The Foam/rock Projects Here Thread

[Poeticlydead]

I have a question hopefully this thread can answer. I built (what I think is) a great foam / rock back wall for a 75 gallon with built in overflow. I followed the typical steps, however fitting the background in, I had to make some cuts in the foam which left the inside (porous portion) of the cured or hardened foam exposed. I used a 2 part Marine epoxy to seal every exposed area I could observe as well as hardening the outside. My question is if I did not fully cover in epoxy the porous inner portions of the cured wall, will this degrade in the SW tank, or is it okay? When the UPond Foam (which I used) hardens it makes a 'shell' if you will which seems water resistant, I just wondered if the inside porous portion is not designed to be exposed to water.
A poor example of what I'm wondering is like an orange - a hard defensive shell or outside, and once you cut through that the inside is soft and easily damaged, etc. Is the Pond foam like that?

I don't believe so as there are spots on my son's 10g AIO we did over 2 years ago that have never broken down even though the outer skin is missing. I don't think there is any difference as the product is the same all the way through the difference is the inside is full of air pockets. In fact one of my favorite features of the foam structures I've done is the ability to use my knife to poke a hole in it where I want to press in the base of a frag plug (alot easier then drilling or trying to find a spoke that works on real live rock).

 

[daveydoodle]

That's a great idea, never thought of that. I foamed several rock ledges and shelves on the back wall so I could grow corals off the wall and varying heights. Assuming I ever get this thing up and operational.....:headwally:

 

[brudi]

What kinds of sand are you guys using?

 

[antbreon]

something i had thought about recently is i should have drilled some holes in the foam ..before i epoxied it as a frag rack...

 

[T Diddy]

I don't believe so as there are spots on my son's 10g AIO we did over 2 years ago that have never broken down even though the outer skin is missing. I don't think there is any difference as the product is the same all the way through the difference is the inside is full of air pockets. In fact one of my favorite features of the foam structures I've done is the ability to use my knife to poke a hole in it where I want to press in the base of a frag plug (alot easier then drilling or trying to find a spoke that works on real live rock).

That's a great idea, never thought of that. I foamed several rock ledges and shelves on the back wall so I could grow corals off the wall and varying heights. Assuming I ever get this thing up and operational.....:headwally:

something i had thought about recently is i should have drilled some holes in the foam ..before i epoxied it as a frag rack...

This is something I considered when building mine. I think that making the holes after the fact shouldn't cause any issues. Just be CAREFUL. There is glass behind it. :hmm4: That might be a great application for the acrylic rod style frags...just glue the frag to the tip of a short acrylic dowel. I still haven't done it to mine, but maybe it's time. The foam builders may end up with the best ever encrusting displays with natural UV protection for the foam!

 

[volitan24]

I dont know if this has been answered but I cant imagine the foam rock would have the same beneficial qualities of live rock? Does someone have insight or experience? I guess you could always just do a combination of live rock and foam rock. I really like how you can hide overflows or tank equipment using foam rock

 

[Jodah]

If you use chunks of dry liverock, and coat it in sand/gravel, why wouldn't it? Would the foam by itself do the same thing? probably not nearly as well.

Also, for those still looking for the touch n foam, my local true value has it for 9 bucks a can. Home Depot never has it, neither does lowes. ACE Hardware had it for a while, but they don't seem to stock it anymore. Also, Sears can order it for you. Don't believe their website about it being in stock, it never is.

 

[AquaticEngineer]

This is something I considered when building mine. I think that making the holes after the fact shouldn't cause any issues. Just be CAREFUL. There is glass behind it. :hmm4: That might be a great application for the acrylic rod style frags...just glue the frag to the tip of a short acrylic dowel. I still haven't done it to mine, but maybe it's time. The foam builders may end up with the best ever encrusting displays with natural UV protection for the foam!

If you use the UV resistant Pond foam you dont need to cover it in a hard epoxy layer. It sets pretty firm, but soft enough to easily insert an acrylic frag plug or better yet one of the plastic golf tees since they are pointed.

I dont know if this has been answered but I cant imagine the foam rock would have the same beneficial qualities of live rock? Does someone have insight or experience? I guess you could always just do a combination of live rock and foam rock. I really like how you can hide overflows or tank equipment using foam rock

Why wouldn't it have the same beneficial qualities? All you are looking for to build bacteria is a very porous structure, which the foam has. I've been meaning to post a cross section of the cut foam vs a piece of cut dry rock so we can see the difference in porousity.

If you use chunks of dry liverock, and coat it in sand/gravel, why wouldn't it? Would the foam by itself do the same thing? probably not nearly as well.

I would argue that it would do the same thing, and has in my coldwater tank. All that covering it with sand and gravel would do is add even more rough texture for bacteria to be housed on. Thats why I give my foam texture using the rock salt method.

Also, for those still looking for the touch n foam, my local true value has it for 9 bucks a can. Home Depot never has it, neither does lowes. ACE Hardware had it for a while, but they don't seem to stock it anymore. Also, Sears can order it for you. Don't believe their website about it being in stock, it never is.

