Foam/Rock Wall for my 265 gallon Tank!
- Thread starter Speckled Grouper
- Start date
virgin reefer
New member
Can't wait to see that tank in 6 months!
mr.badams
New member
Hi everyone. I decided to do a foam rock wall project of my own. It turned out great. The only problem im having now is its day 4 and my skimmer is going crazy. I used gorilla glue vs other epoxys due to some research I did, some people are strongly against it and some people use it with great sucess. Any ideas/opions on the use of gorilla glue and my skimmer maybe being related? Do u think a water change would help? Here is the link to my project http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2211483
on the spot
Active member
Hi everyone. I decided to do a foam rock wall project of my own. It turned out great...
Yes sir, you should be proud. The tank looks good too.
TropTrea
New member
Going back many years there was company that made solid concrete and rock background for tanks. I loved the way they looked but was told they had some issues on allowing control of the pH of an aquarium due to the leakage of lime from the concrete.
Since then I have made a few attempts at making my own. Yes I tried foam but ran into a problem weighting it down on a long term bases. My best attempt was using Auto Body Filler as the base material which comes in gallons pails and drys quickly. The draw back on it though is that has a pinkish hue to it.
Im keeping an eye on this thread as hopefully in the winter I'll be putting up another 75 gallon tank.
Since then I have made a few attempts at making my own. Yes I tried foam but ran into a problem weighting it down on a long term bases. My best attempt was using Auto Body Filler as the base material which comes in gallons pails and drys quickly. The draw back on it though is that has a pinkish hue to it.
Im keeping an eye on this thread as hopefully in the winter I'll be putting up another 75 gallon tank.
schatzi
Professional amateur
Ok, no more traveling excuses or tank issue excuses. Its time for a FTS!
Thank you for taking the time to start and maintain this thread. It has been a big help to lots of us (mine included). Well done!
My foam/rock 120!
Outstanding! looks great!
TropTrea
New member
I know there are two completly different answers to this realy depending upon the application and the type of rock used. From fresh water experience you can get a lot of chemicals bleaching out of the rock. The main culperate is Calcium and Alkilinity which in a fresh water situation will result in a very high pH. This drasticly limits which fish you can keep.
On the Salt water side the Calcium and Alkilinity are not a problem, especialy with corals in the tank. But dependent on your selection of rock you can get high phosphates, high silicone, and/or high iron levels. But if you only use good ocean base rock it should not be an issue.
On the long term bases I just reciently read that any phosphates in the aquarium are absorbed by the calcious rocks. Once someone got a high phopsphate reading it is nearly impossible to bring it down on the long term bases because it can leach back out of the rock into the water. For this reason it is recommended that the calcious substarte and rock ocassionaly be changed. With an elaborate system like this the ocassional change may not be advantages to most people.
avandss
I'm hooked
ahh, i see your point, so if i had some dry rock and it was fully cured i would not need to epoxy coat the rock, or i could just get the dry rock not cure it and never worry about it again?
would it be wise to to the wall in epoxy including the rock and then add some live rock in the front?
would it be wise to to the wall in epoxy including the rock and then add some live rock in the front?
TropTrea
New member
If you get quality dry rock that is formed from dead corals you would not have a problem with even having to cure the rock for a salt water tank. It is advisable to have at least some live rock though. This is a good starting point for the rest of the calcium based rock to eventualy turn into live rock.
The only issue would be if yur phosphates levels ever were to start rising. It would make it harder for you to get them back down without a major change in your rocks.
Speckled Grouper
Sticks Suck!
The Epoxy is mainly to cover the foam and the crushed coral/sand you sprinkle over it to make it look more natural. You don't need to epoxy the rocks...
i built mine with dry base rock and then seeded the system with some mature live rock from a friends tank. The coraline spread like crazy as a result!
A point was made above with the difficulty of removing rocks in the furture. i recently had a fight with redbugs on encrusted colonies of acros. I treated the colonies ont eh rocks out of the tank. The encrusted colonies required me to treat the entire system. Once the display is done and in place.... its done!
still no regrets with my build. I will be starting a bonsai build for my new 60 gal and will be bonding the rocks with this technique again.
A point was made above with the difficulty of removing rocks in the furture. i recently had a fight with redbugs on encrusted colonies of acros. I treated the colonies ont eh rocks out of the tank. The encrusted colonies required me to treat the entire system. Once the display is done and in place.... its done!
still no regrets with my build. I will be starting a bonsai build for my new 60 gal and will be bonding the rocks with this technique again.
imtheoneforyou
New member
Nice job... love your tanks!
