Idea for Faux sand bed. Envirotex Lite high gloss finish.
- Thread starter mattjk
- Start date
but it would still be joined to the sides. making it probably impossible to remove.
I guess if you made a frame and built it onto the cutting board outside the tank and laid it in panels like you would starboard.
Id just like it better if it in no way bonded to the glass and had about 1/16" of room around it.
I guess if you made a frame and built it onto the cutting board outside the tank and laid it in panels like you would starboard.
Id just like it better if it in no way bonded to the glass and had about 1/16" of room around it.
hmmm ok.
well I had some polyurethane resin epoxy whatever from a past project. its a 2part mixture that dries crystal clear, 90D shore hardness.
but I have used it before; and if you drop it into water; it disappears. so my thought is; what if you submerged the sand in it; mix it up but dont sprinkle sand on top; infact, add more resin over it so its smooth.
not sure if itll work yet. unfortunatly this stuff does get hot. hot enough that I didnt dry the sand enough and it evaporated in the mix causing lots of bubbling. atleast thats my theory on why it bubbled. Im going to try again with some VERY dry sand and see what happens. Im just doing little 4x4" squares for testing purposes now. in a wooden mold sealed with special sealent, and waxed with special wax for this purpose. if it works; I should be able to do the same thing with larger peices and lay it in. hopefully anyway.
well I had some polyurethane resin epoxy whatever from a past project. its a 2part mixture that dries crystal clear, 90D shore hardness.
but I have used it before; and if you drop it into water; it disappears. so my thought is; what if you submerged the sand in it; mix it up but dont sprinkle sand on top; infact, add more resin over it so its smooth.
not sure if itll work yet. unfortunatly this stuff does get hot. hot enough that I didnt dry the sand enough and it evaporated in the mix causing lots of bubbling. atleast thats my theory on why it bubbled. Im going to try again with some VERY dry sand and see what happens. Im just doing little 4x4" squares for testing purposes now. in a wooden mold sealed with special sealent, and waxed with special wax for this purpose. if it works; I should be able to do the same thing with larger peices and lay it in. hopefully anyway.
MeuserReef
Welcome to the next level
arenze.. dont you think that the clear layer would look a little wierd once the coraline begins to grow? If you have a layer of smooth epoxy and the Purple stuff starts to grow.. it will appear suspended in the water.
Just a thought.
Just a thought.
Marshall
Premium Member
The effect you're going to get (and parts of mine have this from where the tape folded over on itself and no new sand sprinkled on top) is a 'lake' of sand. What I mean by this is imagine a hobby train set with a faux lake.. it looks like water (reflective) but is really just hardened epoxy. The only difference is that there won't be any texture but it will be sand colored. I would suggest not doing this.
Cheers!
Cheers!
for the coraline I thought I could just remove it like one would on the front glass. as for the lake of sand, noted. my hope is that under water it doesnt have that affect; it just disappears and you cant tell that there is a seem between the clear water and the clear resin. just did a small box, nothing to lose. the other problem with it anyway is air bubbles, I have a pressure pot so I can cure it under 80psi. but cant fit more than a few inch mold. so full sized it might get bubbles; and thatd obviously be a problem.
well it was relatively successful. I think the over lay could have been thinner, only from a "hovering" standpoint for rocks, algea, and snails ect. but a smooth top didnt seem to harm the overall appearance of the sand at all. in person you would not have any idea that it was solid, or covered over. you cant tell there was anything in the water except at the edges.
hmmm photos do a bad job of showing it but the first 4 photos are with the square submerged. you probably dont see anything but pure sand either way. not sure whered Id go next with this though.
I molded it onto acrylicby the way, with metal tape walls. just thinking that the exposed sand would be very rough; hard to blow ditrius(sp?) off, and might attract algea even more and you cant do anything. so this way I would go in there with a CC or scraper or whatever and clean it up.
I molded it onto acrylicby the way, with metal tape walls. just thinking that the exposed sand would be very rough; hard to blow ditrius(sp?) off, and might attract algea even more and you cant do anything. so this way I would go in there with a CC or scraper or whatever and clean it up.
. had it left over; and it can bend into crisp corners since its metal. also nice and smooth.snookcatcher
In Memoriam
well im almost done with the plumbing on my 90 gal and im gonna do this new "faux" sandbed. how much epoxy do i need to buy? and also which type sand is best. southdown, caribsea etc. thanx a lot i love this new idea!
snookcatcher
In Memoriam
well im almost done with the plumbing on my 90 gal and im gonna do this new "faux" sandbed. how much epoxy do i need to buy? and also which type sand is best. southdown, caribsea etc. thanx a lot i love this new idea!
snookcatcher
In Memoriam
sorry double post
Cool idea, I'd done/seen similar on some freshwater projects, and some of my customers have followed suite. For large african cichlids that prefer caves, we got some large pvc elbows and such, and covered it with food-safe counter top spray epoxy and rolled it around in whatever the gravel/sand in any given tank was, and they turn out great.
King-Kong
New member
snook, depends on your taste. I used one 32oz package which barely was enough.. if your wallet allows it, try to get a larger package. I also used aragalive dry sand.. i think its that caribsea type. i rinsed it and dried it in the sun before using it.
Photos of my 90g with fauxsandbed:
http://www.d3f.org/misc/fish/90g/08c-cuttingboard.jpg
http://www.d3f.org/misc/fish/90g/09-fauxsand.jpg
http://www.d3f.org/misc/fish/90g/09b-fauxsand.jpg
http://www.d3f.org/misc/fish/90g/21-faux-sand.jpg
Photos of my 90g with fauxsandbed:
http://www.d3f.org/misc/fish/90g/08c-cuttingboard.jpg
http://www.d3f.org/misc/fish/90g/09-fauxsand.jpg
http://www.d3f.org/misc/fish/90g/09b-fauxsand.jpg
http://www.d3f.org/misc/fish/90g/21-faux-sand.jpg
snookcatcher
In Memoriam
well my friend works at michaels and he hooked me up with a 32oz and a 16 oz package of the envirotex epoxy, now i have to get starboard (or somthing similar?) and sand, what kind of sand have you guys used (the caribsea is 40$!!!!)
snookcatcher
In Memoriam
i want it to be a little higher than the black plastic part that runs along the bottom, would that be enough????10lbs?
