Looks to me like a red serpent star.

You're probably thinking Marc/Fudge's tank... There's a link to his thread on RC in the thread here:
http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=19409

Lando, good call I think you are correct.

Tony, you read my mind, that is the exact thread I was thinking of, you're good!

This is what I am talking about with cool PVC structures to defy gravity:
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/..._shots_231.jpg

I think I am getting the idea now. Went and saw Albert at lunch and after he ragged on me for being cruel to the shark he explained it too me. Off to home depot after work.

Getting 15 lbs of live rock tomorrow night and then in about 5 more week my first batch of concrete rock should be ready.

If any one has any more noobie sugestions and comments feel free to post them. Just remember though the tank is only 29G.......

Glenn,

What are you doing with the concrete and when are you going to start?

I would like to see it and perhaps try it myself.

Keith

Just making "live rock" are you still coming over tonight? If so I will show you..

Glenn, what process did you do in order to make your own rock?

Rock Salt and #10 concrete. Some I made in a sand form others I made free hand. It is in a bucket outside curing right now.

I made about 6 pieces so far. Hopefully more this weekend. If anyone has any ideas on how to easily crush water softener salt please let me kow. The pieces of salt are tooo big for the rocks I am making, so I had to use a hammer last time.

Interesting.

What is the purpose of the rock salt?

How are you going to lower the Ph of the cement?

You didn't use any aragonite sand at all?

It's a red serpent star.

Rocks can be drilled for PVC pipe or PVC and acrylic solid rods.

There are lots of materials that facilitate reef construction, everything from cable ties, heavy mono fishing line, stainless steel wire, eggcrate, fiberglass grating, plastic screws, marine epoxy, Z-Spar epoxy, cements, Cyanoacrylate, hotglue, and combinations of all of them. The only limit is your imagination.

Rock can be sliced and glued directly to the back glass with polyurethane foam.

Having your rock supported on an open frame work actually allows better water circulation. Mine is barebottom under the rock with a shallow sandbed in front. I have never had a problem with detrius build up at all.
It's a more open rock work and you use less rock.

Some people have tied in their closed loops to the rock frame work for even more circulation.

Backgrounds can make a big difference in the 3-d effect of your tank as well. Rear lit translucent backdrops or removable in-tank backdrops can give the illusion of depth as does hiding the line where the bottom meets the backdrop.
A lot of people let coraline cover the back wall but it can be spotty and messy looking. (see The Reef Aquarium Vol.3)


For inspiration look at pictures of real reefs, and make a sketch or a model of the footprint of your tank and play around with what you would like to do.

The rock salt creates holes in the concrete giving it light weight and ?porosity?

I didn't use the sand cause I didn't like the looks of it. Right now the "rocks" are still very grey but will lighten up in time. I will post a picture of one of the pieces tonight.

As far as the ph goes, concrete once cured (6 - 8 weeks) will lose its high ph content. You just soak it in fresh water with water changes every day or 2.

Thanks for the info.

Cool idea for making the rocks more porous.

It doesn't matter what color the rocks are, they will get covered in coralline algae anyways.

Very true. So now the next thing I need to find is a source for course rock salt in town.

Maybe try these

Canadian Salt Company Limited
403-265-0685
604-5920 MacLeod Trail SW,
Calgary, AB T2H 0K2


Taurus Salt Company Ltd - Toll Free
1-800-631-7382
Torrington, AB T0M 2B0


NSC Minerals
403-873-0322
145-251 Midpark Boulevard SE,
Calgary, AB T2X 1S3


Sifto Canada Inc - Toll Free
1-800-661-1059

Ill call you tonight. It will either be tonight or tomorrow depending on the wife :)

Okey dokey. I have to go out for awhile tomorrow night to pick up the new rock but I will only be a few minutes.

Hi This is Glenns wife, I think you need to encourage him to take me out to dinner more often :) Thank you (Albert and all the others) for all the help and advice you have given Glenn! I really apreciate it as we are a bit of "impulsive" buyers and am glad that someone will tell him NO you don't want that that!!
Thanks, Lee-Anne

Concrete rock pictures
 

This is my first try at the concrete live rock what do you all think?

http://www.warops.com/aquarium/DSC00927.JPG
http://www.warops.com/aquarium/DSC00928.JPG
http://www.warops.com/aquarium/DSC00929.JPG

Glenn,

Nice job on the rock. That is really cool. Looking forward to seeing it in person. I ended up working late tonight so it looks like ill be by tomorrow.

Lee-Anne,

My wifes name is also Leanne and by strange coincidence, would also like to be taken out to dinner more. How about that. :)

How old are your kids? We have 3

You guys stay up too late.

We have 2 kids.

My daughter is 6 and my son is 3. You?

Wait till you have kids. It's the only time you can get anything done!!!!!!

:)

Mine are 16, 14, 11. And yes Albert as they get older the only time you can get any peace and quiet is very late at night.

:razz:

Cool looking rock.

Thanks not bad for a first try at it

What kind of concrete did you use?

Just typical type 10. If you want faster drying time you could also use "Post Haste" which is used for fence posts.

How many parts concrete, to how many parts rock salt did you use?

Aproximately 3:1 Salt to concrete. Add water, stir, pour. Drink another beer, continue until all beer is gone.:razz:

So you first combined the concrete powder and the rock salt in approximately 3:1, then you kept adding water and stirring until what kind of consistancy?

It was pretty soupy. I tried it with a fairly dry mix but it was too hard to mix. So I just kept adding water until I could mix it. The roundish ones I made in a sand mold the others were just drop and plop on to a plastic garbage bag.

Which got better results do you think, a mold, or just hand-done on a garbage bag?

The kewl part of this that I have found is that there is no right or wrong consistancy, form, or ratio. I just pretty much guessed. if there is anyone in the area that wants to try this, give me a shout. I really don't need much more rock, I just want to try it cuz it sounded fun. I still have most of the bag of concrete left and alot of salt crystal too. Bring your own beer and hammer. Oh yeah also bring a bucket and a bin for the molds.

The mold was just an old rock I found in the back alley. I was thinking of trying a real "live rock" for the mold next time but I don't feel like wasting $7/lb. to make a mold incase something happens to the rock.

I like the looks of the hand molded on myself but it is a personal preference I think. With the sand mold, I used a plastic bag between the sand and the concrete but if you like the sand (or aragonite) texture, I would just skip the bag. I have some pretty course aragonite that I might use for the mold next time to give the rock more texture.

Well I went out and got 20 more lbs of live rock, stacked it up on the pvc tubing just the way I wanted it, put everything back in. And now to see if it all worked. I still need about 5 lbs of rock to finish up but it'll get there.

Thanks Keith for coming over and giving me your suggestions and encouragement.

Damn that was a long night.........