The Foam/rock Projects Here Thread

[flyguy1821]

Xanthometopon, not sure about putting a power head into the wall, might be an option.

I wonder if your intake on the powerhead would be restricted.

There are many that have encorporated returns from closed loop, etc, into the wall.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Xanthometopon, you could put a pump in there, but you'd need to make sure you can get to it for removal so you can clean it periodically.

 

[xanthometopon]

I have already considered this and would just have to make an extension for my weir.

I have already asked for my new tank to try and leave me some 4inch gaps in the bracing next to the weir, which I am waiting to get confirmation of.

I was then going to try and incorporate it into a type of overhang as the rock work goes up the wall.

It all sounds good in my head if you know what I mean

 

[ashrond]

the powerhead that runs my closed loop system is benieth my spillbox. IF i ever needed to get to it, i would either simply remove 1 rock on the right side of the tank, or remove the spillbox. depending on why i need to get to the powerhead, to date i have only done this once and that was to test the fact that i could.

 

[xanthometopon]

Here is a top down view of my idea

 

[james3370]

you could use a short piece of pvc for the powerhead to mate up to & the flow to blow thru & then attach the rock around it to hide it

 

[xanthometopon]

Thats what I was thinking, have a practise one already set up

thing I was a bit worried about was the vibration though

Any ideas???

Was thinking a bit of neoprene between eggcrate and glass/weir?

 

[Whacked]

OK I started my wall for my 40B. I used 2 cans of becketts.
I've never used the foam before so I was a bit surprised when it shot out thick and rough. It reminded me of a AFFF fire extinguisher (Navy days) in the sound and the way it shot out of the nozzle. It layed out on the eggcrate about 1" to 1.5" thick. Then put the base rock and PVC pieces in.

Boy they werent kidding when they say it expands!

It actually was much too thick and all but devoured a few pieces of rock. So I hacked and hacked away at the foam to expose more of the rock. Had to hack away to get to the PVC openings too, then run a drillbit thru to clear out the PVC, it was still gooey inside even tho its been a couple days.

Anyways, I figured the foam would be porous but didnt expect such large air pockets. So now I have a question.

I bought 2 part 30min epoxy (bob smith industries, I found a hobby shop in Lodi) thats in 4.5oz tubes. I've never ever worked with 2 part epoxy before. Is this stuff going to be thick enough to cover most of the air holes? looking at what i've got to cover I am guessimating i'll need a couple more epoxy packs.

Also, any special brushes were used for the epoxy? I'll probably stop by Harbor Freight and pick up some cheap throw-away brushes

 

[flyguy1821]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15361241#post15361241 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Whacked
I bought 2 part 30min epoxy (bob smith industries, I found a hobby shop in Lodi) thats in 4.5oz tubes. I've never ever worked with 2 part epoxy before. Is this stuff going to be thick enough to cover most of the air holes?

looking at what i've got to cover I am guessimating i'll need a couple more epoxy packs.

Also, any special brushes were used for the epoxy? I'll probably stop by Harbor Freight and pick up some cheap throw-away brushes

I would say that it wont be thick enough to cover all the airholes, but you can alway apply additional product to the area. My foam was thick enough I figured the air hole didnt go all the way through the foam.

My 75 I used 1 pack of 9oz? the bigger one. I am going to do just a little bit more though when I have a chance.

Brushes, I used the little hobby brushes. These look like soldering flux brushes, maybe 1/2 inch wide. I liked them because I could get into the crevaces easily, were cheap, and were cheap! At hobbytown I bought 30 for $1-2. I get a little impatient so covering the wall will take a while. I wish I could use a larger brush to apply the epoxy but I am not sure how much epoxy I would have wasted.

 

[customcolor]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15361241#post15361241 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Whacked
OK I started my wall for my 40B. I used 2 cans of becketts.
I've never used the foam before so I was a bit surprised when it shot out thick and rough. It reminded me of a AFFF fire extinguisher (Navy days) in the sound and the way it shot out of the nozzle. It layed out on the eggcrate about 1" to 1.5" thick. Then put the base rock and PVC pieces in.

Boy they werent kidding when they say it expands!

It actually was much too thick and all but devoured a few pieces of rock. So I hacked and hacked away at the foam to expose more of the rock. Had to hack away to get to the PVC openings too, then run a drillbit thru to clear out the PVC, it was still gooey inside even tho its been a couple days.

Anyways, I figured the foam would be porous but didnt expect such large air pockets. So now I have a question.

I bought 2 part 30min epoxy (bob smith industries, I found a hobby shop in Lodi) thats in 4.5oz tubes. I've never ever worked with 2 part epoxy before. Is this stuff going to be thick enough to cover most of the air holes? looking at what i've got to cover I am guessimating i'll need a couple more epoxy packs.

