Foam & Live Rock commbo

I talked to the guys at Aquatic Eco-Systems, Inc and they recomended putting the sand on while the foam is still tacky. They said they have done many tanks like that and had good results. Mine is already dry so I will be using epoxy paint over the foam to attach the sand and help preserve the foam longer.
 
I recently had a discussion with Mark Vera (who manufacters Phyto2 and Zoo2 products) and he has done many a tank with just the greatstuff foam, and sprinkling the sand and putting the rock into it while it is drying. And, he also said that he just puts it directly onto the glass, no eggcrate or anything. From what I have heard from him, this works very well, with no problems at all. He doesn't ever use epoxy, unless he cuts some away. If he cuts any away, he uses the epoxy, but he says that the skin that dries on the top is enough.
 
If you do just glass, I think you limit it to just foam and sand. I used the egg crate to hold my rock.

Also a guy i know did foam directly to the glass. After a while the entire wall became detached from the glass. That would be my main doncern.
 
I made mine on eggcrate panels in case I ever had to move the tank in the future. I can pull the panels and keep them under water on the move so everything "living" on the wall doesnt die off. And also to hold the large rock I ziptied on. I did just stick smaller rocks into the foam while it was drying. It holds them very strong once its dry. I didnt think to put sand on the foam while it was drying though so I will put epoxy on later and sprinkle the sand onto the wet epoxy. Just to make the black foam look a little more natural.
 
Did you soak the foam structure in water for a few weeks to let any toxins leach out? Or is it ok to drop right into your tank?
 
What if we were to lightly "Blast" the wet foam with sand from a hopper? This would allow for a deep/thick coat of sand that should give the natural look without eppoxy. Question is will the foam seal well once any sand is applied? Blasted or not, sand being added to the foam probaly causes thousands of micro openings to the inner layer of foam.
 
i live about 5 miles from aquaticeco and want to pick 3 bottles of the handifoam black today.(actually in less than 6hrs as they open at 8am)

does it have to cure for a certain period?i will be using LR that has been cured and in my system for over 2yrs. i was hoping to frame it with PVC and eggcrate and foam away using some of my med/sml rocks sprinkle with aragonite/crushed coral and let sit for an hour or so then place in my 100g rubbermaid sump to prevent as much die-off as i can.
 
you may have a hard time bonding Live rock. The bio film on the rocks will still be there if they are live. There is a MIN of a 24 hour cure period ne ways, I belive for the beckett foam.
 
you will improve the chances of it grabbing the rocks if you scrub the bonding area with a toothbrush right before.

I dont think that "bonding" has to be whats holding it together. if the texture of the rock is porous, then the expanding foam will expand into the tiny holes and can grab onto the texture. but scrubbing away algae and other bits will help this process.
 
thanks reefenabler.i was going to foam a couple of shelf pcs into a eggcrate/foam wall.

i picked up some 1/2 cpvc just in case i decide to drill and frame with it as well.i still have some time before i set the display back up,

but with any reef related project it seems as if i cant decide on an idea fast enough
 
DSCN4247.jpg
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heres my dilema.

i know i can hide the 2 locline returns towards the front of tank with sml LR and some foam.

im stuck trying to work a design for the 1 return pipes and the acrylic overflow box in center/rear.

thank god i have a ton of eggcrate, as im exhausting every possible layout.

i want the center of tank to be as open as possibel as i have 3 tangs.the L/R ends will be my LR stacks which will taper up to the corners allow plenty of ledges for corals.

the center area seems like the only way possible is to have a 'wall' which to me might not look natural.

any ideas?
 
Even if u get a great bond the foam still wont cure in time for any of the "live" stuff to still be alive.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14441400#post14441400 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefEnabler
you will improve the chances of it grabbing the rocks if you scrub the bonding area with a toothbrush right before.

I dont think that "bonding" has to be whats holding it together. if the texture of the rock is porous, then the expanding foam will expand into the tiny holes and can grab onto the texture. but scrubbing away algae and other bits will help this process.
Click to expand...
 
does it need to?

first, it will be dry to the touch in a matter of minutes. if you're worried about stuff still leaching after that, you could submerge the rocks in a temporary SW tank for another few hours.

keep in mind that liverock will live for hours and hours out of water depending on the humidity.

You could also just use a SW spray bottle every hour or so and you could keep the LR alive for a long time.



I used a specific "pond foam" version of great stuff, its black and hardens quicker than the typical insulation kind.
 
well you could try the spray bottle method, just try and continually spray the surface of the rocks. the foam will probably still cure fine and the rock should live, but you might want to place it into its own tank for a bit and make sure theres not a mini cycle.
 
devgru,

you could do a cave in the center. two pillars that cover up both of those vertical pipes, then a top connecting the two pillars could cover up the overflow box (I couldn't see any return line in ur pic).

youd see the black background as a cave between these.

the only tricky part in this would be making is asymmetrical as possible. a symmetrical cave in the middle would probably look awful.... but if you varied the shape alot, make one pillar taller and fatter, and used the composition around the other areas to your advantage it could look GREAT.

why not do some nice sketches first?

i'd avoid a wall in the center, since a well doesn't help add any depth, it just terminates. if you start playing with the depth you can try to make the tank appear 'deeper' than it actually is by having shadows and overlapping forms in the aquascape.
 
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