Aquascapeing with great stuff??

[CloudIX]

i was looking into this style of aquascapeing see here. Wondered of anyone has tried this and their results. I'm more concerned with the long term stability of this. I hear that if the foam is not coated good with epoxy that it starts to breakdown. Also wonder if there is any known chemical issues with this stuff.

 

[jefathome]

Yes, you need to coat is well... and you need it secured to the tank well... Both are easy enough to do though.

Check out my build thread here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=17079129#post17079129




To solve the part about it floating, I encased a ton of marble and Tavertine tile inside the "base" to really weigh it down.. then went way overboard with the Silicone. For the very last section I did everything in-tank and looking back I might have done it ALL in tank bc when you do it outside and then place it in, I guarantee that the egg-crate will have warped a little bit.

 

[CloudIX]

Sweet build. Love that you included the beer with the items needed for your project.

How long have you had this tank running with this stuff? notice any strange issues with chemicals or water parameters?

 

[jefathome]

Since August... PH was a little low, but I think that was due to the lack of a sand bed bc when I put a remote deep sand bed into the 55g drum the Ph went back up from 7.4 to a more respectable 7.8

I also tried the foam-rock thing a few years ago on another build and I was naieve enough to think that it didn't need to be siliconed into the tank... it did!! It floated!!
My point though is that I left the foam-rock outside for two years in direct SoCal sun and the parts that were not coated did discolor and then degrade... as did the actual waterfall/fountain that I made my wife. Places that were coated well had no issues.

Now, looking at the new tank where it is in the water, I think that a good layer of Coraline will also help to keep the UV off of the foam. Plus I did a double layer of Epoxy and sand... as I said, I went overboard to make sure this one worked properly.

 

[Pickupman66]

Orthokardia (bart) has it in his 300. looks pretty good.

 

[John_A]

I thought bout using it in my tank but everything I was reading said it was better to use the pond foam because it had better UV protection

 

[CloudIX]

I have wanted to do this to my tank for a few years. I was just concerned that it would not hold up or there would be problems with the water.

 

[CloudIX]

I thought bout using it in my tank but everything I was reading said it was better to use the pond foam because it had better UV protection

I read the same thing on that. Do you know any place in town that has it instock?

 

[John_A]

I think Lowes or home depot might carry it....Also might be cheaper buying it online not sure

 

[CloudIX]

FYI for anyone wanting to try this. Great stuff has a product that is uv resistant. Here The Pond Foam is no longer made and would have been the same at the great stuff i listed. All the other great stuff product is not protected from UV and you could end up with issues in the long term.

 

[orthokardia]

I really like mine. I did not coat with epoxy and am not having any problems at the 1yr point. Things I would do differnt. 1. clean back glass crazy good i.e. zero salt residue and 2. use silicone to attach it to the glass, using the foam to attach the eggcrate to the glass sounded good, but not so much Feel free to drop by anytime and take a look.

one more thing....the rocks attached to the eggcreate are permanent so you can not remove them to dip an encrusted coral.

one more more thing.....make sure the rocks on the top will not cast shodows on the rocks on the bottom unless that is what you want.


that is all i have to say about that

 

[poolkeeper1]

But i would like to talk about the time i was in the Shrimp Business with Bubba! Hehehehehehe
Great line, Not to Hijack the thread Sorry I couldn't resist.
Bill

 

[orthokardia]

classic

 

[John_A]

Awsome Movie Awsome Foam Job heh

 

[orthokardia]

I found the build thread
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1774116&highlight=foam

a more recent pic
<a href="http://s757.photobucket.com/albums/xx215/orthokardia/?action=view&current=033.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx215/orthokardia/033.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[CloudIX]

one more thing....the rocks attached to the eggcreate are permanent so you can not remove them to dip an encrusted coral.

one more more thing.....make sure the rocks on the top will not cast shodows on the rocks on the bottom unless that is what you want.

Those are 2 very good points that i have not even considered yet. It would suck if i got something in the tank that required me to dip the corals.