to take it to the dump. Give me a fair price and it is yours. It beats buying it for full price at home depot. If you want to bring some portland cement over to my place, I can show you how I made the rock, and give you some personal tips. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kasasah Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I would try it. Find soothing that is less toxic than Portland cement maybe? I'll look around Sent from Samsung Galaxy SII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arminius Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 Yeah - there has got to be a way to prevent such drastic pH spikes with perhaps a different bonding agent - aside from resins. I was thinking about casting and firing porcelain clay unglazed because it remains porous, but I haven't found anyone who has tried it. Plus it is very easy to sculpt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotjs Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I have a kilm and i have made rock with clay and fired it. U can get some cool shapes but in the long run I like dsoz rock better. I problem with the fired rock is it hard to keep the shapes the same thickness roughly. You can not have a piece 2 inches thick in the kilm as it will explode because the middle woulnt dry=big mess. It works great for frag plugs and small rock things . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arminius Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 Oh yeah - I know about the thickness issue, I have a fine art background, and a couple of true ceramacist friends. I really appreciate the input though. But I think I would go thin and as hollow as possible and allow for shrinkage between greenware and fired. Since you have actually done this, have you been able to detect any leaching or pH changes?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotjs Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 No changes in ph . i have tested them in there own container 2 weeks after putting them in to test and they always stayed "inert". Been using the frag plugs for over 3 years now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arminius Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 Cool! Good to know.. Thanks wegotjs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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