Ok, so I stopped at the HD in Peoples Plaza and Suburban Plaza, and the Lowes off of Ogletown Rd…they all have GREY portland cement. I’m dead set on white. Anyone around here purchased any WHITE Portland Cement locally?
I know it’ll take a few months to cure, but i’m willing to wait and save the $$ and…I’m sure I’ll have leftovers if anyone else is interested in any.
Long story short… The HD in Suburban Plaza is actually able to special order individual bags of WHITE portland cement from Quikrete. 1-2 weeks delivery @ $18.00. In the event anyone else needs the info!
cool is this rock porous, like live rock? I have no idea with the make your own
From the video’s I’ve seen online, its VERY porous. If its not a total disaster from the start, I’ll make sure to document it. From what I’ve researched, porosity isn’t the issue, its the amount of time it takes to leech out all the lime from the portland cement. (can go up to 90days and beyond) Stats show that its less than 11 on the alkalinity. So that means its probably 10.99. I’ll feel happy to toss it in the tank once the water in the curing tank is in the 7’s, aka 7.9ish. I work at a winery and have access to very high resolution Ph equipment.
Here is a quick 30sec video on what can be achieved as far as porosity. Its impressive.
Are you planning to make sand molds for the rock? Are you also doing branch rock and shelf? Some people say put it in the local creek to cure it faster. But what else is in the local waterways? I would like to see how this turns out for you and any problems that arise. Are you using oyster shell or stone / gravel?
I’ll be making various shapes in a Rubbermaid container filled with sand that is moistened to hold a shape, yeah.
White Portland Cement, Oyster Shells, Extra Course Salt (blue bag) for water softeners.
I’ll make some shelf pieces as I’m going for a dual pillar aquascape in the 90gal with lots of negative/open space for swimming / flow. Not sure I’m going to tackle the branch.
Will you document with pictures for us? I may give it a shot sometime.