Concrete in tank?

[blackcloudmedia]

So my reef tank to be is 5 days old and meanwhile I am learning all I can about the trade. Im new here and find this forum VERY cool considering the amount of waste information out there. Anyways I was wondering if it is safe to use concrete in a reef tank as decoration. Considering concrete (or mortor) can be molded into shapes. Especially since concrete is HIGH in calcium. Ive read about people using mortor in tanks without problem, but there are other sites saying concrete tends to "leach" but they dont say what exactly is leaching out!!!! Help me obiwan kenobee??????

 

[Anonymous]

People use aragoncrete as man-make rock in reef tank. There are a few thread about it, and you may want to take a look. Basically use aragonite as one of the main ingradient in concrete, and use it instead of live rock.

Anyway, I think calcium hydrate or one of the hyrated product leach out over time. There is consider amount of it for fresh concrete that it can raise the pH so much that make a relatively large tank (240 gal and up) unsuitable for fish and invert. This is why concrete needs to be fully cured before it can be used safely. Another issue is heavy metals. Different concrete mix have different amount of heavy metal, and you must know what type to use. Well, take a look at some of the "DIY live rock" as well as some aragcrete receipe and see if you want to do it.

Oh, BTW, welcome to RDO.

 

[blackcloudmedia]

Cool thanks seven