3D Printed Live Rock

[GARRIGA]

Curious if others would consider buying 3D printed rock with actual porous internals where those pores could be sized based on best for harboring bacterial colonies without clogging as biofilm develops. Considering all the shapes made today including small boats this could also mean each can design their own interlocking hard scape plus it would weight considerably less, self sustaining without putting pressure on natural reefs and could also be placed at sea to grow diversified bacterial colonies and other life.

Guessing it could be done with different colors to the point one couldn’t distinguish it from the real item. Seen artificial reefs in restaurant tanks for decades. Always wondered why not just add that similar to base and let it developed but as any who’ve used dry rock know. That dry base not the best approach. Yet now we throw rocks in the ocean to be harvest down the road. Why not 3D formed in better shapes? At a minimum. Can be inoculated at home with some actual mariculture live rock or rubble yet I dread the day I’m going to have handle actual live rock which will be inconvenient at best in larger sizes and requires a filled tank.

 

[cdemoss01]

I

Curious if others would consider buying 3D printed rock with actual porous internals where those pores could be sized based on best for harboring bacterial colonies without clogging as biofilm develops. Considering all the shapes made today including small boats this could also mean each can design their own interlocking hard scape plus it would weight considerably less, self sustaining without putting pressure on natural reefs and could also be placed at sea to grow diversified bacterial colonies and other life.

Guessing it could be done with different colors to the point one couldn’t distinguish it from the real item. Seen artificial reefs in restaurant tanks for decades. Always wondered why not just add that similar to base and let it developed but as any who’ve used dry rock know. That dry base not the best approach. Yet now we throw rocks in the ocean to be harvest down the road. Why not 3D formed in better shapes? At a minimum. Can be inoculated at home with some actual mariculture live rock or rubble yet I dread the day I’m going to have handle actual live rock which will be inconvenient at best in larger sizes and requires a filled tank.

I would to be honest.

 

[rhitee93]

How about a scale model of an aircraft carrier that I can "sink" in my tank to form an artificial reef

 

[GARRIGA]

How about a scale model of an aircraft carrier that I can "sink" in my tank to form an artificial reef

That be cool.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

This would be really neat if someone can figure out how to do it!

 

[rhitee93]

The problem is that the marine growth doesn't scale with the model

 

[GARRIGA]

The problem is that the marine growth doesn't scale with the model

Then perhaps just a section of it then

 

[Polymate3D]

Hello everyone

I have already started on this path and so far results have been okay.

I made this rock design with 3 tunnels to the centre and smaller holes for this yellow goby who was unwell. he was being picked on so isolated him with this. He would happily live within these little holes until I finally lost him a while later on.

It was printed in PETG and the biggest issue is how light they are. Future builds I have designed have a dish at the base for crushed coral / gravel as weight.

Here is the exact same 3D printed rock a couple of months later. The frags didn't go well (later found out light was around 90 PAR here). Hair algae had started over it. Also home to amphipods within the structure.

Little fan form made it's home in it.

A different design white 3D printed rock made home to some waving xenia is was placed close by too.

As finally a asterina starfish on the white rock. I found they liked being on them. Possibly good surface for biofilms?

After about 6 months I pulled them out. My small pico reef aquarium stuff I am working on now includes more 3D printing like the pump, base etc and I have a thread on that work which you can find here:

2.5L 3D Printed Pico Reef

- Paul

 

[GARRIGA]

That's awesome

 

[GARRIGA]

Apparently not an issue to replicate and would be easier than glue and sand table top projects

 

[TX_REEF]

Hello everyone

I have already started on this path and so far results have been okay.

I made this rock design with 3 tunnels to the centre and smaller holes for this yellow goby who was unwell. he was being picked on so isolated him with this. He would happily live within these little holes until I finally lost him a while later on.

It was printed in PETG and the biggest issue is how light they are. Future builds I have designed have a dish at the base for crushed coral / gravel as weight.

Here is the exact same 3D printed rock a couple of months later. The frags didn't go well (later found out light was around 90 PAR here). Hair algae had started over it. Also home to amphipods within the structure.

Little fan form made it's home in it.

A different design white 3D printed rock made home to some waving xenia is was placed close by too.

As finally a asterina starfish on the white rock. I found they liked being on them. Possibly good surface for biofilms?

After about 6 months I pulled them out. My small pico reef aquarium stuff I am working on now includes more 3D printing like the pump, base etc and I have a thread on that work which you can find here:

2.5L 3D Printed Pico Reef

- Paul

that's so cool!

 

[DaJMasta]

3d printed rock made of actual aragonite or similar, maybe, but it would be a challenge to make them look organic and get good control over pore size without precise formulation of the mixture being used, and you have more constraints on the mixture if it's going to be printable.

As for plastic rock, no I wouldn't. Near endless microplastic generation, potential for outgassing especially with plastics not made to be food safe or similar, and no alkalinity buffering capacity. Substrate matters a lot to benthic organisms, so something like a burrowing worm, shrimp, or cucumber wouldn't be able to use plastic rock at all, whereas some kinds of growth on its surface wouldn't grow as readily as an aragonite base (though if it grows coralline readily, once its covered it may not be a lot different in that regard.)

I'd consider 3d printed plastic live rock to be roughly similar to plastic aquarium decorations. They may be a look you like, they may let things settle on them, and they will offer some nitrogen cycle capacity with their surface area, but they are really not equivalent to a well established aragonite rock.

 

[Polymate3D]

3d printed rock made of actual aragonite or similar, maybe, but it would be a challenge to make them look organic and get good control over pore size without precise formulation of the mixture being used, and you have more constraints on the mixture if it's going to be printable.

