Applying pond foam.

[Derek03]

Has anyone ever tried applying the foam to a tank that is already sitting upright?

My tank is inwall and there is no way of getting it out to lay it on its side. There is no water in it but I have rock in it already and would like to add the foam where the rock doesn't cover.

 

[Kreeger1]

I've done foam 3 times in different tanks, would never do it again. Love the look but it just doesn't hold over time and floats up. Its painful to watch
Erik

 

[Derek03]

I was afraid of that possibility but have read a couple of people having great success.

My problem is I have an external overflow in the middle of the tank and I am building a pensula open in the middle. You can see through the bond of the overflow and there isnt really much I can do about it other than foam. My original plan was to do the back before the tank went onto the stand but I got ahead of myself and the tank was such a tight fit in the wall that I cant get it back out.

I think what I am going to do is put it on a piece of eggcrate and secure it to the rocks with zip ties

 

[Elliott]

I did mine sitting up, used 1/4" acrylic panels, cut them to fit through the top lid, then foamed them outside lying flat, then spot glued them to the back wall. I left about 1" all the way around and then filled in with foam to secure them, they have not moved! worked out well and was easy to do, can also be removed when I sell it

 

[Kreeger1]

good plan elliot

 

[woodycb]

I used egg crate for the foam on a 5gal I built as an experience. Worked out very well, trimmed down the sides and it wedged in nicely, filled the gaps with more foam and havent had any problems with it yet.

 

[mrpet]

seems to me no problem with plexi but glass it may not hold i
did the back and sides of my 375 took longer than i thought stuff
is really messy use gloves will take weeks to get off your hands.
i just sprayed it on and used my hands to shape it. wait about 10 mins after you spray and it can be shaped...

 

[mrpet]

by the way mine is in wall and i had to climb inside the tank to do it if you spray alot in one place it will fall so you may need to hold it for a few mins.

 

[Derek03]

I like the plexi idea even better. I have quite a bit lying around. Any tips on shaping it. I dont really like the dog poop look.

Also Elliott how did you spot glue it? I was thinking mabey hot glue?

 

[Elliott]

I used silicone to spot glue it (GE type 1 without antifugal) just to hold it in place, leaving 1" all the way around, then I filled in the 1" gap with more foam to snug it up, remember the foam expands, I also foamed a little in between the sheets to make it one solid wall, I also foamed my overflow boxes in each corner while it was sitting up, really came out nice. wear latex gloves, it's easy to apply and shape, gets real sticky but you'll get the hang of it. don't let it cure in direct sun, turns green then white!

here is a couple shots

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[Derek03]

Wow that looks really nice. I hope mine turns out like yours.

I ordered the foam today from Dr. fosters&Smith. I only ordered 3 cans since I dont really have that much to do. Hopefully that will be enough. I am also going to start lying out my plexi cutouts today so I will post pictures later of my tank and rock layout.

 

[Elliott]

the foam doesn't go far, I used 14 cans for my 8 x 2.5 area. I got mine here:

www.foampower.com