pics of my DIY rock for the Monster! Big Pics warning

[Canadian Man]

Originally Posted by asmodeus

HOw long do i have to keep the rock in the tub with the oyster shells for. And it it ok to use lots of macroni in the rock for the pourous along with

TUFA rock: My wife has a recipe for tufarock and was wandering if its the same as making the Rock like yours is the curing tiem the same..

I gather this is aragocrete you are making? If so I would love to hear details of how you did it, I have the cement but just haven't gotten around to trying it yet. I read that if you cure the rock for a few days in open air then give it a vinegar bath and rinse it off, that will usually cure it for use.... any truth to that?

Well I plan on keeping it in the bathtub till the ph of the water dosent rise above 8.0. I have heard of people mixing in pasta but I didnt do that and don't feel that it's nessecary. I think many people that are doing the macaroni thing are making their agrocrete out of just sand, which will not be porus at all.

Orchid guy. yes this is agrocrete I am making.
Here is the process I used. If I don't finish the instructions right away I will finish is soon. I am at work ops:

So I mixed 5 cups of cement powder and a little bit of water in a bucket. mix this till all the lumps are gone. the cement/water should be fairly runny. I then added 17cups of oystershells to the bucket and about 2 to 3 cups of sand to the bucket. So basically 1:5 ratio of cement:substrate.
Mix this very well till all the cement covers the shells. You will probably have to add more water to the mix. I made this mix the consistancy of cottage cheese.

Once it's mixed well I added a layer of sand to the bottom of my plywood mould. I grabed a handful of cement mix at a time and just let it fall through my fingers. This is where the creativity begins. once I was happy with my sculpture I covered it with sand, reason is some of the sand will stick to the wet cement and give the rock a white appearance instead of grey. I find that I have to let these big pieces sit for about 3 days before I move it. Smaller pieces can be moved in about 24 hours or so. I then took a clean paint brush and brushed the sand off and let it sit for another day and then I put it in the fresh water to begin the curing process.

If you are using a container to make caves like I did then it's best and easiest to take the container out after about 8 hours or so .. after 8 hours the cement is still damp and it will be easiest to take it out at that point.

Did i miss anything?