Diy reef rock

[dan_k]

As I look at the next new tank going up I have a 20in width and a 33in height so rock scape will not be easy to get it close to the top and being acrylic little scared about laying any rock on the tank itself.
So I was thinking of maybe making my own rock to to get what I want. Has anyone ever made the diy reef rock? Portland cement and clam shells or rubble rock or maybe something I don't know about if you have or know anything please share.
Thanks in advance

 

[chadingdong]

My friends and I did it and it came out awesome. But lucky for us we live near the beach so we placed it there for about a month to gather some battery, get washed and whatnot. It came out perfect for a very low price with our own designed rock structures.

 

[FastUno]

I have over 100 pounds of the man-made rock already. I bought it 2 years ago & was going to go with a monster tank, but the upgrade will never happen.

Some of these pieces are really gorgeous & I can post some pics.

The seller told me you have to soak them in fresh water for a few weeks to get the PH down & only then can you use them. I will let them go for super low price of $100, so that is less than $1/pound.

 

[FastUno]

I was supposed to put them up for sale & still have not gotten to it yet. Here is the pic.

 

[Paul B]

I make my rocks hollow. http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/diy-rock-marine-aquarium-3019/

 

[FastUno]

Paul, are you worried about the strings attached to the PVC breaking down & leaching long term?

"Because cement will not stick to PVC, you?ll need to wrap tightly all around the pipe with string (like the kind you get in a bakery)."

Do you have any shots of your finished rocks, your tank & the corals you are able to keep with those rocks. Making multi branching or shelving rocks on multi levels would be of great benefit for us.

 

[Paul B]

FastUno, I am not worried about those cotton strings in my tank. Sometimes I use damp paper towels. Some of those 'rocks' have been in my tank for 25 years or more. I don't even remember and I can't tell with many of my rocks which ones I built and which ones I collected. My tank pictures have been on here many many times. Here is one "rock I made that was built to cascade over another rock and hold a coral.

That rock is holding up this torch coral just above the copperband here. There is also montipora growing on it as you can see.


This piece that the mandarin is picking on is home made.


This is a 3' piece before and after construction.
This piece snakes all through my reef and holds up a large part of my reef structure.


You can see part of that "rock" here in this old picture above the moorish Idol


This is another piece built to support part of the structure.


The piece above the copperband is DIY.


This large piece is a little different construction. It was built from old, small pieces of rock that were broken off and to small to be used. I cemented them together into an 18" piece that forms the backbone of my reef. This piece was an older construction method and is not hollow but it is made mostly from real rock.


This is cement on a bottle


It's all in here someplace.

 

[FastUno]

Pretty cool, thanks Paul.

I found this cool video on how to make custom resin rocks, but still not what I want. I want to be able to mold & sculpt my rock like clay. This way I can form exact shelves & branches where I want them & not where the rock dictates it should be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IykGranxhI

Then I just found last night this overflow build using clay like molding material & rocks & frag plugs can be made out of it just as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYmq6Kc1mEg

Has anyone tried this yet?

 

[FastUno]

Paul, what do you think about this?

Use 5 gal buckets to cut out & flatten shelve rock & drill hole to insert shelves to PVC backbone. I would have to heat, melt & warp them to look more natural & remove any edges.

Then use the method in that Youtube video to create custom overflow, but this time to cover the plastic bucket shelve rock.

I just need some sturdy base to anchor everything to, I saw some people use some ceramics or bricks from Home Depot, do you know which ones would be reef safe?

Sounds like it will work?

 

[Paul B]

I don't think that would work. I feel the buckets will want to return to their natural shape to strongly for you to get that to work. I personally don't like plastic resin for that purpose because cement is cheaper and looks more like rock. Cement is also somewhat porous like real rock. If I were trying to do as you are, I would use plexiglass that bends easily with a heat gun and stays in that shape. Then I would drill a million holes in it and smear on mortar. It will take many coats but I think you can do what you are attempting like that. Not easily as I would make the entire thing from cement, but it is possible.

 

[FastUno]

I gotta look at the pricing of the resin, to see if it is cost effective. If not buckets, then maybe Sterilite clear containers when they go on sale, since they are flat & we can utilize all 4 sides + the bottom for shelve rock DIY.

Another idea is to put a black sheet of acrylic into the tank to serve as a background cover & that can easily be taken down for cleaning with vinegar externally to remove purple coralline algae & other algae (rather than to have to constantly scrape the back of your tank).

Then we drill & affix 1" PVC pipes into this black acrylic & slightly bend the pipes so instead of a 90 angle with back acrylic wall, it is more like 95-100 degree angle.

We then dispense with any acrylic or plastic for the rocks & just make very thin shelve rocks using just cement alone. We also drill at least 4 holes ( 2 on left & 2 on right) & then zip tie the holes to the PVC pipes. The PVC pipes will not protrude to the front of the rock & hence not be seen & the back and middle will be covered by the cement shelve rock. All cheap, less the back acrylic, but which can serve the dual purpose.

So all the shelve rock will be suspended in the tank water column in essence & we can have a very clean & open floor for easy vacuuming with a minimalistic look.