need advice in building foam rock wall

[AIR-FX]

ok i know i can get light defuser stuff at home depot,but where can i find pond foam? i figured tractor supply would have it but no! i have a 72 gal bow front and i want to build a kool rock wall with skull cave and different ledges. i got bitten by the wall bug after seeing aww 419s tank. i will be installing a glass wholes kit this weekend and really want to put in rock wall before putting tank back together.

so 2 questions..
1. where can i get pond foam?
2. what kind of epoxy do i use and where can i buy it?

 

[AIR-FX]

being an artist i want to get really creative with this wall and hopefully inspire others to do the same! once it is started i will do a step-bystep thread of the build!

 

[Neoz]

Looking forward to seeing the *wall*. I like them as well and was going to build one in my 90 tank but I ran out of time. IMO the most important thing is to make the rock wall look real. Good luck...

 

[aww_419]

Hey kevin if you wanna stop over i have a can of foam left and I believe some z epoxy as well and Ill go over a few does and donts gimme a call Ill be back in town on fri

 

[AIR-FX]

hi aaron you'll have to pm me your #. this is gonna happen this weekend so any info soon is greatly appreciated from all.
my big things is i need to know where i can buy this stuff.....one can isnt gonna do it but it will help so thanks for the offer

 

[Paradiddle7]

Have you done research on this? I was interested in it but I was suspicious of the long term ramifications, specifically PO4 and NO3 buildup.

 

[aww_419]

you can get the foam at lowes home depot but it is almost twice the cost compared to online. the reef safe z epoxy i had to order.

 

[AIR-FX]

i found z poxy on amazon. 12oz is like $20. how much will i need? 4ft long tank. do i put it on wih a light coat? or heavy coat. how long do i have to let it dry b4 i can add to tank? and how long b4 i can put my rock,corals n fish back in?

 

[aww_419]

it depends how much foam and rock you use. the more dry rock you use the less foam, sand and epoxy is needed and vice a versa. Its not a short process. It takes a few days for the foam to dry then another few days for the epoxy to dry. and that is assuming you have dryrock and some dry substrate

 

[AIR-FX]

i was gonna use live rock..........now that i think of it.........foam probably wont stick to wet rock....lol im a dumb a$$ guess im just in tooooooo much of hurry. ok time to slow it down. i'm guessing dry rock i need to buy online?

 

[chrisguy]

Don't under estimate the buoyancy of a foam wall. Most people struggle to have them weigh enough to not float in their tank. Sometimes you have to silicon them to a tank wall to keep them in place.

 

[AIR-FX]

ok some more advice needed. how much live rock should be used? (lbs wise)
i was also thinking of useing those heavy duty(no metal all plastic) suction cup hooks used in shower stalls. if i turn the hook upside down it shoul hole my rock wall in place(meaning down) and from tipping forward. any other crazy ideas to anchor?(i"ve read silicone doesnt last)

 

[reefman5511]

Kevin, if you're looking for some great looking dry rock check out BRS. Think they may even have a free shipping deal going on right now.

 

[toddmh]

hey Kevin..I have a bunch of dry rock from macrorocks http://www.marcorocks.com/ not sure what sizes you want,but for a few bucks you can have them..I have a few large and a bunch of small ones..