Joe_P

$6 -$8 per 10kg of grade 0/1 sand could get you quite alot of rocks... esp. when a avg reef requires more than 100 kg of it.... You guys work out the equation... and you would roughly understand how much $$$$ you could save....

4 and 5 parts of sand to 1 part cement.... more cement..... rocks would be denser.... The amt of water to add the to the mix depends on how viscous (did I get the spelling right) you want it to be....... if theres too much water, shapin it becomes difficult....

Jus to add on ..... Was wondering if the foundation of rocks are made of lighter and cheaper materials.... like foam.... and the external made by shaping wet cement/sand onto it....... maybe the rocks would start to float.....

There are methods to get them really porous... eg getting clumps of rock salt and inserting them into the mixture ... the salt would dissolve during the curing period... leaving the DIYed rocks with lots of internal "lobangs".... Someone pls confirm with this... but how porous the rocks get depends very much on the materials used eg... grade of sand mixed with the cement...... even the ratio does affect the way the rocks turn out.... One reefer in RC uses broken bits of foam in the cement mixture... thats definitely gonna help regards the wright issue.... Guess its up to us to find out through experiments here.... There are ways to speed up the curing process..... the idea is to replace the water the rocks are curing in regularly.... some one even suggest placing the rocks in the toilet.... and the stuff get a new batch of water whenever the the loo is utilised.... Utilising of vinegar to speed up the curing process helps too..... Like what I mentioned.... time is the factor here that really determines whether this process is feasible .....

DIY rocks in large quantity will definitely justify the cost .... Portland Cement is cheap ....... Got 10 kg at $4.... You can get better rates if a 50 kg pack is purchased.... Only issue would be the time required to cure them.......

Hi Guys, got out of line from another topic in the DIY forum... http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?...pic=10864&st=30 and have started a new thread here regards the above mentioned.... Please do contribute regards your experience to the DIYing of rocks......

DIYed rocks are basically made by the method mentioned earlier... using the ratio of 1 part cement to either 4-6 parts sand.... only issue with such would be the curing time for the rocks.... but other than that, the process is pretty easy ..... Besides getting the shape desired would be pretty easy through shaping compared with applications by layers.... the part about the mixture of PVC glue and sand sounds "sticky"

another issue.... Pls ensure that trapped air in your pipings have outlets to escape or else you are gonna have a floating rock structure ....... Sunny, the idea for gluing bits of coral chips to the structure sounds pretty good..... I'm also thinking of building a structure for rockwall, but will be using a mixture of portland cement to grade 0 sand for DIYed rock structure..... Maybe can try shaping the wet cement onto the PVC pipings and coating then with a layer of grade 1 sand, therefore creating texture and shapes that are more naturally looking....

Flubb, If you are intending to build racks out of PVCs, do ensure that the base is properly supported so that the entire rock structure weight is spread out evenly onto the glass bottom of your reef......

If feedin GPs to SPS does help that much, I'll be willing to give it a attempt.... Placed order for 5-50 and 50-100 microns GPs, think should be able to cater to a variety of SPS polyps..... One major concern would be whether my filtration might be able to handle the nutrient overloads.... esp since GPs are purely protein stuff and such.... Besides skimming, do you do anything else to handle the heavier nutrient load ???

How often do you feed GPS to your reef??? Daily??

to simulate light intensity, you can simply jus add in more bulbs into your set up... with the bulbs working on different time settings eg... instead of maybe 2 x 250W MHs, you can add in another set, with the second set timed on for a 2-3 hours to simulate the afternoon lighting.... The dimming of lights can be done by dimmable lightings control.... if you employ PLs or T5s...... These could be activated prior to the switching on/off of the MHs.... and later dimmed up/down to create the natural sunrise/sunset effect..... Basically a setup of lots of bulbs and timers ......

I believe that there's another reefer out there with the nick DeepBlue.... He's supposed to be a LFS owner across the causeway.... and did post in this forum before.....

I'm plannin to downgrade..... Tank's made through Gilbert of Marine Pets at Odeon Katong... Cost a little more than usual..... but when you are going for tanks more than 4 footer..... its a good practice to pay more for better workmanship and quality....

If you are lookin for BLVs, might wanna consider those singular pendents carried by X Glare..... They come with 1 x 250W DE BLV bulb and 2 x 70 W Blue bulbs.... that will do in cancelling out the slight yellowish colouration of the BLVs.... You can check the thread in the respective sponsers forum.... a "live: examplr would be the pendent used to light up MLs 3 footer display reef.....

A picture of the tank ....

Been feedin my reef with DTs recently... and have not noticed much difference in my SPS.... the softies in my reef however are developing at a faster rate..... I attribute the softies excellent growth rates to a higher nutrient level.... But as for now, am still wondering if faster growth has got to do more with the intensity of lights rather than feeding.... So currently my feel towards feedin would be pretty neutral unless maybe GPs are really givin you the excellent growth results ... Do remember that you are dumpin in nearly 1600 W into your reef esp with the 2 x 400W sakis..... which PAR exceeds most other bulbs in the market.....

Pikey, That's a pretty cool lookin specimen you are holdin onto.... And yap, acropora cerealis does have issues retaining their colours .... I have one previously that had browned up and till now still's brown..... There's however alocal reefer here that had managed to keep the colours intact.... he's currently with 250W DE BLVs bulb... think he jus switched to the Coralvue bulbs...

the structure of SPS many times gives hints of what kind of environment they come from.... Thick branched stags and tables to be placed under the influence stronger flow... they do much better under such... you will also find specimens under the same species differently structured... due to the areas that they are found in..

Hmmm.... you should be able to get them at pretty reasonable good pricings from Paradiz Reef and Glare.com ...

Heheh.... I'm still considering selling prior to tank downgrade.... a event that takes a very very long time.... and you guys are really fast..... I have already got a long list of PMs askin for the price..... Is there a shortage of Tunze Streams out there in the market???

Would you consider a 6080??

Hi Guys, Have a little difficulty selling off my reef so decided to break them down for sale.... So was wondering if anyone's interested in a 5.5 ft by 2.5 ft width and slightly shorter than 2.5 ft height reef (27 inches) reef..... glass is 12 mm thick... with Eurobracing on top and bottom... A 16 inch high canopy (suitable for MHs) would be added in ..... Pls PM me to make a offer ......

Hi Guys, I have the intention to sell my 1.25 HP Hailea chiller.... Chiller's been with me for about about 6 plus months ... Have not fixed on a pricing yet.... but a brand new set would roughly cost about $1.6k .... I would also consider a swop with cash top up.... Some items that I would be keen on would be 1) H&S Skimmers ( external sump preferbably) .... and..... and.... and.... eh.... Please PM or SMS me ............. for more information or if you have something that you think would interest me for trade....

yes,will work on it... need to bring them way down... and do remember me when you start fragging.... Can I do reservations now???