DIY base rock...a la Garf

[wontonflip]

Ok, I'm considering making my own base rock using Garf's receipe....they're pretty specific about brand and material in their ingredients. What are equivalent brands or at least other Caribsea products, if I can't find CaribSea Sea floor special grade and CaribSea Aruba Shell aragonite Gravel specifically? I know I can order some of it online, but I'd rather just go local to save me shipping.

And it also calls for plastic sawdust...where am I supposed to find that??? Or should I just have my husband start shaving down some of our recycled plastic? Is it even necessary?

The problem with me is that I'm not good w/ not following a recipe -- I have to use what I'm told to use. But if anyone can help me with a simplified version with easier ingredients...I'd appreciate it :)

 

[yote]

Plastic sawdust???:12:

 

[wontonflip]

Yep...plastic sawdust. Like the spirally ones you get when you drill through plexiglass.

The plastic will make the finished rocks light weight and porous. Drilling holes in black plastic pipe can make one of the best types of plastic we have found. You can experiment with the size of hole and the speed of the drill so that you create spirals of plastic. The small spirals will create airspace that will fill with water when the rock is in the reef.

 

[XxKnuckleheadxX]

i would check tap plastics for plastic saw dust...im sure they will give you plenty....

 

[wontonflip]

Tap Plastics? They're nowhere near me...are u suggesting I try emailng them to see if they'll ship me some?

 

[Bifferwine]

Tap Plastics? They're nowhere near me...are u suggesting I try emailng them to see if they'll ship me some?

Hahaha if that's the case, at least shipping will be cheap! That stuff is light as air!

 

[RyanG]

Wonton do they mention rock salt in their recipe? The guys I know that do it use rock salt to make it porous. It takes quite a while for it to dissolve though and cant be used until it does. But it looks great

 

[Alexander]

wonton i have talked with leroy from garf many times on the phone and a few in person. he is a REALLY nice guy. honestly he would be happy to answer any questions directly if you called him up. I have called him for just questions only before. he was totally cool about it. His main focus is keeping everyting as manmade and aquacultured as possible and he is always happy to help people along with that.

 

[wontonflip]

wonton i have talked with leroy from garf many times on the phone and a few in person. he is a REALLY nice guy. honestly he would be happy to answer any questions directly if you called him up. I have called him for just questions only before. he was totally cool about it. His main focus is keeping everyting as manmade and aquacultured as possible and he is always happy to help people along with that.

Oh cool. Maybe I'll just shoot him an email. Thanks!

 

[eddiekern]

I've been playing around w/ DIY rock mix the last few days. In my area ingredients were damn near impossible to find, but I'll share what I've figured out so far ...

The recipe I used is...
3 parts crushed oyster shells (available at livestock feed stores)
1 part white portland #1-2 cement
... add water and mix, keep adding water little by little until it looks kinda like a semi dry oatmeal
... then add 2 parts rock salt, mix just enough so the salt is evenly mixed in, but try not to mix it too much

Then pour it into your sand mold.

I didn't use plastic shavings, you really only need those to speed up coraline algae growth.

I'll try to post some pictures, and put a video on youtube soon.

 

[bigploch]

I would just grab a paddle bit, a drill, and a 4' long piece of 4" pvc and start making holes. Once you got the pipe full of holes, cut it in half and put it in the back bottom corner of your tank for an awesome cave for your fishes and stack rocks on top of it. In a few months it will be covered in coraline and you will never see it.

 

[wontonflip]

I'll try to post some pictures, and put a video on youtube soon.

That would be awesome for you to do that! I never got a response from the Leroy, but he's probably busy. In a couple of weeks, I'll probably try my hand at making the rocks. I'd like them to cure over the summer, so hopefully I'll be able to get them ready to go by the time I fill up my 125g this fall. But please share us your pics and vids, eddie.

 

[Alexander]

Wonton he is not a very techno computer person. Maybe he forgot. I can almost promise he would love to help you. Call him his number is (800) 600-6163. He's always chatty whenever I call him and if he is busy always asks kindly if I can call back.

 

[eddiekern]

Okay here's the video. Let me know if the video needs improvement, esp if something is unclear. I'm kind of a n00b w/ saltwater reef stuff, but I am an avid DIYer. If in the video I manage to say something stupid call me out on it! I'm pretty sure I didn't, but it really helps to have a second opinion.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFPebEdEoMA[/ame]

BTW I highly recommend gloves. I bought some knowing I wouldn't use them, but would need them when the cement and rock tore up my hands ... I was right ... I didn't use them on the first few batches, tore up my hands, and started using the gloves AFTER it hurt like hell to touch anything salty ... which is EVERYTHING. Sometimes I wish I would listen to my own advise ...

The rock actually looks better in person than in the video. The color is bland, but who cares, coraline covered rock all ends up haaving the same color.

You'll noice that the branch shapes peice had jagged edges on it in the vid. I broke them off and it looks way cooler, and much more natural now.

I calculated the rough cost of the materials used, and it came to about $0.25/lb. excluding the one time purshases like the mini shovel, buckets, etc. which was about $50 total.

Let me know how your live rock building goes!

 

[hoopsdaddy]

Nice work. One of the better attempts I have seen and it was explained well. How much rock did you make and how does the weight compare to that of the basic Fiji rock. Thanks again and keep the vids comming. It really helps people out when you can photo or vid something. Great job!

 

[eddiekern]

In the video you can see all the rock I made in that batch. I would tell you exactly how much I made, but I don't have a scale. The rock is about on par with fiji for weight, maybe a little bit heavier, but it is much lighter than something like a shelf rock.

 

[wontonflip]

Sweet! Looks like another excuse for us to run to Home Depot now. Great job on the video! Thanks!! I'll let you guys know how I do with this.

 

[mng777777]

Great job! I am inspired to make some FLR of my own. Thanks for the Vid! at .25/lb you could make that stuff, throw it in a tub for a month or two with LR and then sell it for $2/lb and everyone would be happy.

 

[Alexander]

That was a great video thanks for posting that! I am just getting closer and closer to setting up some diy rock of my own.

 

[bigploch]

Great video! Clear and concise. Simple as could be. I think even I could follow that. One question to everyone, How long until you would put that rock in your tank? How long does it need to cure? Is there any issues with the rock releasing any phosphates after a certain time? How long until the rock salt dissolves completely? Will that rock screw with the salinity levels? It just all seems too good to be true.