The Foam/rock Projects Here Thread

[Babybrown1249]

Got something heavy planned for the big arch?

I have got about 85 lbs of LR in my current tank that I will transfer over plus about 20 lbs I got when I picked up this tank...I also plan on siliconing the eggcrate down so I do not have to worry about floating.

I am curious though...what type of resin should I use to seal the foam? Also should I use sand or CC to cover the foam for the natural look?


Side note...Live Crushed Coral from my current tank or New fine sand for the new tank?

 

[devicore16]

hi there guys! well i've been reading this thread for sometime now and i will be starting my foam project this weekend! soo Excited! anyway ive got some questions about coating the foam with resin:

is it okay to apply the resin right away even if the foam isnt cured yet? i mean 24hrs. of curing time hasn't been reached yet(but the foam is already dry and fully expanded.)

see, coz i will be using LiveRock and time is very crucial so that there's lesser die off. length of time really matters to me and i wanna rush things up!

Thankss,
Niel

 

[customcolor]

#809 need help this is urgent.

i wouldn't

 

[customcolor]

I just found this thread, and boy am I glad. I had my new tank foamed 6 months ago when I first started. Lately I noticed that my foam wall looked interesting, like jagged rock and real natural. Then I realized that when I first got it, all of it had round corners. I've read some threads on this and figured that my foam wall is deteriorating. I'm really dissapointed since I thought this was a good job when it was done. I didn't know that it had to be coated with epoxy after it was installed. I'm not sure what I'm going to do now.

you may have to rip it out since it will all go away anyway...if you use beckett pond foam you will not have to seal it up with epoxy.

 

[customcolor]

hi there guys! well i've been reading this thread for sometime now and i will be starting my foam project this weekend! soo Excited! anyway ive got some questions about coating the foam with resin:

is it okay to apply the resin right away even if the foam isnt cured yet? i mean 24hrs. of curing time hasn't been reached yet(but the foam is already dry and fully expanded.)

see, coz i will be using LiveRock and time is very crucial so that there's lesser die off. length of time really matters to me and i wanna rush things up!

Thankss,
Niel

that should be ok....but you still will have good die off...24+ hours out of water will kill i would say 50% of the liveliness of the rock....

better off taking rock out and letting it dry...your other rock in the tank will reseed it. dry rock bonds better to the foam any ways.

 

[JG777]

Did anyone get a dusty black film buildup in the water from the foam? I placed it in the bathtub with a powerhead overnight and this morning the bottom and sides of the tub had a fine black buildup. Glad I didn't install it in the tank yet.

 

[swflfisher]

If I made my own rock how much live rock would I need to seed it? 50-50 ratio?

 

[customcolor]

more live rock the faster the seed...but just a piece the size of your finger nail is all you really need

 

[customcolor]

Did anyone get a dusty black film buildup in the water from the foam? I placed it in the bathtub with a powerhead overnight and this morning the bottom and sides of the tub had a fine black buildup. Glad I didn't install it in the tank yet.

nope...did you have live rock on it? if yes...was it dry or wet rock when you started?

 

[JG777]

nope...did you have live rock on it? if yes...was it dry or wet rock when you started?

I used dry base rock and the Tetra pond foam, filled the tub again and looks better this morning, perhaps the dust is from trimming the foam on the backside.

 

[schatzi]

perhaps the dust is from trimming the foam on the backside.

It is. Trimming the foam can make a huge mess

 

[biecacka]

+1 on dry rock adheres better to the foam. i learned this

corey

 

[gholtmeyer]

I went to Lowes and HD last night to pick up a couple of cans of the Beckets black pond foam. They carried a different brand. I looked to make sure that it was pond foam. But as a second thought I wanted to see the words UV protected on the label. They were not there. I read in the fine print that to be UV safe, I would have to paint the foam once cured. Well, s of a b! Why would I want to pay $14 a can for something that I am going to have to epoxy when I can buy the Great Stuff for $3 a can? The Great Stuff, if the epoxy is put on has been stable in peoples tanks for multiple years, correct? The only diff, other than $11 is that it is black. That was part of the appeal to me because I was not going to do the entire tank in the rock walls and my overflows are black and the tank was made with black silicone. I knew that with time the sides and back would be covered in coraline and corals. So now, I am wondering if I can find a tan Krylone spray paint, paint the overflows, and use the Great Stuff, epoxy over it and then put the sand in the epoxy. Thoughts?

 

[customcolor]

I went to Lowes and HD last night to pick up a couple of cans of the Beckets black pond foam. They carried a different brand. I looked to make sure that it was pond foam. But as a second thought I wanted to see the words UV protected on the label. They were not there. I read in the fine print that to be UV safe, I would have to paint the foam once cured. Well, s of a b! Why would I want to pay $14 a can for something that I am going to have to epoxy when I can buy the Great Stuff for $3 a can? The Great Stuff, if the epoxy is put on has been stable in peoples tanks for multiple years, correct? The only diff, other than $11 is that it is black. That was part of the appeal to me because I was not going to do the entire tank in the rock walls and my overflows are black and the tank was made with black silicone. I knew that with time the sides and back would be covered in coraline and corals. So now, I am wondering if I can find a tan Krylone spray paint, paint the overflows, and use the Great Stuff, epoxy over it and then put the sand in the epoxy. Thoughts?

FROM my experiance with becketts....if its under the water it will be fine...if it sticks out of the water it will discolor.

i found this out on my 150xt (was taken down and sold a few weeks ago...and being replaced with a 40 breeder...yep pond foam in that one too ) 98% of my foam in the 150 was under water like all my other tanks i have done (4 others)...but the other 2% was above the water line just under the trim. that foam discolored and started to become brittle. Again NONE OF IT was covered with epoxy.

....now if you use krylon...it may chip off easy.

in my 40 that i just did i used the newer hd brand. i used it once be for in another tank with no ill effects neither.

 

[gholtmeyer]

but the problem is I can't find Becketts around here. I did not want to go with some other brand that no one has a track history with. So, I guess i will go with the Great Stuff and put the epoxy over it? and as long as I have the epoxy, I guess I could paint that on the over flows and put sand on that to help blend it in.

 

[customcolor]

you could always order some beckets from http://www.petmountain.com/product/pond-cleaning-supplies/11442-522527/beckett-waterfall-foam-sealant-black.html

the other place where i used to order it from no longer carries it...thats ok though...this place has free shipping on orders over $49!!! other place was over $75 :{

and the other pond foam from HD....well give me about 9 months and ill let you know!! it would start to break down in that time if its going to

 

[AquaticEngineer]

Thought I would share the foam rock work I did for my 200 gallon coldwater tank.

Everything was done by spraying the foam directly onto the acrylic and using rock salt to give it texture. Some of the larger formations have an egg crate inner frame for the foam to adhere to.

The only thing thats not either foam or egg crate in this tank is the barnacle clusters that are formed around the returns for the closed loop.

Final color was done with a 1 part epoxy paint in a slate gray over the black of the foam.

 

[Kevotron]

A few quick question regarding the rock wall, i have built several panels for my 180G, i used great stuff pond foam however there was alot of crevices in which i could not cover with epoxy & sand, is that a concern seeing as it will be submerge salt water for years ? Also after applying silicon to "glue" the panel to the glass water will get in behind the panels im sure as it is not water tight... will that cause problems later on as well ?

 

[gholtmeyer]

So if I have to use the yellow Great Stuff, I am going to epoxy it and then put the sand on top. Do I need to epoxy the back of the rock wall as well? As in the back with the egg crate side?

 

[biecacka]

why not just use the foam that doesnt require epoxy? save yourself a step
corey