The Foam/rock Projects Here Thread
- Thread starter yousmellsfishy
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rileyrk190
New member
Hey everybody, i'm new to the site and loved this thread because i'm thinking about doing a rock wall to my ten gallon nano, which i hope to upgrade to a spare 14g tank. There seems to be a debate about whether or not to use great stuff, so i was just wondering if there are people that use it with success? I personally am not sure..i have used it before and noticed that it gets pretty flaky when when it sits in water. I have read on another forum, when i tried making a terrarium, that peoples geckos and frogs were dying mysteriously so i do believe there is some truth to there being something wrong with using it. Although, on the other forum it also said there are two kinds of GS and that one is safe and one is not, but i forgot which kind is safe. Besides home depot and online does anyone know where i can find the pond kind of foam?
Mr T-reefer
New member
From what I have read, Great stuff doesn't have a UV protectant (would be a black foam otherwise) and thus breaks down due to the exposure from the tank lights unless there is multiple coats of sand to cover it. The tiny amount of space between two sand grains is still enough to cause degration of the foam. The pond foam that seems to be highly recommended is Touch 'n Foam Landscape Exterior Filler Adhesive. Putting sand on the cured foam is optional. I have seen it at OSH and I think Ace hardware has it, but you may want to look around online a little more too. Speckled grouper played around with three types.
Check out the members tank listed in the first post of this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1438807
Check out the members tank listed in the first post of this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1438807
Mr T-reefer
New member
Urchins
Urchins
Has anybody had any experience with a sea urchin in a foam rock tank? I want to get one, but I'm worried that it will either scrape the sand covering the foam away or comsume some of the foam itself or both. Not sure what kind of effects there are if it comsumes some of the cured foam (death?).
Urchins
Has anybody had any experience with a sea urchin in a foam rock tank? I want to get one, but I'm worried that it will either scrape the sand covering the foam away or comsume some of the foam itself or both. Not sure what kind of effects there are if it comsumes some of the cured foam (death?).
orthokardia
New member
Zack1a,
You mentioned using parchment. I was not sure what parchment was. I thought fancy papaer for invitiations. So in my genius I used a sheet of MDF that seemed slick enough. I am now using a shovel to pry the eggcrate from the MDF. It is almost like they were serious about the stuff being an adhesive
So can you discribe parchment a little more and where I might find it; by the eggs or meat?????thank you,
rustyjames
EMT-B
Look for parchment paper in the baking asile, near the wax paper. Or try one of those gormet cooking shops.
Andrea_Aust
New member
I'm thinking it may also be called 'Baking Paper'? That's what we call it here in AU ... used for baking - nothing sticks to it. Mind you I thought the waterfoam sticks to anything so that's interesting.
FWIW I used 5 tubes of silicone to glue my wall on. I covered the whole thing so that it would be well and truly sealed to the back ... no room for detritus to settle.
11 months later - nitrates remain at zero. Mind you, good skimming and system maintenance helps too.
Very happy with my wall. I also created a bridge from the left over foam that hooks up to the wall via ledges. I did cover mine with several layers of sand - starting with a fine beach sand sifted onto the wet epoxy ... then another coat of epoxy and a coarser sand. I don't think you'd need to do that though ... but either way, I'd not skip the epoxy layers as it gives the structure added strength and will stop worms boring into the sealed foam.
FWIW I used 5 tubes of silicone to glue my wall on. I covered the whole thing so that it would be well and truly sealed to the back ... no room for detritus to settle.
11 months later - nitrates remain at zero. Mind you, good skimming and system maintenance helps too.
Very happy with my wall. I also created a bridge from the left over foam that hooks up to the wall via ledges. I did cover mine with several layers of sand - starting with a fine beach sand sifted onto the wet epoxy ... then another coat of epoxy and a coarser sand. I don't think you'd need to do that though ... but either way, I'd not skip the epoxy layers as it gives the structure added strength and will stop worms boring into the sealed foam.
customcolor
New member
use wax paper....i know that works also and most homes have it already 
and why not let worms dig into your foam? they dig into the rock we have already...do you think epoxy will stop them?
and why not let worms dig into your foam? they dig into the rock we have already...do you think epoxy will stop them?
Andrea_Aust
New member
I haven't seen any holes in mine yet where worms have bored in ... maybe they like the skeletal coral better than eating epoxy?
nicknguyen
New member
This is a 120gal, 3 sided rock wall I did for the store I work at. Came out better than I expected.
customcolor
New member
:lmao: thats a good thing
bmiller1234
Member
I just used a large trash bag, foam didn't stick to the plastic at all and the epoxy peeled off quite easy, worked well for me and I was able to pick up trash bag and save all the CC and Sand for a later project
xcelprintingcom
New member
My DIY Faux Styrofoam Rock Wall
My DIY Faux Styrofoam Rock Wall
Here's my thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16551566#post16551566
My DIY Faux Styrofoam Rock Wall
Here's my thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16551566#post16551566
kcress
New member
This is a 120gal, 3 sided rock wall I did for the store I work at. Came out better than I expected.
How about some details?
nicknguyen
New member
120gal, center overflow, no center brace. made total of 5 section. 2 side, 2 back and 3 sided to cover the overflow. first cut the eggcrate to fit, drill holes in dry dead rock. Zip tie to frame. black pond foam in, 2 part epoxy and threw on sand. silicone the back and brace with pvc pipe until silicone cured. Just make sure to leave some space for the corner to fit. I had to cut minor pieces here and there to fit in properly. flush the tank out several time with fresh water. threw in some live rock and cycle.
slief
RC Sponsor
While I am not familiar with Atlantic Pond Foam, I can imagine it being too different from the beckett foam.
I used Beckett foam and never used any resin. My aquascape was done more than 4 years ago and has held up perfectly. There is no need for resin with the pond foam from my experience. Its just another step that will make it harder to undo should you want to change things up in the future.
My tank build is in the large reef tank section if you would like to see what my setup looks like and how I did it.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476
chriscummings83
New member
Should I use Pond Foam or 100% Silicone to attach my rock/foam wall to the back of my Biocube 14. I don't want it to come off unless I pry at it. So semi stuck is my plan.
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