Aquascaping tips anyone?

[jbird69]

No pond foam at my HD and Lowes. Gotta find some

 

[tektite]

Did you check the gardening section? I found some at HD finally, but it was tucked into the farthest corner in the garden area....

 

[camp]

Can I use the pond foam on live wet rock and get it to hold? If so how long does it take to dry? Will it dry under water?

 

[slief]

Thanks for the compliments guys! I am terrible with a camera and as such, those pictures dont do the system any justice. As with any tank, its a work in progress. It went from reef to a FOLR tank and is going back to reef now as I have just added a bunch of soft corals again. I am also in the process of ditching my 200 gallon wet dry and replacing it with a pair of large sumps to be used as a fuge. The sump swap will likely happen in the next couple weeks.. I will probably strart a seperate build thread on the tank to share some of my unique ideas that I implemented into this system.

Now back to the subject at hand.. Pond foam. Its been a few years and a ton of brain cells since I did the aquascaping. For the life of me, I cant remember where I got the foam from. Its used for making waterfalls if memory serves me and is sold in an arisol type of can with a tube attached. I think I got the stuff from a fish store that sold pond supplies as well. My aquarium service guy (I am too lazy to scrub my own tank) thought I was crazy going about my aquascaping the way I did.. It was a bit of an experiment at the time but it worked out better than expected and has held up for 4 years thus far. He was very impressed with the results as well and has since used the same method on some of his installations.

I was not aware that they sold the stuff at Home Depot. That is good to know and I will have to check to see if the stuff they sell is the same stuff I used.

I will say that the stuff is extremely messy. If you do choose to try it, use some gloves!

I just tried to edit my last post but it didn't seem to work.. Thank you all very much for the information it is very helpful. I think I am going to use the larger pieces on the base and utilize the method Still Wet suggested of drilling a few inches and securing with rods between them.

Can anybody advise on what sort of epoxy to use? Is any acceptable or does it have to be specific sort like the putty kind usually used for securing frags?

I have always used the epoxy sticks to secure frags. The kind can get at most larger aquarium and reef supply stores. I have been reading about people using insant cement type of glues saying they work better than epoxy and bond instantly. While I have not tried this method, I am very curious and intrigued.

 

[Octoshark]

Can anybody advise on what sort of epoxy to use? Is any acceptable or does it have to be specific sort like the putty kind usually used for securing frags?

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3962

 

[jt48]

I have used pond foam before many a times for my koi pond. Slief is correct, very messy, one should wear latex gloves as it is difficult to get off your skin. It expands, so, when you first try it use less than you think. I have purchased the stuff from outdoor pond stores and internet. One of my LFS uses the stuff in his fresh water tanks to create a cave like back wall, very interesting but I did not know if this was safe for corals.

 

[tektite]

The back wall in my aquascape picture was created with Marco rocks and pond foam.

 

[Pinchy]

Great stuff guys, I just had a tough time finding any at Lowes also.. But I didn't go to Home Depot yet, guess Ill try there next! Thanks again for all the help and input, Ill post a few decent pics once its done in a day or two..

One more thing does anybody know where I can get a "splitter" for my return nozzle, so that rather then just one return nozzle it makes two for different direction of flow. Its just a 3/4" threaded piece that screws in Marine Deopt used to carry them but they do not anymore.. Just wondering.

Thanks again!

 

[Pinchy]

Well just ran to Home Depot and picked up a can of "pond foam" mine is actually called "waterfall foam sealant made by Beckett... It was in the Garden section Specifically in the pond accessories. 1 12oz can was $12.75..
<a href="http://s68.photobucket.com/albums/i36/sene8541/?action=view&current=photo-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i36/sene8541/photo-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[stormrider27]

I have a link with some pretty good ideas on aquascaping. The link is from another forum so I don't think it would be polite to post it here but if you PM me I will send it to you.

 

[chris.francis14]

Do you use anything other than the pond foam to create the aquascape? Does the rock have to be dry? How long does it take to create a bond.

 

[cmantis]

If I use the foam to hold my aquascaping together is it permanent or can it be take apart in case I want to reconfigure down the road? This will be my first go around so in case I don't like something I am hoping there is a way I can hold it together but still make changes.