Idea for Faux sand bed. Envirotex Lite high gloss finish.

[awcurl]

I finished putting in a Epoxy sand bottom in my 240.
The sand Epoxy mixture.

Tank before adding mixture.

After adding mixture and covering in dry sand.

Finished product after removing the loose sand.

I still need to remove the expansion spacers along the rear and side glass.

 

[pickle311]

looks good, how much epoxy and sand did it take to cover the bottom of your 240?

 

[coyoteseven]

What material did you use for the expansion joint (spacers), awcurl?

 

[FastUno]

Running tank on Famowood Epoxy from HD, no negative signs yet?

 

[hdtvguy]

Looking good guys!


awcurl

Did you put anything under the sandbed mix and the glass?

 

[holeinone1972]

Here is a picture of my traveling frag tank.

I used the epoxy mixed with blue dye that they sell at a craft store. I did not want a sand look, but rather a colored epoxy to hide the damadged bottom.

I was going to paint the bottom but all of the moving around would have simply scrathed off the paint, and I would have to repaint it often.

Rob

 

[reefdood]

Great look everybody. I swear, you guys make me wanna rip down my tank for the 3rd time in 4 months just to get rid of my sand and go epoxy

 

[awcurl]

What material did you use for the expansion joint (spacers), awcurl?

1/4" Styrofoam

Did you put anything under the sandbed mix and the glass?

I put it directly on the glass and it's about 1/4" thick. After reading about your experience doing this, I didn't want to make it to thick. I also monitored it for heat, but it was only slightly warm to the touch.

 

[Dz99ls]

that sucks im sure your new tank will be even better

 

[mikeo1210]

These look great but they're too clean. I'd like to see pics of an established tank w/ the faux sandbed. What do they look like w/ corraline growing on them?? Any pics?

 

[Brad524]

mike

is that a skimmer in your avatar :eek1:

 

[mikeo1210]

Yep, that woman's not a midget either. Built in port-holes for viewing. lol.

 

[Bryan]

Anybody tried using the epoxy and sand mixture on a material other than starboard.

 

[DRZL-sauras]

One more example:

Envirotex Lite epoxy + Sand BB

DIY "Great Stuff Foam"

This is 2 mth into a 36G BF upgraded from a 20L.

The faux SB is right on glass, no problems, (knock on wood)

 

[awcurl]

^

 

[FastUno]

As you can see the board has greens, brown, reds & purples. These are the same colors on my rocks, so it is more & more looking like my live rock.

 

[rtcpenguin]

So is it safe to use Famowood High Gloss Epoxy + sand without anything underneath (ie starboard)?

 

[FastUno]

Safe is a relative term. Safe as long as you take safety cautions (i.e. don't pour in hot water, cold water...don't go to either extreme). Don't slam rocks on your floor or let them fall haphazardly.

If you don't want to worry about this then use starboard, because it's safer!

 

[Mishri]

hmm.. what kind of dye do you think would be safe to use with this? i saw some pics of a reef tank with black sand that looked AWESOME! if i could dye the sand/epoxy black that might have a similiar look.... i have a spare tank i could probably experiment with.. hmmmmm..

 

[FastUno]

I was really set on using dark/black sand, until I read a post on how easily the dirt on black stands out.

Matter of seconds to change my mind!