If anyone lives where there is a Bi-Mart, they have the Touch and Foam Pond and Landscape foam for $4.69 a can. If any of you can't find it that cheap in your neck of the woods just let me know, I would be happy to buy as much as you want and ship it to you. Just hit me with a small finders fee and we'll call it good

 

[CyclistMT]

So I finally get to play in this thread! :bounce1: Although my rock wall has been done for a while I wanted to wait until I had all my gravel in to give a bit more of a "finished" feel to the look even though I'm far from finished. So on to the wall!


From this....

To this....

To finally this....

I still have some more sand to fill in under the wall but I think you get the idea.








Current music selection: Dream Theater - Solitary Shell

 

[yousmellsfishy]

That looks great!!

 

[gholtmeyer]

take foam wall off?

take foam wall off?

Ok, I have the foam walls siliconed to the tank walls. I am already to put sand and water in. Then a buddy who owns a lfs calls me and tells me that he has a guy who wants to buy a 180 as in now. I have a standard 180. My buddy says he has a 220. So, my current tank is 6'x24"x24". The 220 is 6'x30'tallx24". I have the height to put the tank on the current stand without having to modify it. I would have to expand the hole in the wall but not a big issue. The biggest problem I see is this. Can I get the foam walls off of the glass without busting them all to hell and back? Is there an easier way to get them off? Thoughts? I really want the extra 6" in height of the tank.

Also, would three 250w mh work for a tank that is 30" tall with a 2 inch sand bed? Or would I need to go with 400w mh? I am planning on a mixed reef.

 

[T Diddy]

Ok, I have the foam walls siliconed to the tank walls. I am already to put sand and water in. Then a buddy who owns a lfs calls me and tells me that he has a guy who wants to buy a 180 as in now. I have a standard 180. My buddy says he has a 220. So, my current tank is 6'x24"x24". The 220 is 6'x30'tallx24". I have the height to put the tank on the current stand without having to modify it. I would have to expand the hole in the wall but not a big issue. The biggest problem I see is this. Can I get the foam walls off of the glass without busting them all to hell and back? Is there an easier way to get them off? Thoughts? I really want the extra 6" in height of the tank.

Also, would three 250w mh work for a tank that is 30" tall with a 2 inch sand bed? Or would I need to go with 400w mh? I am planning on a mixed reef.

I'm assuming that it will be an in-wall tank accessible from the back only (covered in foam)? I really like the height on mine, but cleaning/maintenance/frag rescues, etc. in a 30" tall aquarium can br quite a chore. Anyhow, have you considered selling the tank as is?

 

[gholtmeyer]

Yes, it is in-wall. I will have access from the back and both sides. I am 6ft 1, with long arms. Yes, thought of that today. I put my buddy, the lfs owner on that task. But, if that does not come to fruition, I was wondering if anyone has removed the foam walls from a tank before and the best way to do that.

 

[sailoracu2]

I just heard fiberglass resin can be toxic to fish, I used it 3 years ago when I did a full foam wall build with no ill effects. I'm on my second build, should I change the resin or can I continue to use fiberglass resin?

 

[daveydoodle]

I went with a 2 part Marine Epoxy with no problems. Can't say on the resin, sorry.

 

[StephNewman]

This is the epoxy they sell at my local HD. How do I know if it is reef safe?
<a href="http://s1050.photobucket.com/albums/s415/stephnewman1/?action=view&current=IMG_0750.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s415/stephnewman1/IMG_0750.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Here are pics of my rock walls still under construction.
<a href="http://s1050.photobucket.com/albums/s415/stephnewman1/?action=view&current=IMG_0749.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s415/stephnewman1/IMG_0749.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s1050.photobucket.com/albums/s415/stephnewman1/?action=view&current=DSC_0048.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1050.photobucket.com/albums/s415/stephnewman1/DSC_0048.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[AquaticEngineer]

Here's some pics of my most recent foam rock work I did for a local reefer who is setting up a coldwater tank with it. He has a thread going that on here I believe in the tanks section.

Not one piece of real rock was used in the making of this.

Here's pics of it at his house now.

And now pics with some of the livestock I got for him in it.

 

[roninouye]

For all foam rock wall DIY, I have noted that a few have removed the smooth part of the pond foam. I did the same yesterday with large needle nose plyers ripping out chucks. The results are amazing because the texture of the foam underneath looks more like natural rock work than if left alone, which I see in many of the projects. I haven't even added sand to the foam and it blends in with the surrounding rock work. I highly recommend this step in finishing your walls because it is easy to tell those who have done this and those who have not.

 

[taijiguy]

I"m wondering of those who have built their wall with the black Pond Foam, will it stand up without the epoxy coating in a marine environment?

 

[Jdellis]

PVC cement glue

PVC cement glue

Great thread very helpful.

I have a new spin on things that might save a lot of money on epoxy and sand application to these projects.

Has anyone tried using the pond foam for obvious reasons (UV protection) and then instead of epoxy just use the PVC cement (the food grade one in a white and gold can I think) to apply the sand. We are already using this stuff in our plumbing with no I'll effects so I don't see why this wouldn't work for this application and just toss the sand on top it.

Any thoughts on this idea or has anyone tried this yet?



I am waiting to start a 150 (60x24x25) with custom stand and canopy. Probably will open a thread for full build once I take it out of my garage and start it.