Foam stuff for the "rock work" look????

[rufio173]

Or you could drop a bunch of heavy rocks in it and wallah!

Instant foam/rock backdrop.

Peace,
John H.

[Reefmaiden]

I used the black pond foam that I purchased at Dr. Fosters & Smith. I layed the tank on it's back to spray the foam in, inserted some base rock into the wet foam, and then I patted the wet foam with my hand (with gloves on - you will never get this stuff off your bare hands) to get rid of the "turd" look.

Here is a pic of the tank about 10 months after set-up:



It took a long time for corraline to start to encrust on it, I think some of the problems with that were the salt I was using though and low magnesium. Since switching a couple months ago I have had my corraline really take off and it is much more covered now since this picture was taken.

The foam rock wall is teaming with life, the bristle worms love it and it is covered in feather dusters and other critters. SPS frags readily encrust onto it, and it gives me alot more options for placing frags.

[Bayliner]

Wow, Nice job reefmaiden.
I have made my own rock using Portland cement and crushed oyster shells in the past but this stuff looks just as good and much easier....

I have a small tank I am going to try it on...

[rufio173]

Hey Reefmaiden,

You never got to taking those pictures from different angles. I'd definitely like to see an update of your tank.

Peace,
John H.

[SHOmuchFUN]

Rufio what size tank is that?

Not to get off topic, but I hear sirens and my scanner says the tang police are on their way

[speckled trout]

When its dry it's cured. You are causing a chemical reaction when you shake it up and then expose it to air. No further curing cause it's already cured.

By the way, regular old krylon spray paint will work to color it any color you want. I've been using it for years in both fresh and salt and have never had a problem. Just make sure it's dry before putting it into the water. I usually wait a day before putting it in.

[P-91]

Originally posted by Reefmaiden


Here is a pic of the tank about 10 months after set-up:



onto it, and it gives me alot more options for placing frags.

which part is the foam and which part is the rock?

Very cool.

[SHOmuchFUN]

I think many public aquariums use this method... I was at the mohegan sun casino in Connecticut and it looks like they used similar material to simulate rockwork. Looks very real.

[JCurry]

I have a couple of questions:
1. does the stuff break down over time with the UV light given of by our MH and VHO bulbs?
2. does the stuff become porous so that beneficial bacteria and other organisms use the foam as a home?
3. When the stuff is wet how flexible is it can you make shapes with it, or is it too liquidly for that?
4. Is the stuff sticky to the feel that it would hold crushed coral or sand? Might improve the look.
5. Where can you buy the black great stuff?
Thanks.

[SHOmuchFUN]

Although this looks "cool"... IS it really beneficial? Many reasons that we use a rockscape design is its openness to flow. It's actually quite beneficial to have an open looking aquascaping scheme so that water flows in and out of the nooks/crannies so it carries detritus into our filtration unit. Seems like this method would be notorious for creating dead spots and would prohibit proper water flow...

[delv]

1.UV breaks it down. It starts to turn into dust. Heat speeds this.
2.It's very porous. That's one reason alot of public aquariums won't use it...it can retain bacteria/disease. It also allows it to retain useful bacteria.
3.It's very flexible when wet. Sorta like really stiffly whipped cream. It expands but can be 'smooshed' down and formed with a tool/hand.
4.It holds crushed coral well.
5.Aquatic Eco sells it. Make sure you get enough.

Most important: It's boyant and it's adhesive properties fade quickly. It needs to be physically anchored to your aquarium.

hth's

d.

[BLUESMAN]

I've seen reefmaiden's tank in person...awesome looking...you can not tell where the "foam" starts and the live rock begins. My next tank will have this...awesome place to mount sps frags!
Blue

[JCurry]

So long term it isn't a great sub for old fashion live rock, I have a small odd shape tank and was looking for some way to adher the rock to the wall to get all the room out of it I can. Thanks

[rufio173]

My tank is 60 gallons, which I think is adequate to hold one tang, but as you saw from last month's TOTM, that doesn't always happen.

That man had a regal angel, and two tangs in a 65 gallong tank. Incredible, but he pulled it off.

Time will tell if this stuff holds up to the test. They have been using this stuff in Europe for years and I think a new trend should be started in America. It will take probably 6 months to a year to get this stuff looking more like liverock.

Peace,
John H.

[delv]

I've got coraline already spotting up in my 1 month sps tank...

d.

[SHOmuchFUN]

Wow! Those pictures are deceiving. It looks a lot smaller than that. I'd like to try a tang in my 55, but I'm trying to stay realistic Powder blue tangs are gorgeous! Sorry for the stray.

Back to your original programming.

[JCurry]

I thinking about trying this stuff, can you give anymore details on how you got the base rock to stick to the wall. My tank is a 44 gallon pentagon, it comes to a point in the back. No real flat back to work with, I'll have to do one side then the other. you didn't use any "live" rock in it to start just base right? Where a good place to get base rock? Thanks.

[rufio173]

I used macromedia from caribsea as the liverock pieces. They are fairly large pieces and will sink immediately into the foam so if you spray fairly thin then you can just drop the rocks in and you will be set. If you want to build some height, then maybe think about siliconing in some box like glass compartments or even acrylic. Then build like that. Another way is to build slowly. Creating one layer at a time. Also, I didn't do this but wish that I had done it since it would have looked better initially, but get some seafloor from caribsea as well and sprinkle it on the foam after one minute. The interesting thing about this foam is that it initially expands a great deal and will shrink back a bit. Definitely get some rubber gloves. I had some latex examiner gloves on hand and that was good because this stuff is really, really sticky.

Yellow tangs don't get excessively large like sailfin tangs or sohal tangs. Powder blues are nice, they are just hard to keep in smaller tanks due to their swimming behavior. I wouldn't do a powder blue tang in less than 150 gallons. They need a lot of swimming room.

Peace,
John H.

[JCurry]

Ok the next question is how many cans would you get? Also can you build shapes outside the tank and then push them down into a lair of the stuff. I seen that you can get chems to remove it but is this a one time deal for the tank? Thanks.

[ToUcHoFeLeGaNcE]

i just found my first can sitting in the garage, and soon as i went to use it BLAMMMMMMMMM POOOOOOOOOOF all over the place. The can Exploded all over me and everything within 3feet of me! lol. AHHH what a mess. Guess i should have just went a bought a brand new can to start with . Geez. If at first you dont succeed try try agian! (till the girlfriend see's it all over the pool table then im Toast!) lol.

[mylittleocean]

ouch!!!

That is some tought $#!^ to clean up.
Good Luck.




Has anyone tried the latex based foam? Its white. Made by Dupont I think. Latex is safe or not?

[rufio173]

JCurry,

Depends on how thick you want it. I think for a fairly thin layer, it will cover 2 square feet admirably... if you want to start getting fancy like creating ledges and such you'll need more.

Just get 3 cans, they are cheap and just go slowly, one side at a time. Make it a one day project and don't rush your results.

Peace,
John H.

[jaze36]

Has anyone tried blue insulation foam board to make overhangs or PVC pipe to make caves? Will this stuff stick to them?

[DRZL]

Ditto with My Little Ocean,
I went to home depot and as i was looking around for foam. I saw a DAP latex based foam that came in black and in white, and the guy there said it might even come in pink!! for pink insulation or so he said. Anyone know? Not to sound like a perv but if condoms are made of latex it shoul be pretty inert. hahaa...excuse my logic

[rufio173]

Hey guys,

Somebody has to be a pioneer. Hehe. So why don't one of you brave folks try out the latex and take it slowly.

Peace,
John H.