Aquascaping?

[reefscapeboy]

Just a question to all you reefers on UR. Was thinking of sponsoring UR to make reefscapes for peoples tanks using concrete and concrete/ living rock.
Do you think theres a demand for this?

Heres one of the new ones as an example of what I do- http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=250273

Any comments welcome :)

[lawrence cope]

There definately is! Personally id love to have it done if i could afford it! I think the main question most people would want answered though is does the concrete become porus and live over time or not?

[reefscapeboy]

The quick answer is No. It does allow you to create cool shapes though like

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q4/4 foot deep reef(2).jpg

when finished-

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q4/DSCF0496.jpg

If the filter is in the sump such as DSB or plenum then its ok for all concrete reefs such as this one, if not then the conrete/ LR hybrid is the best.

[lawrence cope]

Can it not be made using salt to disolve in the cement mix to make it porus when the salt has been disolved! There are people on here that have done it to make diy live rock or does it weaken the strength of the structures? Just a thought as im sure alot more people would be intrested in it then!

[lawrence cope]

Out of intrest how muh something like that last picture cost?

[reefscapeboy]

The adding of salt does make the rock a lot weaker. It basically just makes it LOOK more like real rock but nothing else. There is no more biological activity in the any concrete rock than say ocean rock or tufa rock. It will not act like living rock.
As far as I know you carnt make living rock synthetically as real rock has 100s of millions of small capillarys which allow it to denitrify in salt water.
Saying that these reefscape are not suposed to be a cheaper alternative to LR but more a decortive feature to be used with external filtration.
The Reef on the Pics was 4 foot deep 150Kg and £950

[lawrence cope]

That a bit out of my budget range but well worth it it if was! Just wish there was someway to create the same effect with live rock!

[reefscapeboy]

It was quiet a complicated one to make and had to slot together in 6 sections with stainless steel supports hence the price. On the up side LR to fill a 6 by 2.5 by 4 foot tank would have cost a lot more.

This is the point I guess- not sure if its worth continuing making this stuff except for my own tanks. The demand is only there if its really cheap or free maybe? - but for the last reefscape it took 2 weeks to make and had to cure then for 7 weeks with material cost being stainless about £50 cement £30 and marine sand about £60 + other small costs. Possibly not a cost effective in the long run?

Its a hard one to work out-

[tontikki]

It was quiet a complicated one to make and had to slot together in 6 sections with stainless steel supports hence the price. On the up side LR to fill a 6 by 2.5 by 4 foot tank would have cost a lot more.

This is the point I guess- not sure if its worth continuing making this stuff except for my own tanks. The demand is only there if its really cheap or free maybe? - but for the last reefscape it took 2 weeks to make and had to cure then for 7 weeks with material cost being stainless about £50 cement £30 and marine sand about £60 + other small costs. Possibly not a cost effective in the long run?

Its a hard one to work out-

'except for your own tanks' - but you already doing it professionally as i understood it, or are you just starting and using this site for marketing research? (not that there is anything wrong with it;))

why instead of concrete not use reef bones, such as those people get from Germany - cheap and interesting shapes, and will become a proper live rock when seeded in time.

[pinkpony]

QUOTE=reefscapeboy;2253579]The quick answer is No. It does allow you to create cool shapes though like

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q4/4 foot deep reef(2).jpg

when finished-

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2008Q4/DSCF0496.jpg

If the filter is in the sump such as DSB or plenum then its ok for all concrete reefs such as this one, if not then the conrete/ LR hybrid is the best.[/QUOTE]

that is AWSOME i love it, great peice of work.:thumbsup:

i for one would be intrested in your work, how much would that peice cost for example?

:doh: just see the price in next post! bit out of my price range but still a well nice peice of work.

[neilharris]

how much would that peice cost for example?
See post no 6

[neilharris]

I think there may be a lot of people interested, but I think UR is possibly not the best place for this as most people on here already have reefs and therefore your market on here is reduced.
How do you ensure that the rock is inert once cured and is it cost effective? Some people on here have battled for months to get the rock to have stable pH and KH after curing.
Just for info, there are companies that make ceramic rock to your spec and is inert after firing. Looks good too..

[Norvern Rob]

I think there is definitely a market for this kind of thing - but not really on UR. I think you would be better off contacting aquarium installers, especially those that do a lot of commercial work as you could supply the aquascapes for their installations.

[reefscapeboy]

Thanks for all the comments.
I did used to sell to shops but at the end of the day a shop or installer will make more mark up on LR than on a sculpted reefscape so not viable in that respect. Also LR is just buy what you see so no hassel involved and an accepted product.
Again thanks for your views- the decision seems obvious.

[mariusz621]

Would the final product be cured when delivered? I would be interestred, but I don't have space to cure it myself...