DIY rock

Done a bit of readig about the DIY rock and decided to start colecting some materials today,.

I have managed to find a 50lbs bag of white portland and possibly a 50lbs bag of crushed oyster shell .

The mason supply store said they have brown sand ,I was thinking about using it in the box for the castings,,not sure if I should get white play sand from the hdw store or not instead,,.

I have looked for the paver sand and it isnt in stock any where that I can find , I dont want to take any short cuts in this project but they wasnt sure if the brown sand was agronite{sp} or not ,,,but is is only a penny a pound bulk price.

They are going to cut me a deal on the portland cment because they said they have had it for a while and couldnt sell it, 1/2 price.

There is a Lowes store and a minards store here in town but no HD .

I am not sure if this will work out or not.

I may have lucked out on a bunch of sea shells and snail shells that my moms cusin had colected over many years of vacationing at their property in FL. just wants them out of the way so I voluntered to take them off their hands probably over 100 lbs!!!

I am hoping to create the look of fossils in some of the rock.

Any help ,ideas or sugestions will be greatly apreciated .

I read the article about the saw dust in the DIY mix, that was the first time I had read that,

Wouldnt that eventualy break down and cause ya trouble in the long run with filters or chemicals???

Now is a good time for me to get rock salt at a good price since its winter and every one has it in stock,,

I was also wondering why ya couldnt use epsome { sp }salt??

I plan on making a few frag plugs to,

I dont have a use for as much rock work that my supplies will make and I am not real sure as to what to do with it all when I am finished.

Maybe pick up a few more aquariums??

Any one have any ideas as to how to cast and mold diferent kinds of rock, I was thinking I could make a few flat shelves , maybe a tonga branch type ,,,,and maybe even make a tonga branch and cast it coing out of a peice of base rock??

Or maybe it would be better to just leave a hole in the base rock and stick a branch coming out of it that is removable??

I have a few feet of small plastic hose that I was also thnking about using in the castings that when removed would leave holes through it??


I am open for other ideas and sugestions.

I need ideas , this is my first attempt and I dont want to do it wrecklessly!!!

Thanks
Bill

Originally Posted by inlander

Done a bit of readig about the DIY rock and decided to start colecting some materials today,.

I have managed to find a 50lbs bag of white portland and possibly a 50lbs bag of crushed oyster shell .

The mason supply store said they have brown sand ,I was thinking about using it in the box for the castings,,not sure if I should get white play sand from the hdw store or not instead,,.

I have looked for the paver sand and it isnt in stock any where that I can find , I dont want to take any short cuts in this project but they wasnt sure if the brown sand was agronite{sp} or not ,,,but is is only a penny a pound bulk price.

The brown sand is probably silica sand. Thats fine to use but i would keep looking for calcium based sand. If you have a Toys R us around you they might have calcium based sand. A very easy test is to place a few pinches of the sand in your hand or in a cup and then pour vinegar over it. If it fizzes then its calcium based, if not silica based.

They are going to cut me a deal on the portland cment because they said they have had it for a while and couldnt sell it, 1/2 price.

There is a Lowes store and a minards store here in town but no HD .

I am not sure if this will work out or not.

I may have lucked out on a bunch of sea shells and snail shells that my moms cusin had colected over many years of vacationing at their property in FL. just wants them out of the way so I voluntered to take them off their hands probably over 100 lbs!!!

I am hoping to create the look of fossils in some of the rock.

Any help ,ideas or sugestions will be greatly apreciated .

I read the article about the saw dust in the DIY mix, that was the first time I had read that,

Wouldnt that eventualy break down and cause ya trouble in the long run with filters or chemicals???

I dont think i would add saw dust, lots of compounds that could cause problems. Ive heard of people adding dry macaroni and then curing it out for a few weeks/months, dont know how well that works. Ive also heard of people adding rocksalt to the mix . Again i have no idea how well it works.

I was also wondering why ya couldnt use epsome { sp }salt??

For what, making the rock? I wouldnt use it. For one it will start to melt too quick and you will have very high sulfate levels.

I plan on making a few frag plugs to,

DIY Frag Plugs

I dont have a use for as much rock work that my supplies will make and I am not real sure as to what to do with it all when I am finished.

Maybe pick up a few more aquariums??

That will work or you can always make some flower pots

Any one have any ideas as to how to cast and mold diferent kinds of rock, I was thinking I could make a few flat shelves , maybe a tonga branch type ,,,,and maybe even make a tonga branch and cast it coing out of a peice of base rock??

Or maybe it would be better to just leave a hole in the base rock and stick a branch coming out of it that is removable??

I have a few feet of small plastic hose that I was also thnking about using in the castings that when removed would leave holes through it??


I am open for other ideas and sugestions.

I need ideas , this is my first attempt and I dont want to do it wrecklessly!!!

Thanks
Bill

Thats the hard part. You have to be creative. My only suggestion on molding it would be to not add very much water. You want the mix as stiff as you can so you can make shapes, otherwise its just going to slump down.

Good points, Yep I was thinking about the epsom salts , was thinkong about sprinkling them in the bottom of the sand box to leave those holes in the rock , but ya are probably right , it might cause trouble down the road.

I have a few ideas on the creativness issue but,,,,, it may take a while to perfect,,,,,My wife is expecting a pile of scrap in the back yard allready, she wants me to clear out a spot for the ,,,,,for the,,,, ,,experimental pieces she says this because acording to her I am quite the Tim the tool man when it comes to actualy doing somehting like this

Bill

I've not used the epson salts but I will in my next batch. The way I've seen it used is to mix it in with your cement mix. It will dissolve in the coming weeks and leave air pockets for the bacteria to grow in. DIY rock prolly takes about 6 weeks to cure with a lot of water changes. I don't use RO water for it, just regular tap water. The first time I soak it I do add some vinegar though. Good luck with it. The moisture of the mix is important so that you can make your molds.