Also, any special brushes were used for the epoxy? I'll probably stop by Harbor Freight and pick up some cheap throw-away brushes

there is no reason to cover the holes. the foam is not porous!. if it was then they wouldnt use it in boats for extra boyency. the holes you see i wouldnt worry about....i used beckett and NEVER covered it with epoxy! and its ben 2 years this month and still the foam is firm and not showing sings of breaking down!!! that is why i recomend it to every one...

granted beckett is like $13 a can but it will save you lots of time and will save you an extra step (unless you want to put sand on your foam) if you use beckett then you dont have to buy the epoxy nor put it on...saves you at least 1 day

use the regular great stuff ($5 a can) go buy the epoxy (prices vary) then take the risk of making shure that you covered every spot on the foam so it wont get uv damage...if i recall Kannin was or still is having problems with his foam breaking down and it was only running for like a year befor it was happening...

 

[Whacked]

I still epoxied where I hacked the foam. piece of mind really since the cut bits seemed a little 'softer' then the rest.

a little caution when using the epoxy.
I dumped the epoxy into a old cheap throwaway tuperware container, then added the hardener. Mixed well then started applying.
I used up maybe 1/2 of the epoxy (been working maybe 5 min) when I noticed the container was getting hot. Well it is toasty outside (100deg or so) so didnt think too much about it. Then I noticed it was starting to harden (this is 30 min stuff) and was giving off a thick vapor. I quicky used what I could and now the tuperware is very hot and starting to deform. so I quicky applied the sand then placed the container on the sidewalk. I caught the barest of whiffs and no, not something I would want a full snort of.

Sooo,.. I wouldnt mix the whole batch at once. I probably wasted a third of it.
The good news is I have 2 more packages. So i'll finish it up tomorrow and cover any spots I missed.

 

[flyguy1821]

I mixed mine in rather small batches and used cardboard, from a six pack I think.

 

[CoRPS]

Ok so I've finally picked my project back up. Using Z-Poxy 2 part epoxy and some random sand I picked up from PetCo. I'm applying the epoxy with a small hobby sized paintbrush and using a spoon to sprinkle the sand on top. However, it's not looking very great. I don't know if it's that the sand is too fine (it's like sugar/flour) or not using enough epoxy?

Any help?

 

[Andrea_Aust]

I applied a couple of coats of epoxy and used a small kitchen sifter to sprinkle the finest sand on ... 2nd coat, then added a coarser sand.

I found the finer sand coat hid the foam really well. Once that dried the next coat was done with the more coarse coral sand and this gave it all a more natural, even effect.

Hope that helps.

 

[markviiisvt4]

Here is a pic of my 29 I've been picking at. You can check out the build here.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1674286

 

[ViEt-TiN]

I used a cheap 2 part epoxy from ace hardware and I let it sit for a few days. When it was dry the epoxy was rock solid but after sitting in the tank filled with saltwater it softened like silicon. Anyone else have this problem? Im afraid Ill have to re coat with a better resin...

 

[Fizhstiks]

Do the rocks have to be dry before foaming them? I want to make one but none of my lfs sell dry rock and it seems like such a waste to buy live rock and then dry it out...

 

[Montezuma]

Just wodering how many other people have had bag algea problems with the foam rock walls. My last tank had a terrible algea problem that was a pain to control. I noticed in a lot of these pics people have algea problems.

 

[xanthometopon]

Hi

In everyones experience whats the best foam to use.

I can get hold of great stuff but it looks as if people have had problems

Should I just use the bog standard expanding foam??

Cheers

 

[Whacked]

I used Becketts Pond Foam.
Sure, great stuff is cheaper, but if you miss a spot with the epoxy, you'll end up with a junk wall.
The only parts I epoxied was where I cut the foam. I used the 2 part epoxy I picked up at a model railroad/hobby shop. After I applied the epoxy I didnt get dainty and sprinkle sand, I dumped a handfull then pressed a bit.
I had avout 5lb dry sand in a tupperware container. My wall was on a piece of plastic. After I covered one area and it dried, I used a clean brush to get the loose sand off, then funneled the sand back into the tupperware to be used after epoxy the next area.

overall, I spent about around $60 for my foam/rock wall. I'm happy with it and I know I wont have to worry about it breaking down like I would if I had used great stuff

Montezuma: My tank has just finished its cycle (ordering my first fish today). I used 100% base rock and sand. too early to tell about algae but I have a HUGE diatom outbreak. I imagine from my sloppy sump baffle silicone work, the huge amounts of silicone I used to attach the wall and the silicone I used to form a bead around the wall. Guess time will tell if I get GHA or other nasty algae.