Spray on background
- Thread starter mlimb
- Start date
Fitchguy
Member
The background is pond foam. Rob from Southwest Saltwater on Speedway in Tucson sells it. It is about $10 a can. For a 125 I think you would probably need about 5-6 cans. It is really easy to do, as Rob can explain in more detail. But it cured in a couple hours, all I had to do is keep patting it down, because it does expand a lot. So you just keep patting it down about every 20 minutes or so, while it is fully curing up. Then you are good to go. Really easy and I love how it looks, and also gives you the ability to be a little bit more creative with your backgroun, like using it to mount corals, tunnels for fish and inverts, and so on. if you have any more ?'s let me know!!
jhendu
Premium Member
The stuff that I used was from DFS, called Handy foam. 7.99 a can (plus shipping).
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...lpartial&Ntk=All&pc=1&N=0&Ntt=handi foam&Np=1
I love the way it came out. I would recommend (highly) to do as I did and use some aquarium silicone to adhere small squares of egg-crate (light diffuser) to the glass prior to starting the foam. This gives a lot more area for the foam to adhere to than the slick, flat glass. I have heard of other people having their foam pull away from the glass and this is one way to combat that problem. Check out my build thread as well. It has pics of the squares and the foam. I used 6 cans for my 115 but I think I could have done it in 5 had I taken a little more time and been more controlled with the nozzle. Good luck and like Fitchguy said, fire away with any questions.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1277436
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...lpartial&Ntk=All&pc=1&N=0&Ntt=handi foam&Np=1
I love the way it came out. I would recommend (highly) to do as I did and use some aquarium silicone to adhere small squares of egg-crate (light diffuser) to the glass prior to starting the foam. This gives a lot more area for the foam to adhere to than the slick, flat glass. I have heard of other people having their foam pull away from the glass and this is one way to combat that problem. Check out my build thread as well. It has pics of the squares and the foam. I used 6 cans for my 115 but I think I could have done it in 5 had I taken a little more time and been more controlled with the nozzle. Good luck and like Fitchguy said, fire away with any questions.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1277436
donvuitton
New member
You just got to have some finesse. And its easy to do.
cerreta
Premium Member
It gets firm in about 90 seconds. So if you want to manipulae teh foam, you must do it fast.
I did not like teh closed cell look, so I would run a gloved hand across teh nice smoothly laid beads to break teh structure and give it a more natural look.
You can see pics of my tank. I will bump up the thread.
There are many ways to apply this foam and create teh look you want. Others have even used it to build structures and bridges, shelfs, etc in the tank. Corraline will grow on it and I would also dig a little hole in the foam and glue a coral in there to let it grow out of the back wall.
Cheers
I did not like teh closed cell look, so I would run a gloved hand across teh nice smoothly laid beads to break teh structure and give it a more natural look.
You can see pics of my tank. I will bump up the thread.
There are many ways to apply this foam and create teh look you want. Others have even used it to build structures and bridges, shelfs, etc in the tank. Corraline will grow on it and I would also dig a little hole in the foam and glue a coral in there to let it grow out of the back wall.
Cheers
jhendu
Premium Member
Good luck. Start out slow and figure out the process. If able, start on a piece of scrap cardboard or something to get a feel for the speed of the discharge of the foam. I have a full can of the foam solvent if you think you may need it. I think that you can use nail polish remover as well to remove uncured foam.
Fitchguy
Member
And no the solvent does not get the foam off your hands or nail polish remover. I could not get it off for the life of me. I am in the Air Force and i had to go to work, looking like I painted my nails black. LOL ANyway, I work with Jet Fuel and that would not take it off my hands and nails. I then tried MEK (Methyl Ethyl Keotone) I even used a wire brush with this and that took it off some but soon I wouldn't have a hand or nails. I got as much off as I could and then just let the rest wear off,(a week or so). So I would use Latex gloves!! Anyway, you can not mess this up!! Very easy, the whole point of this technique is to make it look like to didn't do it on purpose!! Just spray a few lines going back and forth CONTINUOUSLY...like a bunch of "S's" about a foot long. Then after a few lines, just drag your fingers through the top of it. What you are trying to eliminate is the consisten lines that it will initially make. You will see! To make little ridges and cliffs, just spray more foam in that section and mess it up a little. You are just using kindergarten skills and fingerpainting. THats it, don't waste any of the foam trying it on cardboard. JUST MY OPINION!!
Kentanner11
New member
I have also used it for reptile displays and agree gloves are a must, it will not eat through.
I bought half of the foam tonight and will clean out another Home Depot tomorrow morning. Wish us luck. 200 lbs of live rock, a clam, a scallop, 40+ coral, 3 anenomies, 6 fish, an urchin, a lobster, a shrimp and a bunch of snails, crabs, and starfish are heading into buckets. I am praying they don't all die on while we are doing this. I'll try to take pics of the tank as we go. If they turn out I'll post them. Thanks for all of the input.
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