woohoooo! look at what im doing tommorow...

[turboex901]

well guys, i guess ill be the guinea pig on this little experiment. i got enough storage to drain the tank completely and a tarp to lay all the rocks out. hopefully it will turn out pretty cool. ive been speaking with rc user : mr wilson who has extensive experience with the stuff and will follow his directions to the t. hopefully ill get some cool shapes. im planning one large pillar with branch rock outcroppings like a tree. it wont touch any glass and the fish will be able to do laps all day long. ill let everyone know how it goes with pics/videos etc. also i have WAY more material than i need so whatevers left over ill trade for a frag or something if anyone else wants to give it a whiz. <~~~~steve


http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c134/turboex901/rock001.jpg

[pitbullpooch]

sweet. I made a few hundred pounds of aragacrete a few years ago and thats what i have in my 40 breeder now with 20 pounds of live. i like how it turned out when using crushed oyster shell in the mix compared to crushed coral and it was alot cheaper. Is this concrete your using a lower ph? or are you just using it because its white? Im gonna make some more rock here soon for my 500 gallon project which is gonna take me a bit to get together so it wont matter if it takes a while to cure the rock. what are you planning to use in the mix as far as what type of sand and other ingredients?

[Angela Short]

I made a huge batch about 2 years ago. Interesting project. I used some of the huge macoroni noodles and got some nice dipps and crevices. The big sea shell shapped ones. Its harder than it looks to get good shapes! I also used a big sand box and shaped some nice caves with wet sand. Good luck!

[pitbullpooch]

my first few batches looked pretty plain. the best rocks that i made back then was some flat shelf rocks that you cant tell apart from real live rock especially after it gets some color to it. its alot more pourous then i thought to. after just a month in my tank i got tons of bristle worms living in the home made rock already. I first found this out when i pulled one of my rocks out and a bristle come out of it at me lol. this time around i want to make some large caves and some thick pieces that work as legs to stack other rocks onto so i can get the rock up off the sand and make more tunnels for fish to swim through.

[NeveSSL]

Are you going to start something like a "rock build thread" or anything? I'd love to follow along... I'm planning on eventually making my own rock as well.

Thanks!

Brandon

[crumbletop]

Nice! I've got a bag of that stuff in my trunk. It'll probably be a month before I can get to making some pillars. Did you get crushed oyster shells (I think that is what Mr. Wilson used)?

Keep us posted on your progress!

[turboex901]

hey guys, as jack stated im not making rocks just using it to bond my lr together to form pillars/ unobtainable shapes that cant be had with "gravity stacking". i have the quikrete charcoal coloring so it wont be white.. it says its inert. this quikwall cures so fast it doesnt have time to affect the ph. from what i understand its cured for the most part in 15 minutes. jack: i have a few crushed caribsea puka shells left over from an old project i may toss in. actually i got a 50lb bag of em from the petsmart out by you on blowout for 6 bucks. im sure they have some left. well wish me luck guys, this is gonna be a big project that i have no idea how to do...... im optimistic though!<~~~steve

[pitbullpooch]

good deal...I wonder why so many people pay so much for the thorite when this is actually faster curing or is this stuff pretty expensive to? if it is cheaper then it would be good to use to make the diy rocks since you wont have to cure it for so long. Im surprised that it hasnt been mentioned on the long going aragacrete thread yet. good luck on it and post some pics if possible.

[turboex901]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9388521#post9388521 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pitbullpooch
good deal...I wonder why so many people pay so much for the thorite when this is actually faster curing or is this stuff pretty expensive to? if it is cheaper then it would be good to use to make the diy rocks since you wont have to cure it for so long. Im surprised that it hasnt been mentioned on the long going aragacrete thread yet. good luck on it and post some pics if possible.

i paid 17 bucks for the bag at lowes for 50 lbs. for everything in the picture including two 31 gallon rubbermaids it was 53 bucks tax and all. i let everyone know how it goes. with the quick cure time there wont be any pics of construction id imagine but ill def. have some finished product pics. well off to bed, big day tommorow :)<~~steve

[pitbullpooch]

sounds good. Im more interested in seeing if it really cures that quick and if so then this would be perfect for diy rocks without the long curing time.

[NeveSSL]

Ahhh.. Gotcha... my bad.

Brandon

[crumbletop]

pitbull,

My guess is that the thorite is used because it has been used successfully in the past on many aquarium projects, and is referenced in Sprung's Reef Aquariums tome. Here are some threads on thorite and the pillars -- the last link is the one where quikcrete quikwall is mentioned as a suitable substitute:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=978091
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=86689&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=59
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=988818

[pitbullpooch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9389296#post9389296 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by crumbletop
pitbull,

My guess is that the thorite is used because it has been used successfully in the past on many aquarium projects, and is referenced in Sprung's Reef Aquariums tome. Here are some threads on thorite and the pillars -- the last link is the one where quikcrete quikwall is mentioned as a suitable substitute:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=978091
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=86689&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=59
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=988818 thanks alot for the info crumbletop. Ill have to try this out.

[rsteagall]

When are you doing this again?

[turboex901]

i just finished up, ill post pics when the water clears a bit and share my experiences. it was messy but noticed no ill effects to tan inhabitants, not even the snails or shrimp. stay posted later on tonight.<~~~steve

[pitbullpooch]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9392390#post9392390 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by turboex901
stay posted later on tonight.<~~~steve

ok...its later on tonight now :)

[waynesworld]

You put freashly made stuff in a tank with livestock?

[SRT80]

Did I miss the pics?

Steve

[turboex901]

i havent got around to posting them yet, ill quit being lazy soon but it turned out great!

also wayne, it cures in about 20 minutes and doesnt affect ph whatsoever. check out the posts by mr. wilson about using it. it may be cool for the mega tank!<~~steve

[saycheessee]

humm... still waiting.. :) and excited. Want to see.

[turboex901]

sorry for numerous delays guys but ive been working like mad lately and lost my grandmother to cancer yesterday night so its been somewhat hectic. ill see if i can take a couple snaps tommorow evening. thanks for the patience!<~~~steve

[pitbullpooch]

sorry to hear about your loss

[gflat65]

Sorry to hear that Steve...

[turboex901]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9442097#post9442097 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gflat65
Sorry to hear that Steve...

thanks gary