My DIY Rock/Foam Reef

I hope Kannin does not mind, but I thought I would add my first attempt at a foam rock background and get some opinions and guidance.
This is the first of 4 - 2' panels that will be going into an 8' long acrylic tank, approximately 360g. The first panel is truly an experiment and may have to be redone depending upon the final result. The first photo is of the basic concept/skeleton with some old live rock tied to the egg crate. I am using the 1/2" thick egg crate.
EggrateSkelaton.jpg


This second photo is after we applied the Stuff. I used both the regular and the large gap Stuff. I found very little difference between the two. I have also sprinkled some rock salt over the final panel. This will be hosed off and soaked off after the Stuff has had 8 - 10 hours to cure fully.

Panelfoamed.jpg


This is a close up of the foam with the rock salt. Hopefully this will give the foam a little more natural texture once it has been hosed/soaked off. We will see what happens.

Panelfoamsalted.jpg


Let me know what you think and if I am headed for disaster

winland
 
Looks like you're trying to build a huge structure with too little rock. If you look at the original post it's mainly rock, gaps filled in. yours is all filler, with rocks in the gaps
 
yeah, you will have to use a ton of silacone to keep all that foam glued to the tank.
on the second note that rock salt will help with texture. you could have even used crystal salt and pored it all over it.
 
That looks like it would be a real problem to keep from floating. Like the others said, use mostly rock and use the foam to fill in the gaps in between.
 
Here's how much rock I used... I probably could've used more.

100_1389.jpg


100_1394.jpg


I like the rock salt idea. There was a guy that posted on here a while back that used a dremmel tool to rough up the foam. I thought that was a good idea too.
 
Kannin â€"œ I’ve read all of the posts in this thread and I must tell you how impressed I am not just with your work, but also the initiative involved in trying to accomplish what you have. Kudos to Tiggsy, also, for his fine work.

I’m setting up a 60 gallon reef that is 48L X 13D X 24H and I wanted to use your method to build a 3-D background for the tank.

I have a question if you could please answer.

I read where you said that you wedged your formation into your tank and I read where you mentioned that Tiggsy have siliconed his to the back glass, which is probably what I’m gonna do.

Have you ever thought about the possibility of creating “dead spots” in water that gets behind the structure and do you think this would be a problem? And if you did, what did you do about it, if anything. I don’t know that this would be a problem, but I’m just trying to get as much info as possible before I start.

Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
 
As far as the flow behind the rockwork goes. I did not address it as Tiggsy did. I left a couple of very small areas in each section uncovered... very small areas no bigger than a dime.

Tiggsy on the other hand... plumbed a return behind his rock work to make sure there would be plenty of flow.
 
They aren't really strategically located. Just some spots under a few shelves where I didn't get foam in... and I decided to leave them open just in case.
 
Thanks again, Kannin. You know, I don't want to be a PITA, but ....

You said that your tank has an external overflow and not a drilled overflow. How did you handle that with your rockwork structure? Did you cover the overflow box separately, or did you integrate a space into your rockwork design to allow for the overflow box that hangs in the tank?

Last question, I prominse.
 
Tank looks outstanding.

I'm trying to figure out a way to do something with my 12" deep tank. the eggcate idea appears to need more depth than I have and, after reading just about every post I can find on this subject, I'm still not sure if the foam on glass is a viable idea or a recipe for trouble.

Any ideas?
 
IMG_2646.jpg
[/IMG]

Here is my latest project. A 150g see through with starphire glass on both sides. The side walls will be foam reef with macro rock.

IMG_2652.jpg
[/IMG]
PVC pipe will come out of the end cap and to make an arch with macro rock zip tied down. Small amount of foam used to firm it up.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12437009#post12437009 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bruno3047
Tank looks outstanding.

I'm trying to figure out a way to do something with my 12" deep tank. the eggcate idea appears to need more depth than I have and, after reading just about every post I can find on this subject, I'm still not sure if the foam on glass is a viable idea or a recipe for trouble.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Can you ziptie it to pvc with holes drilled in it?
 
Kanin - I thought about that also. I'm just not sure I'll have enough room, and I'd hate to start something, then have to chuck it all because of that.

I really only have about 1-1 1/2" to work with down near the bottom, with maybe a ledge or two sticking out about 3-4" higher up. Looks like, until I find a better idea, I'm either going to have to stick with a plain glass background (ughhh!) or MAYBE, I can do a 3/8" eggcrate and use all 1-1 1/2" rocks with a few larger ones for overhangs, etc.

With a 2' X 4' area to cover, using all smal rocks will probably take me forever, and then if it don't work, it might be just enough to discourage me into just forgetting the whole thing.

If you think of anything else, please post here. I won't be sytarting my tank for a few weeks yet, as I'm still gathering all of my essentials.
 
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