Live rock

[rossb]

The process of making live rock is quite straight forward. There are 4 things you need. First of all look at this article:
http://saltaquarium.about.com/gi/dyn...b3%2Farago.htm

The first thing you need is a plastic pan full of sand. This is to mold the rocks.

Then you need some portland cement ($7.00/50 pounds). There are several types to choose from but it turns out that all the cement you buy around here is OK to use (I got mine at Revy).
Next you need some crushed oyster shell ($8.00 for 55 pounds). This you get at UFA CO-OP. The UFA in Calgary is located in the SW by Chinook center.
Finally you need some silica sand (the cheapest you can find). I actually used the sand from REVY ($6.00/50 pounds). I also saw some cheap silica sand at Princes auto for about 15 bucks a bag. Also some aragonite or crushed coral ($.8 per pound if you talk nice to them at riverfront)


Once you have these ingredients you start by wetting the sand in the pan. You wet it enough to mold it, but not so much that there is water pooling at the bottom. You can create many kinds of shapes by molding holes in the sand ….and you get better at it in time. I created larger flat shapes for the bottom and then concave type shapes with hiding spots for further up.


Next you mix the stuff up. I used 1 part Portland, 3.5 part crushes oyster shell, .5 parts crushed coral and 1 part sand. If you want to you can also just use 1.5 parts crushed coral. You have to add enough water to the mixture to make it wet .. but not runny and mix it really well. The portion of cement to mixture seems low but it is correct. Now you can scoop the mixture out into the sand mold, cover with a wet towel and let it cure for 24 hours.


This is the tricky part that you have to do. If you miss these steps it will either fall apart or raise the PH of your tank too much. To cure it you first let it dry another 24 hours. Now get yourself a big plastic garbage can and set the rock in it and fill it with water. You have to either do frequent water changes or add some PH down (get the spa swimming pool stuff it is cheaper). I did both…I have a flow through water humidifier and I let it drain into the two garbage cans I used to cure the rock. I also added some PH down once a week. Continue this for 5 weeks. After 5 weeks you can add salt to the water for 2-3 more weeks. At this point it should be ready to use. To test this I would do a water change on the rocks, check the Ph daily for a week, and if it stays level you can use the rock.

The 7 week wait is a killer but it all eventually works out.