With the push to save the reef many salt water aquarists have turned to supplement thier tank with DIY live rock.

Aside from it being a heck of a lot cheaper than actual live rock (some report to pay as little as .07 – .09 cents/pound!) it is reef friendly when done properly. What I mean by done properly is that if the instructions are not followed correctly you will find yourself with a dead tank. Fish, corals, rock and sand will all be useless due to the PH spiking sell above 9 and the leached chemicals from the improperly cured and cooked cement permeated into everything.

Don’t let it scare you, properly following the instructions can save you hundreds of dollars and you can mix it with existing live rock. It purples up just like the real thing and you can customize its shape to perfectly fit your tank. Want a peice of your back wall to have little natural looking shelves for corals? Make it! What about a cool tunnel for your gobies? You can do it!

I’ll link you to some recipes I have found on the web, but the basic process is:

1. Mix cement with some other porous substance (many people like to use crushed oyster shell)
2. Add water to a consistancy of thick oatmeal. This allows you to shape it but not runny enough to lose its shape.
3. Shape it in a bed of sand, salt, or aragonite in a water tight container.
4. Allow it to cure for a prescribed time. The time depends on the method, porousness and ingredients used.
5. Once cured (hardened) it needs to be cooked. ***!!!*** This is not a process to skip or to do too quickly. If not done properly and then the rock is placed in your tank it will be doomed.
6. Enjoy your rock in your tank. If you are using all live rock, you will want to seed it with a piece of rock or some small piles of substrate that is already seeded. A filter sock would work as well.

Post assembled about DIY Live Rock

From Reef Central, a recipe and tips by Insane Reefer (08-14-2008)

Dave’s Reef offers his tips and recipe plus includes his test results during the process.

Speckled Trout on Reef Central shows what can be made with DIY rock. (Scroll down)

Want to see what you can do with a little creativity?

If you manage to get to doing any DIY Live Rock, feel free to report back or show us on our Facebook page what you have done!

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