Foam/Live Rock walls

[strgazr27]

I have spent a lot of time reading up on the subject from threads such as this one: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1188352
as well as this one: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1438807.

I think it's a pretty cool way of aquascaping as well as hiding the rather large, UGLY overflow in my 65.

Any thoughts on it good or bad?

Has anybody here done it?

I value your guys opinions and wanted some other ideas.

Thanks!

 

[xxxAngeloxxx]

I was gonna do it on my old 55g tank...it would some what ok n all


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[Alex]

before going that route, I've seen actual ceramic rocks made to cover the overflow that look great and provide excellent coraline growth. let me go look for the link and I'll post it.

 

[strgazr27]

Thanks Alex!

 

[DREUTZ]

I'm making one right now and I am going with Beckett's Waterfall Pond Foam (about $11 per can at home depot). I'm sure you've read in that DIY thread you posted from Reefcentral that the Pond stuff is UV resistant and you don't need to cover with epoxy and sand if you don't want to. The cheap stuff NEEDS to be completely covered in sand or else it will decompose I guess. One other tip I saw was that you need to put enough rock into it so that the whole foam wall will sink or else it will eventually get ripped off the wall and float due to the force of buoyancy.

I cut egg crate to the size I need and have been ziptieing the rock to it. I think I am also going to try to incorporate one of my MP10's into the wall using a piece of 3" PVC pipe to create a spacer. Once that is done, foam will go down and zip ties will be cut away and I'll be sloping the foam towards the MP10 space to allow for water to get into the wetside. After that I'm going to trim the foam with a dremel and/or razor blade to make it look more realistic. Once foamed I am going to silicone the foam wall to the rear wall and do my best to eliminate air pockets and just to be safe plan to put silicone all along the perimeter of the foam wall to try to prevent water from going behind it. Not sure how much sand I will be putting on it because it will eventually grow coraline on it.

I also plan to foam my rock in my display together to create about 5 large pieces that can just be lowered into the tank once I get the scaping I want and not have to worry about rocks falling down. I did a test on a little island I am going to have and the foam is pretty sturdy.

I have a bunch of links for ideas of how they can look if you want I will email you them.

 

[Alex]

The name of the company is thealternativereef.com
scott and his wife run the company, I met scott at macna back a few years ago and have since only gotten plugs and such from him. they grow coraline rather easy and make great mounts. at last years macna scott mentioned he was going to start doing overflow covers for tanks. give him a call and let him know what you want you won't be disappointed. By the way from one reefer to another this is a great product, take a look at the product gallery from users, see how it just blends in with the reef.

Let me know how it turns out.

 

[strgazr27]

DREUTZ,

yeah I have read over those threads about 10 times Lol. I will keep in touch.

Alex,

I don't see any covers listed but I am going to call him today. Thanks!

 

[Alex]

DREUTZ,

yeah I have read over those threads about 10 times Lol. I will keep in touch.

Alex,

I don't see any covers listed but I am going to call him today. Thanks!

each overflow is different, give him a call and let him know what you want. he's a great guy and will glad to work with you on something.

 

[strgazr27]

I couldn't find a phone number on the site only an email contact for info. Unless I call the number used to inquire about a distributorship.

 

[MarineLt]

Its best to to contact via email . Scott is a great person to work with .. He makes everything by hand and the workmanship is awesome. I have some of his pieces and plugs.And as Alex says picks up Coraline very fast.

Also at this time he is making one for my 57 rimless to cover the while back and overflow box.

 

[strgazr27]

Thanks Tony. I'm going to email him tonight after work and see what he has to say. How does his stuff compare price wise to other options? I can see from his pictures and others threads his work is amazing.

 

[strgazr27]

Although I have not emailed him yet I did find a thread I believe is from him and to be honest, $200-$350 just for an overflow cover is A: WAY out of my tank budget and B: A little much even for hand made ceramic. Looks like I will be making my own but will let him tell me first hand.

The thread is here: http://www.captivereefs.com/forum/alternative-reef/last-pillar-i-make-year-overflow-cover-11425/

 

[strgazr27]

hopefully picking up my rock Saturday. Started cutting the egg crate. I am going to cover the overflow in mylar and apply the foam/rock/sand to that. When it's hard the mylar should simply peel away leaving me a nice OF cover.. We'll see Lol.

 

[DREUTZ]

Good luck! lets see some pics when you are done with it.

 

[strgazr27]

I'm going to try and take them as I go. I'm pissed as it seems almost impossible to find the black pond foam here on the island.

 

[strgazr27]

This is the tank and thread that got me going on this idea. Phenomenal look to it.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1300282

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

I think the only issue you might run into is making sure everything is properly cured. I have seen threads like this before and from what I remember that was the biggest issue after taking the time to actually make the rock walls.

 

[strgazr27]

I think the only issue you might run into is making sure everything is properly cured. I have seen threads like this before and from what I remember that was the biggest issue after taking the time to actually make the rock walls.

At the pace I am building this tank time to cure won't be an issue Lol. Most of the curing issues have been those people who have used cement to make the rocks or to bond the structures together. This will cause a massive PH spike. I'm using Marco rock, the foam and West Systems marine grade epoxy resin which is fully cured in less than 36 hours. I am use to the epoxy work as I have built several custom Carbon Fiber tubes for telescopes the last several years.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

If that's the case then I say go for it!

 

[strgazr27]

I was originally going to use a mylar overlay for the overflow cover but was worried about how rigid it would be when cured. I built this buck and will try heat forming the eggcrate to it. Should be very rigid and tight fitting.... IF my idea works lol.

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