ideas on making fake live rock wall

[justindville1987]

Has any one made a fake wall before? Can you give tips on making one? Thanks for looking.

 

[mockery]

C3gear made one. I'd talk to him.

 

[hackman72]

I'll post a couple of links I have on it when I get home to my PC. They're pretty thorough and cover some of the pitfalls associated with it.

 

[jcusmarine]

dawgdude;418006 wrote: Well the easiest way I have seen is to cut a piece of eggcrate the shape you need (or shape you can fit in which might be slightly smaller) and then drill LR and zip tie it to the wall to give it texture. Then use pond foam to fill in and you can sprinkle sand on it to make it look more realistic. From there you can let it dry and cure for a while and then I would suggest an RODI soak to make sure anything that is water soluble (shouldnt be much but I like to take precautions rather than nuke a tank) is gone. You can google it and find full threads with pictures.

Dang, I bought a huge rock and have been hand chiseling it down to shape for a week now.....

 

[c3gear]

I would suggest using black eggcrate instead of white or paint it black with Krylon fusion, I think it may leach something.

 

[mockery]

C3gear;418023 wrote: I would suggest using black eggcrate instead of white or paint it black with Krylon fusion, I think it may leach something.

Why black egg crate?? I want to make a piece for my tank and very interested.

 

[enderg60]

dawgdude;418006 wrote: Well the easiest way I have seen is to cut a piece of eggcrate the shape you need (or shape you can fit in which might be slightly smaller) and then drill LR and zip tie it to the wall to give it texture. Then use pond foam to fill in and you can sprinkle sand on it to make it look more realistic. From there you can let it dry and cure for a while and then I would suggest an RODI soak to make sure anything that is water soluble (shouldnt be much but I like to take precautions rather than nuke a tank) is gone. You can google it and find full threads with pictures.

yup thats what I did on my tank. Just remember to use mostly rock and not much foam or you will get floating walls like I did:doh:

 

[haninja]

There are a ton of DIY rock wall threads on RC, just need to search a little. Here's one example:

 

[c3gear]

Huh? This makes no sense, can you explain? If done correctly pretty much all of the eggcrate should be covered up.

There has been many reports from people that have used eggcrate in there tanks for frag racks, false walls, etc...... that have reported probs of more nuisance algae. There was a big discussion on Nano Reef about this. But it only happens with white eggcrate not black.

A few members painted it with Krylon fusion and the problems never came up, others that soaked in RO-DI , vinegar or bleach still had the issues.

 

[c3gear]

to stop it from floating you could make it fit right under the Rim/Lip to hold it down.

In my case I used my outlet from my return pump to keep it in place.

 

[ichthyoid]

C3gear;418065 wrote: There has been many reports from people that have used eggcrate in there tanks for frag racks, false walls, etc...... that have reported probs of more nuisance algae. There was a big discussion on Nano Reef about this. But it only happens with white eggcrate not black.

A few members painted it with Krylon fusion and the problems never came up, others that soaked in RO-DI , vinegar or bleach still had the issues.

I have heard about this. I am guessing it is because light can be transmitted through the white, but black blocks light. I'm thinking algae that get more light (ie-from 'both' sides) will grow better/faster(?). I'm wondering if it's that big of a deal. I have used white eggcrate for years.

 

[enderg60]

The 18"x24" section of my wall can easily float 20lbs of rock. I wound up having wedge it between some large rocks and the overflow and zip tieing it to the overflow it self.

And yes the egg crate doesnt leach anything, its just plastic which algea likes to grow on, and its reflective...which algea likes as well. Good reason the tangs in my frag tank are fatter then rest now.

But yeah the black pond foam is super easy to use. Just wear gloves because its kinda messy. And if you do get some on you you can use paint thinner or acetone to remove it before it drys. And remember it doesnt like to stick to smooth surfaces like PVC pipe. It needs something to grab it like the shape of the eggcrate. and stay away from great stuff, as it will break down under the UV of the lights over a few years.

 

[mockery]

Ender what is the name of the black foam? Can it be bought at HD?

 

[enderg60]

Ill have to look to be sure of the brand name but its black pond foam, its at HD in the garden/pond section and is about $12 a can.

 

[theplatypus]

EnderG60;418113 wrote: Ill have to look to be sure of the brand name but its black pond foam, its at HD in the garden/pond section and is about $12 a can.

Becketts pond and waterfall foam. I looked at all of the hd and lowes around here to no avail. Ended up ordering it from Ace True Value. Order at least one extra can, it sucks to run out in the middle and then wait another week.

 

[enderg60]

home depot on tilly mill has at least 12 more cans....

 

[slayer]

use an acrylic sheet instead of eggcrate, works just as well. Its just a little bit more labor intensive, but then you wont have to worry about the phophates rising. A plus is then you can glue the acrylic sheet to the back of your tank with silicone so it wont float upwards. I just did it to mine, i'll post pics soon