Bay Area Reefers

Sound out on my laptop got to check this out at work tomorrow when I plug into my speakers. Definitely want to check this out.

Nice work, it looks like that was a very well thought out talk. Cool shapes too, did you raffle them off?

I had a lot of fun redoing my rockwork. I had used quickrete before but the fast drying time on emaco 400 really helps. If anyone wants to try their hand at this I have at least 40# of emaco 400 left, plus an unopened gallon of acryl 60. I also have about 6' of 3/8" fiberglass rod left from tap plastics. Will trade for frags.

Couple things I didn't see mentioned here, I used a lot of zip ties to put mine together, as well as superglue and fiberglass rod. I found for me it worked better to mix it very wet and pour it into the crack between the pieces. Some of the crazier shapes are difficult to lock in place without the zip ties, and you can cut them out once it dries. It's easy to patch this stuff also, don't worry about getting it all on the first go. Let the first part dry then flip the pieces over.

It's awesome to see people doing more interesting aquascapes!

Funny, I hadn't even seen the video yet! Thanks Jim...

Zip ties work for sure - I usually mix dry and hold the pieces together. They set pretty quick that way. Another option is to build the structure on its side or back and use a bucket( of sand (or salt mix - I always have a couple of those on hand) to keep pieces together. The fiberglass rods give a ton of support, you can do some really long spans if you use them. Building this way is a super easy process and you can do so much with it.

If anyone has questions on using Emaco, let me know - this really just covers the basics.

John,

Are you up for a rockscaping seminar for our club ? I'm thinking maybe having you give a demo at BAYMAC and have MarcoRock sponsor it.

thanks for posting this, I'll have to watch it later when I have time.

I would love to, always game to talk reefscaping techniques.

Rockscaping seminar sounds great.
Might be fun to do a fun hands on seminar at a club meeting.
Have people bring their own rocks, chip in for supplies, and after a quick intro, build-party.

--

Side note: Don't mix it super-wet!
It causes a lot of issues. There is the normal strength loss, which is not really a big deal.
But it shrinks as it dries, which pulls it loose a bit. Plus, you get micro-channels in the concrete.
I made a mistake in a couple of areas in the first rock I did, and a couple of pieces fell off.

easy there....

rygh wrote:

Rockscaping seminar sounds great.
Might be fun to do a fun hands on seminar at a club meeting.
Have people bring their own rocks, chip in for supplies, and after a quick intro, build-party.

--

Side note: Don't mix it super-wet!
It causes a lot of issues. There is the normal strength loss, which is not really a big deal.
But it shrinks as it dries, which pulls it loose a bit. Plus, you get micro-channels in the concrete.
I made a mistake in a couple of areas in the first rock I did, and a couple of pieces fell off.

I mix mine all super wet.. perhaps you did something else wrong?

So this does emaco 400 significantly raise pH if used in large quantities? Considering it is cement based I suppose so?
Still looking for a way to make a thin solid rock bottom for a new nano project in the works, and don't exactly feel like repeating the 3 month wait again...