DIY Live Rock???

[AquaDen]

A while back I saw that someone was making live rock from Great Stuff spray insulation. I would really like to do the same thing! Does anyone have the standards of making it. I know that egg crate can be used to form it but what keeps it from floating? What is used on the insulation? Crushed coral? Any guide lines would be great. If someone might have pictures of the process then that would be awesome!!
Gary

[erikharrison]

TexReefer's (Mike) tank is almost all Great Stuff foam rock. I tried to make something cool and ended up putting it in my storage shed. haha.
OU812Pezz (Patrick) makes some REALLY sweet looking agrorocks. Send him a PM, I'm sure he has some stuff! My main show piece was made by him and I lovvvvvveeeeee it!

[Richard]

I used Handi-Foam around small (baseball) pieces of base rock to make a dsb retaining wall. Great Stuff is probably cheaper though. I'm sure Mike will agree that it looks awful at first but once it gets covered in coralline it will look fine.

I read somewhere that there is an oil based Great Stuff. You DO NOT want to use that kind.

[jroescher]

Somewhere there is/was a thread with pictures of the meeting held at TexReefers house where Great Stuff rock was demonstraded being made. I just couldn't find it when I searched.

Yes, it does float. You will have to weigh it down with something to keep it in place.

When the stuff is still wet, sprinkle crushed coral or something similar on it for texture.

For larger pieces, you have to layer the stuff on or it will collapse. Spray some, let it start to cure a bit, then spray on some more. Use eggcrate for structure.

[AquaDen]

TexReefer is where I saw it before, I think. I just was not sure if I should start with a piece of dry rock and build the foam around it? This way the foam would not float. But, not so sure if that is a great idea or not? I am going to start to experiment with it to see what I come up with. Ill make sure to wath out for the oil base foam!

[apedroza]

He used eggcrate and pvc and then built around that.

[Darth-Tater]

He gave the piece to me. It is sittingin my fish room waiting for a tank wide enough to go in. I can take pictures tomorrow if you need.

Tater

[jmiller29]

I read that plain limestone is good. Where does limestone come from after all. Reefs!
Anyone have problems with using limestone?

[RayAllen]

The problem with Limestone is that It can be really dense and not porous enough to be beneficial unless you go the holey rock which in my opinion doesnt look good in Saltwater aquariums.

[brewercm]

I would only use limestone or holy rock for the very bottom base rock if you went that route. You really want to get more pourus rock for the rest. You can get dried out old live rock and use it for a fraction and seed it with a good layer of live rock. This could save you some $$ if you want and it will seed pretty quick but may take longer for a good coraline to get going onto it. This is what I've done minus the limestone in all of my tanks. You can also make your own live rock, there are some good recipes out there.