Home made live rock?

[Mebbid]

I am wondering if anyone here has tried making their own live rock. How did it work out? How well does it get colonized by life forms? Pictures would be appreciated.

 

[Dav3]

I haven't tried it myself yet just due to the really long curing time. A local reefer has been doing it for years. Sometimes entire rock scapes for new tanks. Functions just like other rock. Can be more porus but also more brittle if not done right.

 

[mrvincent]

I have dead rocks that I introduced there's 3 weeks. They start to have a "marine smell" like oyster smell. They start to color brown too, I just think it's some diatoms growing on it...

I'll see in few month what it does...

 

[Wy Renegade]

Didn't do my own, but purchased man-made rock. They have colonized and colored up as well as any natural rock I have in my system.

 

[mrvincent]

I just think my rocks will end with a purple color, as coraline just start to spread anywhere...

 

[Spechty37]

If you ever looked at the live rock at petco they told me it is all man made

 

[TheTodd]

The stuff at mine usually looks like lava rock.

 

[Spechty37]

I know so did mine I'm just say what the guy told me. He probably didn't even know lol

 

[Gregcoyote]

I start with quarried rock, then seed it with some live rocks. I keep a batch going all the time as I use them as sacrificial rocks I grow encrusting corals on. Easy Peasy.

 

[joshuajimenez]

Yeah I did I went to like a construction and got a bunch of rocks then stuck it in my pool for a day so the chlorine can kill bacteria and stuff the put it in fresh water for a day and then in my tank once the cycle gets going it will basically be live rock

 

[Wy Renegade]

Yeah I did I went to like a construction and got a bunch of rocks then stuck it in my pool for a day so the chlorine can kill bacteria and stuff the put it in fresh water for a day and then in my tank once the cycle gets going it will basically be live rock

Dependent upon the type of rock you acquired. Not all quarry/construction rock is suited to become live rock.

 

[joshuajimenez]

That's all home made rock

 

[Gregcoyote]

Here is a piece of the quarried rock BRS sells. Only about 4 months old. In another few months it will be solid pink.

 

[Mebbid]

Since I found a new used 90g reef ready tank to upgrade to instead of my 40b I just don't have enough rock anymore used half of it just to make 1 small structure. I think I'm going to try the diy route to fill it. I'm not too worried about maxing the amount of live rock out since I'm gonna be stocking the tank slowly.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Seeing what I have seen, I wouldn't do it any other way starting out again. I would buy just about 10% live rock and the rest fresh rock. Hitch hikers can be either interesting or a disaster. Starting fresh has many advantages.

 

[Mebbid]

Seeing what I have seen, I wouldn't do it any other way starting out again. I would buy just about 10% live rock and the rest fresh rock. Hitch hikers can be either interesting or a disaster. Starting fresh has many advantages.

I have about 30lbs of live rock in my 20g reef atm. I am seriously considering removing the corals from the rock and killing everything on it for no reason other than to get rid of the obscene numbers of vermetid snails infesting my tank.

 

[Iceman72]

I will never start a new salt water tank with more than one small piece of live rock again. Waste of money and in the long run cause me more headaches than anything. Base rock for FTW!