[rossb]

Making live rock is a bit of a long process...and it is ugly to start. I have the recipe and one does need patience. It is a combination of crushed oyster shell, concrete and aragonite. It has to cure for a day (in a moist environment) then sit in fresh water for about 5 weeks (with regular changes) and then it needs 2 weeks in salt water before you can add it to your aquarium. After more than 4 months the rock is now starting to get a bit of color and growth on it and some pieces are virtually indistinguishable from the live rock I bought…and have the added advantage of not having nasty critters on them. The real plus is the cost. It was $8.50 each for 2 50 pound bags of oyster shell, $6 for a 50 pound bag of concrete, silica sand that was $8 bucks each for 50 pounds and 25 pounds of course aragonite. This made about 120 pounds of rock in all…so far.