making live rock

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LordErrorprone

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Aug 9, 2009
Messages
230
I read its possible to make LR so could i use rock from my backyard to make LR, its shape like river rock so i assume its from a nearby river.
 
Well, live rock from the ocean is very porous. Thats what makes it so good with biological filtration and providing habitats for critters that live within love rock. If the rock is very porous like the rock from the ocean, then i dont see why not. It would start off as base rock though, and then in time, and in the tank, it will become live.
 
I'm not too sure about that. River rock is for the most part solid and therefore extremely dense compared to live rock. Live rock have many cavities and passages to breed life and for inhabitants to dwell and hide. If live rock is harvested properly you'll also get a lot of the life that was living it when you get it in your tank. IMO you'll be far better off sticking to actual live rock and your livestock will be happier too.
 
As i already said lol.

But anyways, skip the river rock and just get base rock if you dont want to spend alot of money on live rock. It will become live over time and suits your tanks ecosystem way better than dense river rock.
 
Not to mention adding possible contaminants or heavy metals....
 
As i already said lol.

But anyways, skip the river rock and just get base rock if you dont want to spend alot of money on live rock. It will become live over time and suits your tanks ecosystem way better than dense river rock.
I think we were typing at the same time :D Your post pop up when I entered mine lol.
 
rofl. Cool. See, people say no to the river rocks dude. It would be better to just go the live/base rock way. :)
 
I made some of my own rock out of oyster shells/sand and portland cement.
When I first added it to my tank: 1 week
img_1015392_0_e53dd6ce93fea9fbd2a73dce9810a1d6.jpg

A few weeks later:
img_1015392_1_d600fabbdd9145972edebb2cbe9ba9f2.jpg
 
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Yeah TC you do have some pretty amazing DIY rock there. But that would be about the only type of DIY rock i would try to make, let alone trust. Good work though.
 
I'm going to make some of that. I found a guide on how make it. Thanks for the idea.
 
Just be sure to cure it and be very aware of the PH. It will be amazingly high for awhile. Other then that it should be fun. I did it just to say I did and it came out very nice and pourous. Remember to make it thin or the pieces will come out to heavy. also don't use to much cement. you're not making a highrise. lol
 
I have a rock. No clue what kind it is but 1 side is all pouros (or however you spell it) and the other side is nice and smooth. But i can do cool stuff with it so i am going to mix it in with my live rock to make it live.
 
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