Creating a solid brace for large rock overhangs. Epoxy filled PVC?

smartwater101 · 05/20/2018, 06:12 PM

https://imgur.com/a/K409cbb

As you can see from the photo I'd like to do very large overhangs without braces underneath. (Just the bottom brace for balance hidden under the sand.) PVC is of course too bendy and I'm wondering if filling it with epoxy might make it super sturdy?

Any other thoughts on how I can achieve this?

smartwater101 · 05/21/2018, 10:26 AM

I'll probably go with casting resin.

Steve175 · 07/15/2018, 08:25 AM

I cannot pull up your image. Short segments of PVC are pretty damn strong. I used 1/2" pipe pillars extending up from a 1/2" base which extended the diameter of my tank. With a 1/2" hole drilled into LR, I could make the Leaning Tower of Pizza, that classic Michael Jackson move, or anything you can imagine - including, specifically, what you have imaged. I drilled the pipe full of holes to avoid dead space, but not sure that was necessary. Try to snap a short piece of PVC and then decide whether or not it can handle the torque you are attempting: zero chance it will not. A 6 foot segment of PVC is "bendy", a 1 foot segment or less is not. You need not extend very far into a LR to fully secure it. The base was glued [no need to primer], the upright columns were simply socketed in [and could therefore be removed and custom cut to size]. I love the result, BTW.

05/20/2018, 06:12 PM	#1
smartwater101 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 382	Creating a solid brace for large rock overhangs. Epoxy filled PVC? https://imgur.com/a/K409cbb As you can see from the photo I'd like to do very large overhangs without braces underneath. (Just the bottom brace for balance hidden under the sand.) PVC is of course too bendy and I'm wondering if filling it with epoxy might make it super sturdy? Any other thoughts on how I can achieve this? __________________ 160 mixed reef: Hippo tang, Foxface, clownfish, 25+ nano gobies/blennies/cardinals Last edited by smartwater101; 05/20/2018 at 07:05 PM.

05/21/2018, 10:26 AM	#2
smartwater101 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 382	I'll probably go with casting resin. __________________ 160 mixed reef: Hippo tang, Foxface, clownfish, 25+ nano gobies/blennies/cardinals

07/15/2018, 08:25 AM	#3
Steve175 Registered Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 1,186	I cannot pull up your image. Short segments of PVC are pretty damn strong. I used 1/2" pipe pillars extending up from a 1/2" base which extended the diameter of my tank. With a 1/2" hole drilled into LR, I could make the Leaning Tower of Pizza, that classic Michael Jackson move, or anything you can imagine - including, specifically, what you have imaged. I drilled the pipe full of holes to avoid dead space, but not sure that was necessary. Try to snap a short piece of PVC and then decide whether or not it can handle the torque you are attempting: zero chance it will not. A 6 foot segment of PVC is "bendy", a 1 foot segment or less is not. You need not extend very far into a LR to fully secure it. The base was glued [no need to primer], the upright columns were simply socketed in [and could therefore be removed and custom cut to size]. I love the result, BTW. __________________ Steve ---------------------------------- Current Tank Info: 2 separate 250G bowfront rimless ELOS tanks plumbed to 260G sump, 220G refugium, 220G frag, BK DeLuxe 300, 400W MH x4, closed loops, 3/4hp chiller x2, Phos reactor, Kalk reactor, Charcoal reactor, Ca reactor, 60G surge tanks, & a huge elec bill