Foam & Live Rock commbo

[Tiggsy]

as the DIY bit has ended i am only posting regular updates in the main build post here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1184780&perpage=25&pagenumber=3

I will certainly add some more pics to this thread but nothing regular now.......hope everyone enjoyed it!

 

[teena]

whats the foam for? could you just do LR? or does the foam hold it together, are'nt you afraid the zip ties may ware in time,

 

[Keelay]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11224238#post11224238 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by teena
whats the foam for? could you just do LR? or does the foam hold it together, are'nt you afraid the zip ties may ware in time,

The foam is basically a sculptors medium, making the creation of almost any aquascaping scheme possible. Arches, towers, islands, caves, reef shelf, basically anything you can think up.

It also provides the benefit of "plugging coral frags" very easy since the foam punctures easily and provides a lot of grip for the plug. All this without the pre-planned plug holes sometimes used in DIY ROCK.

The foam does not hold the rock together, rather the rock makes the very buoyant foam sink and stay put. It is the perfect partnership. The live rock providing the usually health benefits and the foam the aesthetic benefit.

So basically this method provides another (I think very good) alternative to aquacaping enthusiasts than the usual:
+ Basic Pile of rocks.
+ Pin rocks together with acrylic rods (I did it this way).
+ Zip tie rocks to PVC.
+ Make their own rocks using aragocrete.
+ And lastly use a lot of the foam mentioned here by itself.

 

[Tiggsy]

Keelay - all spot on. Should add....i cant see the cable ties ever failing (not in the life of my tank anyway!) and although the foam doest hold the rock ...in a way it does, once it expands to the shape of the rock it gives the whole structure great strength.....you cant wobble any of the rocks - if there was a way of getting the foam onto the frame without cable tie the rock that would also work - but far easier to tie the rocks in place to create your basic shape, then foam afterwards.

 

[teena]

will the foam chip off in spots with time, if i have LR that's been soaking sense Sep, will it die off while im doing this, or could i use base rock, i have all this plus whats in my 75g to work with, im upgrading to a 210,

 

[teena]

 

[Tiggsy]

very hard/impossible to do it with live rock...mine was all bone dry.

 

[teena]

so i can make a wall with LR, just dont use the foam?

 

[Keelay]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11230887#post11230887 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by teena
so i can make a wall with LR, just dont use the foam?

The nice thing about the foam is that it hides the egg crate or support structure. You can zip tie live rock to any support structure, but you might have a hard time hiding it.

To make solid structures of live rock without having to dry it you might consider using the acrylic rod method. I did this method and was happy with the results. In the end there is no support structure to see. Although I like Tiggsy's approach better overall. There are trade offs. If you click my red house, my web site has pics of my aquacaping using acrylic rods.

 

[teena]

do you have a pic of the rods?

 

[Keelay]

I don't want to steal from Tiggsy's thread but to answer your question. This is what I used: US Plastics Acrylic Tubing
I bought 1/4" and 3/8" rods. I got two masonry bits 1/4" and 3/8" although I found this doesn't matter - regular bits work just fine on live rock. Just drill a hole in two separate rocks and insert a short piece of rod to joint the two. It's sorta like tinker toys except you don't see the rods and the holes are deeper. The rod will fit very snug and
You'll need to cut the rod to fit.

I think it is harder to aquascape doing it this way. You'll have to build from the ground up in the tank in most cases. Planning is likely harder because of the construction method and the time constraints of keeping the rock wet. Mine turned out pretty close to plan though.

Sometimes while drilling it, a rock will just split in half or a chunk will fall off instead of just drill nicely. Most holes drill well though.

 

[teena]

how long is to long to keep the Lr out of the water? i could use a big container with SW in it to stack them while i do it,

 

[oyam123]

For LR just use the drill and rod method.
Foam may need more time to dry than you want the LR out of the water. Use base rock for the foaming forms.

 

[Trickman2]

What type of Epoxy did you use?

 

[sayn3ver]

just find some locally that is safe for potable water use. Try west marine. Autozone/pepboys should have fiberglass resin in the paint/bodywork section made by several companies including BONDO. I'd try to get a spec sheet and see if it says anything about use in water/drinkable water systems.

 

[ReefEnabler]

Hey all,
This is an awesome thread. Tiggsy, thanks so much for the detailed info, it has been a big help towards helping me figure out everything for my own aquascaping project (which has its own unique challenges of course).


sorry if this was already discussed somewhere in this thread,

but I noticed that tiggsy said his eggcrate is much stronger and stiffer than the typical white stuff you would buy at lowes.

I got my eggcrate at lowes, and it feels very brittle indeed, I don't feel very good about adhering the rock to it, even knowing that the foam will add support. I'm mostly concerned because my rock structures are going to be 30" tall, which is awfully tall to be relying on foam + buoyancy for support.

Does anybody know a good place to buy the stronger dark eggcrate that was used in this thread?

Thanks!
Ryan

 

[Felix1021]

I was thinking of this myself and milk crates came to mind
I would chop one up and see how strong that is..and take it from there...

I would think that would get the job done...just gotta have a dremel handy thats all

Felix-

 

[Felix1021]

I was thinking of this myself and milk crates came to mind
I would chop one up and see how strong that is..and take it from there...

I would think that would get the job done...just gotta have a dremel handy thats all

Felix-

 

[moses13]

When you built the islands, did you use a framework of egg crate or did you just stack the rocks together and fill in with the foam?

 

[Tiggsy]

for the island i just staked rock, drilled it and cable tied - then used foam to hide the ties and give it support.

works well as its stable as....err....rock!

The pics are in my build but for anyone that only follwed this thread heres some uptodate shots: