DIY rock

[Mrt88]

Hi all,
So I have recently posted about reusing some of my rock that has zoas and bubble algie on it.
I don’t feel easy about bleaching outdoors with them on.

I’ve seen some great articles on here about diy rock. It looks great. But I have seen various “curing times” from 2 weeks to 6 months.
Can anyone point me in the right direction for this ?

Thank you all

 

[sbash]

From what I have read, there are two types of curing with DIY rocks. I will assume you are using cement as a binder (which most of the good recipes seem to).

First, the (Portland) cement cure time is up to a week depending on the environment. This is to literally cure the dry rocks into, well rocks and not just a pile of rock-like goo... That said, apparently there is a low pH version of the cement, which takes longer to cure.

Second, the live rock cure time. Technically, curing dry rock into live takes a couple months (I always bank on three months). However, given the high alkalinity that comes along with using cement, you need to let the rocks cure in water for a while until the pH drops down to a steady 8.4.

If you haven't read the following thread, I suggest you do. It is a bit confusing with all the back and forth, but the OP has clearly done this before, as well as some of the other people who commented:
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-rock-tutorial-info-thread-rocks-walls-floors-etc.31971/

Note: I have not made my own rocks before, but I have done extensive research into it. I just want to clear up the confusion from our reefing vernacular with the word "cure" and the cement cure times. Two different cures, two different meanings entirely.