DIY Live rock questions

[BCOrchidGuy]

Lots of videos and advice on You Tube so my questions are hopefully simple.

Instructions tell me to use portland cement but I've seen a few people say any cement will do... thoughts?

Water softening salt is used in a lot of the recipes so I'm wondering if anyone has a local source for this and finally the oyster shell, where will I find it? I was thinking otter co op but haven't had the time to call them yet.

D

[intarsiabox]

I'm not sure about Vancouver but here Superstore (Loblaws) carries the water softening salt for cheap. Farm supply stores sell crushed oyster shell but I've seen at PetSmart as well, I don't recall the price. I don't want to say for sure that regular cement is cement but I don't think there is a difference. Cement is very alkaline and the rock formations can take awhile to finish leaching out into the water before it can be used in a fish tank. There are other sources of cheap dry rock as an alternate to live rock. Pukani reef rock comes to mind as an example.

[ReEf BoSs]

Fwiw I just used quikrete hydraulic water-stop cement to hold two rocks together. First time using but it was recommended a few times online. 10ibs was 15ish dollars at lowes, if i recall correctly. Portland is recommended because it wont leach things and i beleave the ph swing is not as bad as other companies.
Interested in your results, Good luck