dandeIO,
Thanks for the info. Just curious, what are your machine specs?

The last rendering I created above, uses a Standard Atmosphere, does not use GI, and was rendered at 800x600 on a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 6600 (2Gb RAM) in 18 minutes. I need to try a GI one and see how long it takes.

BTW, does your material (and or texture) actually CREATE the rocks? Or are they created first and you texture them later?