home made rocks

[TrevorFuson]

Hey everyone, i am considering a new set up for my big tank, wanting to replace the mis-matched rocks i have currently occpying space, with something a little more sophisticated. Ive heard of people making their own rocks out of portland cement. Has anyone here done this and if so do you have any tips or tricks about doing it?

[Sam Chicklets]

If you use a cement mixture it will release a lot of calcium and other stuff into the water. But if you soak it in a salt solution several with a fresh solution times it is supposed to neutralize it.

[Slough Shark]

Or... you could carve the rock out of Styrofoam, coat it in Cement, paint it and slip it in your tank. The coating of Cement should be enough to sink it, if not, just put a hole in the styrofaom, fill that with cement and the process is the same from there.

[Murminator]

I make frag plugs and slabs of rocks nothing very big though I use portland cement, crushed oyster shells, sand, and water mixed it very thick. Let it cure for about a week then dump it into a pail of vinegar and after a week change the vinegar. The they need lots and lots of water changes, som what I do is I put them in the tanks of all my toilets quickest and easiest way to do water changes :thumbs:

[DCallele]

Check out

aragocrete

around the web. A good place to start is at http://www.garf.org.

HTH,

David

[Kuch]

I make frag plugs and slabs of rocks nothing very big though I use portland cement, crushed oyster shells, sand, and water mixed it very thick. Let it cure for about a week then dump it into a pail of vinegar and after a week change the vinegar. The they need lots and lots of water changes, som what I do is I put them in the tanks of all my toilets quickest and easiest way to do water changes :thumbs:

Like he said and to give the rocks that poris look is to add rock salt to the mixture....so that while it's curing the salt will dissolve and leave you with a poris rock!!

[Qattarra]

I make frag plugs and slabs of rocks nothing very big though I use portland cement, crushed oyster shells, sand, and water mixed it very thick. Let it cure for about a week then dump it into a pail of vinegar and after a week change the vinegar. The they need lots and lots of water changes, som what I do is I put them in the tanks of all my toilets quickest and easiest way to do water changes :thumbs:

Kewl! The toilet doesn't flush properly right now, could you imagine if I do this, hubby will jump all over the "it's your fault" thing LMBO!