Kevinmc Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 I would like to try it just for some custom pieces to hide under rocks for powerheads or to increase water Circulation to maybe help with water quality issues that I have been having the last several weeks. I see nothing wrong with placing low out-put nozzles under rock stands, infact; I am going to try it next week as I will attempt to use PVC to make the stands before repositioning my rocks after a major gravel vac. If I could find something other then a toxic product like cement or mortar I would do it. I am not looking to sell for profit, just the good ol’e DIY trick works for me….LOL. I will research products, as I just had an idea that I will post after I read the label to make sure that it is not in any way toxic....LOL. I just may be on to something here. I want to make things like this a project, to me, this hobby should be a DIY as much as possible. Thanks Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted May 8, 2008 Author Share Posted May 8, 2008 None of this stuff is toxic, just alkali -- lime based concrete... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted May 8, 2008 Author Share Posted May 8, 2008 Just thinking out loud here... has anyone tried bubbling CO2 during the curing process? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAVES Posted May 10, 2008 Share Posted May 10, 2008 Andy Im with alot of the people on here. I made DIY rock about 5 years ago, I could never get it to look at all like real rock. I could look at my tank and point out the DIY rock with ease. My education is in sculpture and I still couldnt make it look very good. You might try making some sticks and cementing them together like tonga branch rock, that might have a more realistic look. I would also mix in some epsom or rock salt, so when it dissolves away it leaves better porosity for bacteria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriswaters Posted May 11, 2008 Share Posted May 11, 2008 Taaaa-daaaa Oh...the DIY Rock thread! I have two pieces in my tank that I have to really look for now. I also have a bucket full out side that sat dry over the winter. It is now in a bucket of water and I change that when I do water changes. The first few pieces I put in the tank of the toliet. Trust me, with three or more people in the house, the water gets changed quite frequently. They cured quickly and went into the sump about 3 months after they were made. The key was to check the pH in the tank daily. I say a little spike, but with the turn over of water and the filtration...it leveled off quickly. Once satisfied that they weren't going to do any harm, they went into the display. I have tried three different main ingredients. 1)Pure Portland cement, mixed with sand and small gravel-this by far took the LONGEST time to cure. 2) Mortar mix-left over from the shower job so why not. It just went into water about 3 weeks ago after being out all winter. We will see how the ph stands here in a few days. 3) Quic-rete. It cured the fastest! I mixed it with rock salt, like the kind used in water softeners, and poked lots of holes in it while drying. You can use wet sand as a mold to get a variety of shapes and sizes! Once the salt melted out, it was porous and light weight and is as beneficial as my original 45 lbs of live rock-that by the way, came with bristle worms, mojano anenomes, aitipasia anenomes, vermitid snails...and well I guess I made my point on that. There was a post on RC were a guy used nothing but DIY rock (Quic-rete) and the tank was awesome. If your in a hurry...buy live rock. If not, build it the way you want it and save a ton of money. After all, 1 to 1/2 lbs of live rock/gallon. That would be about 80 lbs or more for my 55 gallon @ 5$ a pound. Ouch. I was lucky to pick up my inital purchase from someone who didn't need it anymore at half the cost! I guess it's all in how you want to do it! Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 11, 2008 Share Posted May 11, 2008 I tried to find the quickrete here locally but couldn't. I called from Salem to Roseburg and nobody carries it that I called. I even called the manufacturer and they told me i would have to order it and have it shipped, which came to a total of around $150 for 1 bag of it. From the "Ultimate DIY rocks" thread on RC the rock that can be put into the tank quickest was the quickrete or other mortor-type mixes. My only concern is the porousity of it since it is used in watersealing applications. Where did you find it at Kris? Can you get a pic of the rock in your tank for us?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriswaters Posted May 11, 2008 Share Posted May 11, 2008 I picked mine up at Lumbermen's. It was about $8.50 a bag. I used about a 1:4 mix of Quic-rete and water softener salt. Once the salt melted out it was extremely porous. Lets see here about some pics........ Here a picture of the two pieces that have made it into my tank. They are the grey ones. Here they are a while back...somewhere in the mix of things. They had a green algae bloom but it didn't last to long. Now they are covered in coraline and vermitid snails hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 They look great to me! thanks for the pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180Brandy Posted May 12, 2008 Share Posted May 12, 2008 Your rock turned out pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted May 12, 2008 Author Share Posted May 12, 2008 I'll say! I'm looking to make rocks that'd sit underneath my current ones in a new larger tank, and if I could get halfway to where Kris' are I'd be happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 If you make your own RO water, I think I know of a use for the "waste" water that is made... Instant water change in the rock curing buckets. Consider that the waste out of my RO unit has less TDS than the drinking water in some areas of this country. Maybe the last few soaks can be done with water that is coming out of the tank from a water change. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 13, 2008 Share Posted May 13, 2008 I think any amount of TDS in the RO waste water would not effect the rock. If anything just rinse real well and set it out to dry for a few days. That should do the trick. From my reading, most ppl experience a slight algae bloom on the new rock anyhow. That would be the worst of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 Good info. I'll probably be bringing the rock to life (very Victor Von Frankenstein) in a separate tank, so algae blooms aren't a worry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriswaters Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Algae bloom is inevitable. It was extremely short lived though. If you can fit pieces of rock into the tank of your toliet...the curing process will go a lot quicker. Otherwise, the RO waste is a good idea as well. I just did a water change yesterday. I will check the pH on the rock I have cooking...we will see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I did a test last night on a bunch of frag plugs and discs i had in my toilet tank. i let a few of them sit in a bag of RO water for around 5 hours, tested pH and got 7.4 Time to start fragging!!! I still need to check the large rock thats in my other toilet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriswaters Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 It is so funny to tell someone that you have rocks in your toliet it'n it? Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriswaters Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Oh wow...just did a pH test on the water that the other rocks are in and it was very low....I must have acheived the cured state...There are three nice pieces in there, surely enough to raise up the aquascape on one side. I will test again tomorrow to be on the safe side. This is in still water with no agitation and the test barely changed colors! This is the Mortor mix rock. Worth the wait. Kris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Yah it is, you always get an odd look. Lets see some pics before you put it in the tank!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I just put some of my DIY rock in the tank that I am setting up in my classroom. It is mostly covered with live rock that I bought when RonJr took down his tank. I will also put more LR that people are giving to me for the tank. Some of the rocks have life (shrooms and stuff), so I am going to wait to see if I get a cycle out of the tank to begin with. I am adding a SMALL amount of ammonium chloride to the tank to start it off. If all the tests come back good next week I will be working on adding a pair of Dave's clowns . It is ALIVE! dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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