aragocrete help
 

hi everyone, i recently started making my own rock from scratch and was wondering a few things. i read that it is high on ph to start with and plan on using a 55g that i have empty outside and make it live. will a simple powerjet be enough? it is 600gph. should i circulate in any other way? what salinity should i set at since at first it will be all rock of different sizes and nothing else. should i add some live rock to start or just some bacteria that i still have around. temperatures a big deal for now? or should i use a heater? i want to jam pack it with all the rock i can make and maybe even grow some more stuff in it. natural sunlight good enough? it will be outside under just an overhang in the back of my place. thanks for any help and sorry for the massive amounts of questions.

Good job on the rock. For now while curing, you want to make sure there are no stagnant areas in the curing container/tank. The salinity I personally wouldnt worry about it yet. The temp as you know can have an affect in the curing time b/c as you know molecules are more active the hotter they get. And I would change the water in the curing tank at least once a week and test it once a week which will give you an idea where you're at. Good luck. :)

The single powerhead maybe fine for the cycle but 2 for cross flow is best.Helps with O2 exchange and algea control aswell as keeping debris and uneaten food from collecting.

As for outside , with so many things that could go wrong from temp fluckuations to forien opjects entering and seems it would be harder to keep in a controlled enviroment.

55gl sounds fine for beginner but pls preplan the whl tank from pumps to all the stock and things will go smoother.

i think i should clarify. i have an empty 55g that i will sell down the road. the hood is flipped so nothing goes in it. it sits under an overhang for protection and i added a damsel to help things out. the tank is not filled all the way up and the powerjet seems to be doing fine. even the damsel get a once in a while feeding. i purchased salt rock to make holes in it after cured since it will dissolve and will be adding some tint to it to simulate some reds or maroons and other colors. some of the rock i made originally is in my display tank already which it is an arch that goes from both high piles of rock. i glued a nice ricordea in pink/purple to it and hope it will cover it all in time. some prototypes i have donated to friends that have in their tanks like small donuts and clam look alike for zoas to grow on.

well if your using the standard portland cement I would put it in normal tap water to cure it....once cured go ahead and put it in your 55g salt and seed it however you want.

If using a standard cement, it may take a while for the PH to stabilize. Lot's of water changes are the only way to help cure the new rock. If the rocks are small enough, put them in your toilet tank (no kidding) not only will you save some water, but with every flush, you get a water change.

I know someone that does the toilet tank curing and he claims that becuase of the constant water changes ( flushing) that it cures 2-3 times as quickly he has some really nice peices he has made this way

If the pH is still high I would not use a glass container gunk from the rock lechate will cover the entire tank (at least this has happened with my curing bins and bath tub) and is a pain to clean. Use a rubbermaid tote or trashcan instead. The powerhead should be fine for circulation but it is more important that you do at minimum weekly waterchanges I would suggest daily wc's for the first week or two and then 2x a week till you read a pH of 8.6 or less a day after a 100% wc.

I did about 95% DIY rock in my 180 gallon. you are going to want to cure the rock in reg. tab water for about 6 weeks. I wouldn't even bother checking the PH until around week 6 in fact. Change the water our daily, keep a power head in there. After about 6 weeks i checked the PH about every 2-3 days until it stabilized. After about 7 weeks i filled the tubs with salt water and let it sit for another 2-3 days and see if the PH went up ( it did not) So i put it in the tank with the LR i already had. 9 months later my tank is stable, the coraline is spreading over all the DIY rock, and it is pretty hard to tell the difference other then my DIY rock is BIG. If i was to do it again (and i might) i will make smaller rocks.

By the way. I would not use a glass tank to cure them in. when curing they leach a nasty gunk that will cover the glass. you will have the scrub it with vinegar water later if you do that. Get some cheapo rubbermade tanks and cure the DIY rock in it.

Also it saves a lot of water and trouble to let the rocks cure for 28 days without water. Got this from [url=http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=11472856#post11472856]ultimate DIY rocks[/URL] thread.