I am also wondering about what I can put on pieces like pvc tubing that will allow me toremove it with out damage, I was thinking about packing the agracreet around certain things and then removing it after the drying period, wasnt sure if this stuff will shrink or ex[and when it hardens.

Looks like the first batch will be a experimental batch,, I dont want to let the wife down !!!

I still need the sand so it might take a while before I get started.
And what about material storage,, just a plain 5 gallon bkts with a lid is what I have available??


Thanks for the help and ideas

Bill

As long as you keep the stuff dry it should be fine. Ive had a bag of half used portland for about a year and its still good.

I dont think cement shrinks very much at all as it dries. At least not anything to worry about.

I keep my cement, shells, and sand in seperate 5 gal buckets. don't even have a lid.

Thanks for the replies, I just got back with a bag of rock salt but no luck on finding the sand yet, When I get started I will try to post a few pictures and the results of my creations.


Any and all coments and help as well as ideas are defeinatly welcome.

I was also thinking about just using oyster shell as a sand mold, it might be a little expensive but then again there wouldnt be any waste.

I am starting to feel like a kid who cant wait to open a christmas present.

I am also trying to keep in mind that things need to be sort of small since the tanks I have are small.

Shapes and sizes will be a issue .


Bill

oyster shell will work too. It just doesn't form the nice slick surfaces. I've used it several times. It works. I didn't even rinse it. I think that adds to its structure.

Ok I just couldnt take it any longer
I damped down some of the oyster shell and made a small batch ,made a couple small pieces just fo rthe fun of it,, I think I use too much salt, wont know untill tomorrow when I take it out and soak it .


Probably messed it up so I am starting small!

Bill

try useing some small pvc tubing, drill lots of 1/2'' holes in it, when you have it all smeared up with cement mix, poke through the holes with a pointy thing?

Ya mean I have permission to use sharp objects??

LOL

Cool idea, I think ,,, ok ,,,yep its a cool idea.

I had a brain storm going earlier but then it went blank and I stoped ,,, I didnt want to damage any more brain cells by starting over so I will wait and see how the mix is going to work out,LOL
Ya know what they say!!!


Bill

Originally Posted by inlander

Ya mean I have permission to use sharp objects??

LOL

Cool idea, I think ,,, ok ,,,yep its a cool idea.

I had a brain storm going earlier but then it went blank and I stoped ,,, I didnt want to damage any more brain cells by starting over so I will wait and see how the mix is going to work out,LOL
Ya know what they say!!!


Bill

yes the frenzy of brainial activity can be hazardous, you can find a stick if your sharps denied, maybe C&B can pull one of voodoo pins out and lend it to ya?

My branial activity went to bed so I am safe at least untill morning.

She works all day tomorrow ,, so I am free to experiment all day.



Bill

Originally Posted by inlander

My branial activity went to bed so I am safe at least untill morning.

She works all day tomorrow ,, so I am free to experiment all day.



Bill

make hay while the sun shines then!

Turns out this isnt so bad after all,

I have ne question though, how long should I wait befor I start soaking the rock in water,,,

I have one piece that is now 24 hrs old and three pieces that I just took out of the mold .

I was thinking that I would make up a few more peices and then start soaking them at the same time in a old bath tub I have .

By the way ,,,,so far so good and thanks to all of you for your help.
Soon as I get new bateries for the camera I will put up a few pictures.

Bill

I would give it a week to fully cure.

Pic's would be great as I wish to do something similar soon.

i usually only let it sit for 24hrs then start to soak it. The longer it takes to cure the stronger it's going to be.

Here is my casting box I made with a piece of scrap plywood and some old 1x6 .



And here are the first 3 agracrete rocks I made ,







I have 2 more in the casting box right now and they should come out tomorrow evening.

My cast is pored in oyster shell not sand, my mix was 3 part oyster shell and 2 parts white portland .

I sprinkled salt into the bottom of the mold instead of mixing it in with the slury,

I found by trial and error that if ya mix the batch a little on the dry side or else if it is a bit wet just sprinle it in the mold a little by little is is verry porus that way and it apears to be just fine, I pored water over one of the rocks and it penatrated it , not runing over the edges.

I am hpoing by not adding so much salt that this will speed up the time it takes for the PH and everything to drop.

I probably should have waited a week or so befor I did the water trick buty I am still experimenting so I put the rocks in the water for a hr or so , I took them back out and will wait for a week or two befor I put them back in for the soaking..

I measured out the size of my 30 galon tank and I am trying to codger up a aquascape that will work out the best in that size space.

I have decided to go ahead in the next batch and add in holes for frag plugs so IF I ever decide to do softies I wont have to drill and I can locate them I hope in a friendly way, I alos found a couple pieces of coral in with the shell sfrom moms cusin , I might even atempt to stick them in the top pieces..

It looks like I should have bought more oyster shells

I want to do a corner peice next with a couple ledges , shelves , what ever ya want to call them.

The one in the box has snails and sea shells around the put side edges ,,,I hope they stayed where I put them!!!!, might not work out the way I am hoping .

Cant wait till tomorrow to check it out.


Bill

very cool bill! keep taking pics of your steps on this project ... I'm very interested to see how this turns out...and more interested to see the "shelves" you make too!