As for plastic rock, no I wouldn't. Near endless microplastic generation, potential for outgassing especially with plastics not made to be food safe or similar, and no alkalinity buffering capacity. Substrate matters a lot to benthic organisms, so something like a burrowing worm, shrimp, or cucumber wouldn't be able to use plastic rock at all, whereas some kinds of growth on its surface wouldn't grow as readily as an aragonite base (though if it grows coralline readily, once its covered it may not be a lot different in that regard.)

I'd consider 3d printed plastic live rock to be roughly similar to plastic aquarium decorations. They may be a look you like, they may let things settle on them, and they will offer some nitrogen cycle capacity with their surface area, but they are really not equivalent to a well established aragonite rock.

I very much agree and as mentioned in my post, there too light and so adding some rock / aragonite is key. I would say you do get full control over the shape and size. For example mine was thriving with amphipods because the pore size was great for them.


I plan to do more 3D printed rock, but with a aragonite sand base for weight in a Pico reef where space is very limited. That way I can control the size and functions I want it too have.

1 example is that 1st purple rock. It had a 4cm hole in the middle to hold cheatomorpha as a nutrient control method and additional home for critters.


Replacing big aquariums rockwork? No way.


Creating small function pieces for small aquariums (<50L) I think with the aragonite or rubble bits of live rock it's plausible from the experience so far.

- Paul

 

[GARRIGA]

These are being built as actual reef structures.

 

[GARRIGA]

I'd consider 3d printed plastic live rock to be roughly similar to plastic aquarium decorations. They may be a look you like, they may let things settle on them, and they will offer some nitrogen cycle capacity with their surface area, but they are really not equivalent to a well established aragonite rock.

Don't necessarily need aragonite rock. Life exists on old ship wrecks, bridge pilings and other structures. Might be getting too far into the weeds on this one.

 

[GARRIGA]

As I understand 3D printing, it's not just plastic. Reefs structures are being built with mud, for example. Want aragonite, why couldn't that be part of the mix and the structure can be made heavier by adding concrete or left hallow. Wouldn't be concerned with pore structure as there's science that suggests those pores are clogged with biofilm and today's live rock mostly land rock thrown in the sea void of any internal pore structure.

Not for every one doesn't mean not for anyone. Let's be imaginative before closing that door

 

[DaJMasta]

Don't necessarily need aragonite rock. Life exists on old ship wrecks, bridge pilings and other structures. Might be getting too far into the weeds on this one.

It's not that life won't exist on something, it, uh, finds a way, but the alkalinity buffering capacity live rock and aragonite sand offers is a useful component to an enclosed reef system. There will also be boring animals and animals that melt the rock to make their homes which simply can't do that on chemically different substrates, or which may be able to but won't be able to recognize plastic as a viable substrate because of chemical or other cues.

Things have evolved to use dead coral skeletons as habitats for millions of years, so just about every facet specific to a dead coral skeleton is used by some organism. Yes, a hard, sight-blocking substrate will let some life take hold, the less similar to what they've evolved to use as a home a synthetic substrate is, the fewer things will be able to use it or do as well on it. If you just want bacteria and frags, that's not a difficult group to accommodate, but I have and want a lot more diversity in my rock, and some of the things I currently have on the rock in my tank would not be able to survive on plastic rock.

Worth mentioning that if you are looking into maximizing surface area in plastic rock - look into your slicer settings and see if you can leave some holes in the exterior perimeters directly into the infill itself. I presume with a fairly dense infill (maybe 30-60%) and a pattern that leaves contiguous cavities, a few holes in the outside shell that directly expose the infill may increase circulation to those interior crevices a lot, which should make them much better habitat for aerobic bacteria.

 

[Extremeengineer]

How about a scale model of an aircraft carrier that I can "sink" in my tank to form an artificial reef

Here it is.

 

[GARRIGA]

It's not that life won't exist on something, it, uh, finds a way, but the alkalinity buffering capacity live rock and aragonite sand offers is a useful component to an enclosed reef system. There will also be boring animals and animals that melt the rock to make their homes which simply can't do that on chemically different substrates, or which may be able to but won't be able to recognize plastic as a viable substrate because of chemical or other cues.

Things have evolved to use dead coral skeletons as habitats for millions of years, so just about every facet specific to a dead coral skeleton is used by some organism. Yes, a hard, sight-blocking substrate will let some life take hold, the less similar to what they've evolved to use as a home a synthetic substrate is, the fewer things will be able to use it or do as well on it. If you just want bacteria and frags, that's not a difficult group to accommodate, but I have and want a lot more diversity in my rock, and some of the things I currently have on the rock in my tank would not be able to survive on plastic rock.

Worth mentioning that if you are looking into maximizing surface area in plastic rock - look into your slicer settings and see if you can leave some holes in the exterior perimeters directly into the infill itself. I presume with a fairly dense infill (maybe 30-60%) and a pattern that leaves contiguous cavities, a few holes in the outside shell that directly expose the infill may increase circulation to those interior crevices a lot, which should make them much better habitat for aerobic bacteria.

Let's not fixate on plastic. Other materials available as I pointed out. Corals grow on plugs made of wood or concrete. These structures don't have to be plastic and buffering can be accomplished without aragonite rocks. Considering aragonite rocks are man made as well then guessing that can be utilized on these printers yet structure made to suit and made hallow and with joins therefore easier to landscape and sell.

Prefer if the direction was to making it work vs why it won't since reefs already being built this way therefore we know it works.

 

[Alexraptor]

Absolutely not. I strive to create ecosystems with a wide range of diversity, which means providing a suitable habitat as well as materials to live and burrow in.

And in fairness, Live Rock IS a renewable resource, and with a little bit of patience it's even possible to grow one's own. At the end of the day, live rock is just an amalgam of coral skeletons, shells, sediments and other calcifying processes.