Diver Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 I’m planing on setting up a cold saltwater reef tank in a few months when the temperature cools down a bit. I’m thinking of making the rock because of the high cost of dead coral rock in NZ. Does anyone have any experience with this? The basic recipe I have seen is cement and coral sand or crushed oyster shell. Where can I get large amounts of coral sand at a good price, also does anyone know where you can get crushed oyster shells. I’m planning on making the rock now and letting it cure in freshwater for about a month. Then putting it in the ocean for a month to hopefully establish the bacteria colonies and get life to start inhabiting it. Any comments recommendations. What is a good amount of rock per 100lt of water? TIA Diver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisha Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Hi Diver What are you going to put in your cold saltwater tank? I have one at the moment and have had problems during the summer keeping the temperatures down. Good quality chillers are expensive!!! Good luck with the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diver Posted February 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 I will start with stuff mainly from rock pools then as I work out what temp it will sit at I start adding thing that I see during diving. At the end of the year when it starts to warm up again I will look at a DIY chillier out of a bar fridge or possible a proper chillier (any idea of costs in NZ I assume over $1000). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 Diver. Coral sand and rock is failry expensive here in NZ, not sure if there is a way to get it cheaply, but if you do find out let me know please. Remeber than normal sand with silicates in it is no good. There is a web site somewhere called 'guff' or 'garp' or something that has instructions on making rock. I have seen a bit of aquacultured rock and it can look quite nice although can be much heavier than the real thing! Its impossible to tell ones its got gunk on it. Searchs on the net will find it. Oyster shells etc at seafood factories and shelling plants. Jsut look through the yellow pages. Temprate is always a bit of a problem... good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 When I had my coldwater marine set up I just used rocks from the rockpools I got the critters from. A lot less hassle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diver Posted February 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 I was under the impression that local rock aren’t porus and don’t support good bacteria colonies. I want to use only live rock as biological filtration as this is supposed to give the best results with a skimmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 True, a lot of local rock can be volcanic bassalt typ rock which is dense. Then there is the other extreme, pumice which floats! Live rock as used, in marine aquariums, is the dead skeletons of corals, as such it is porous, without floating, and can support dense bacterial colonies. The site Pies is reffering to is "Garf" www.garf.org, there is a lot of information on their site, a lot of it is crap, but they do have a large section on diy rock. Honestly your best bet is to buy base rock. At around $13 per kg, it's not cheap, but far more effective than anything you can make yourself. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted February 19, 2004 Report Share Posted February 19, 2004 I agree with Layton that is easier to just buy some rock. You can get dry coral rock for about $9.00 per kg if you shop around, even cheaper if your in the 'know'. Not sure that stuff you make yourself is going to be less effective though. All rock out of flordia now is aquacultured stuff, cement/lime manmade rock and some people on Reef central have been raving about it. Also there was a guy on here (peety) who made his own rock, and he said it was better for him a. cheaper b. could make it in any shape design he wanted. I would't be put off it, but it will be a hastle. The flat volcanic rock from here is not ideal as the flat surface and high silicate content wil be problems. However Caryl does say she has actually done it, and I havn't. The rock from the pools would look more natural thats for sure. Good luck. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diver Posted March 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2004 Has anyone used coral gravel in their tanks. Is it porous enough for good bacteria? I’m thinking of using it to make my rocks, as it’s cheaper than coral sand or aragonite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted March 8, 2004 Report Share Posted March 8, 2004 Not sure what coral gravel is, if its dead porities (finger coral) then its made of the same stuff as the rock (larger) and the sand (smaller). So I suspect it will be fine. Let us know how you get on. Good luck. Pies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.