Need opinions / suggestions on Foam/rock wall.

[kayakatl]

What do you guys think about this? I am starting to gather Ideas for my 92 Corner build. Has anyone done something like this?

http://ottawainverts.com/2008/12/13/building-foam-rock-walls/">http://ottawainverts.com/2008/12/13/building-foam-rock-walls/</a>


My Opinion at this point is that it is a sweet Idea. I would use a darker sand so It looked like rock, not sand up my walls. I love the idea of the shelf space for coral, and I would have rock still in the middle of my tank.

 

[hackman72]

2 things...use pond foam and not the regular foam and make sure you have enough rock otherwise the foam will make it float.

 

[kayakatl]

Where does one acquire Pond Foam? I plan on using more rock than foam for the benefits of having real rock, foam will really be there to glue the rock in. I just had a thought so I am going to type it as I think it.

Tempered bottom glass, So I was going to do some sort of cal flow deal, maybe I can make the wall be my overflow into a trough with my 3 drain pipes. I may have to get on sketchup for this one if no one is following me.

 

[johnr2604]

kayakATL;473800 wrote: Where does one acquire Pond Foam? I plan on using more rock than foam for the benefits of having real rock, foam will really be there to glue the rock in. I just had a thought so I am going to type it as I think it.

Tempered bottom glass, So I was going to do some sort of cal flow deal, maybe I can make the wall be my overflow into a trough with my 3 drain pipes. I may have to get on sketchup for this one if no one is following me.

The pond store LOL. Drsfostersmith should carry it. Its a straw based foam

 

[elfloyd]

Made one for my 90g but never used it. After spending over $$60 I figured it displaced 10-12 gallons of water so I didn't want to use that much real estate.

Both Lowe's and Home Depot carry pond foam in their garden department. I think I needed 3 or 4 cans at $9 each. I also used neodymium magnets encased in the foam to keep it from floating.

I used water softener salt sprinkled on top of the wet foam to help the foam texture blend into the rocks. (Gotta soak the finished products for a few days to dissolve the salt.)

All in all I liked the finished product but was already having concerns that a 90g tank was big enough for me.

 

[weaglereefer]

eFloyd, so is this just sitting in the garage? Got any pics?

 

[smoothie]

Don't do it very thick either. Play with it on some cardboard at first. That stuff expands out a good bit

 

[elfloyd]

au01st;473940 wrote: eFloyd, so is this just sitting in the garage? Got any pics?

Sorry... I trashed it!

 

[haninja]

You can see pictures of the rock wall I build in my

 

[mvm]

 

[mvm]

And the finished product:

 

[mvm]

I also bought a bunch of pvc t's and elbows that are buried in the foam for the fish to sleep/hide.
Overall it was pretty easy and I'm happy w/ the results.

 

[kayakatl]

Nice job! What epoxy did you use? By the time I finish this tank it will have about 6 gal of water in it. The fun will be setting up the semi calflow I think. I am working on my sketchup skills so maybe i can draw this all up before I start building.