Made a foam frag holder/backing for 155 Bowfront

[vanz]

Not much to look at right now. I still need to transfer over some corals...but waiting until I get a good skimmer and better lights.

 

Can you see this one?

 

[huskerduck]

Not much to look at right now. I still need to transfer over some corals...but waiting until I get a good skimmer and better lights.

 

Can you see this one?

 

Strangely........no,

 

Can anyone else see it?

[siskiou]

Yes, I can see it just fine. Both in the sig, and the larger version.

[vanz]

Strangely........no,

 

Can anyone else see it?

 

I think photobucket is blocked for you. I'll attach it.

[vanz]

Here you go.

[huskerduck]

I think photobucket is blocked for you. I'll attach it.

I got it, it had some i653 befor the photobucket and I copy and pasted and removed that and it showed up..........Looks AWESOME, how you keep it in the tank?

[vanz]

I had to hollow it out a lot! I have to tell you it wasn't easy! Also attached some live rock too. Majority was foam though.

 

Snowpunk, your pillar can be done.

[Mr S]

How were the fumes? Could my students do this in class? I have a nano cube we could try it on. I would have them wear gloves.

[jadams7]

So what brands specifically would you guys use? And how long after spraying the stuff do you have until it cant be 'shaped' any more?

[huskerduck]

How were the fumes? Could my students do this in class? I have a nano cube we could try it on. I would have them wear gloves.

There may have been fumes but I didnt notice any headache or dizziness and was in a confined space ( Hotwater heater room under stairs incase I exploded a can, or dripped it all over)

 

I would spread out some wax paper incase someone goes nuts and lets the foam rip, it comes out very fast and large if you dont watch it. Different pressures on the trigger make slightly different sized beads along with rate of moving the bead along the eggcrate.

 

If you have a small oscillating fan and a large room I doubt kids would get too high off the fumes! Just kidding, maybe do it outside on a nice day if concerned.

[Mr S]

Thanks. What is the cost of the cans of foam?

[huskerduck]

So what brands specifically would you guys use? And how long after spraying the stuff do you have until it cant be 'shaped' any more?

I used Beckett Pond Foam ( its blackish and some guy on reefcentral had it in his tank for 2 years with no degredation)

 

Usually after about 5-10 minutes you can lightly touch it and see if its "skinned" then lightly start to squeeze and keep squeezing if it isnt oozing out. Im impatient and got it all over me because I was trying to do too much fast. Once you get wet stuff on your hands it sticks to everything but water seems to harden it fast so just rinse hands if it gets on you.

 

There is a point of no return, Im betting its a 1/2 hour

 

I squeezed quite a few paper thin "plates" everywhere and an hour later they were 1/8" thick, as you squeeze it flat, sometimes twist it in the middle, push it up, maybe down, just be very random and let some very small beads just dry naturally, they look like tube worms

[huskerduck]

Thanks. What is the cost of the cans of foam?

The stuff I used is very expensive, $13 a can at Home Depot.

 

Great Stuff is considerably cheaper but you have to paint it or epoxy it. I think I saw where Krylon Fusion paint is reef safe..........I didnt want to take a chance

[Mr S]

Thanks for the info. This was a cool thread.

[jgf86123]

hey husker, how many cans do you think id need for my 30 breeder?

[huskerduck]

hey husker' date=' how many cans do you think id need for my 30 breeder?[/quote']Not sure, I got alot better as I went, the learning curve wasted a can Im guessing.

 

I could do a 18 x 22 panel with 1.5 cans at the end, my first panel I burned up 2 cans very fast.

[jgf86123]

so if my panel is gonna be 12x36, say 4 cans?

[huskerduck]

Thanks for the info. This was a cool thread.

yeah if you decide to try this with a classroom maybe we could hook up or I could help out so you dont waste alot of money on foam, I wish I could have watched myself towards the end before I started..........probably would hav saved $26 and had clean hands, legs, toes, Hotwater heater room floor

[huskerduck]

so if my panel is gonna be 12x36' date=' say 4 cans?[/quote']Yeah, you can always take one back.

 

Start really slow, make some shorter lines almost like a 2D tree branch towards the bottom, wait 10 minutes and test for skinned over then start manipulating it gentaly untill you get the hang of it..........3 cans with some left over Im guessing

[huskerduck]

Also it depends on how big your frag shelves stick out and how thick they are, heres a picture sort of from the side to try and give you a perspective, sort of a bad picture my Dual 454s were on so..........

 

[jgf86123]

i really like what youve done with it, i could conceivably eliminate some of my rock, so my sand bed is a LOT more open, which i prefer, and make all kinds of nice flat shelves, maybe even a "frag rack" using this stuff, since this tank is a combo DT/frag tank lol

[huskerduck]

At first I left the eggcrate shelves foamless and sort of wished I had kept it that way, I have strong current and the shelves are slightly slippery.

 

that or rub some sand on them, Im going to glue spikes on my frag bottoms if they blow off any more. I think theyre all staying as of now though

[jgf86123]

actually, most people ive read who do these walls, do coat them with sand, just dry playsand works the best, especially the small stuff, just get some glue, superglue gel or something, and go to town with it, works wonders from what ive seen

[finch6013]

I have seen this done when people used a resin and painted it over the wall. Then put sand on top to make it look natural.

[huskerduck]

I have seen this done when people used a resin and painted it over the wall. Then put sand on top to make it look natural.

Yep, seen a couple that looked amazing, at first, then the cyno outbreak or algae explosion happens and youre stuck with a month of brown splotchy wall or algae that just cant be gotten rid of with ease while it smothers your frags and figured what the heck, Ill go for a couple shots of Purple up and hopefully bypass straight to coralline. Its worked before on smoother blackish surfaces almost like a magnet.

 

With sand or rock its a 50-50 chance the corallines will pop fast, I seeded areas with some busted rock, hope it works