My DIY Rock/Foam Reef
 

220 gallon with external overflows... 72" L x 30" W x 24' H.

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1413.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1420.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1427.jpg

very cool I like it, good job

WOW! Looks awsome. Care to elaborate more on the build?

very nice!!!!!!!!!! any more close up of the center piece

how did you make the rock?

I started by constructing a framework from eggcrate...
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1320.jpg

Then I zip tied 150 lbs of Marco Rock to it...
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1324.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1322.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1389.jpg

Then I filled in the gaps with Great Stuff insulating spray foam. (this actually tightend up the structure alot)...
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1326.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1330.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1394.jpg

Then I used an epoxy finishing resin on the foam and covered it in sand and crushed coral...

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1410.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1411.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1412.jpg

I learned this all from a thread by a guy in England named Tiggsy. I just know a good thing when I see it...

Hopefully, you can see the center piece a little better. It's got a 3 way pass thru for tangs + a gobie cave behind it. The structure has several other pass thru type caves and gobie type spots as well...

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1415.jpg

i am thinking of doing this but am worried that the foam will leach into the tank. have you heard or read anything on this? also what epoxy resin? or are they all the same?

ShipOFools
The foam is inert when cured,so no problems with it leaching anything into the tank.

Kannin
Great work on the wall,I see Tiggsy has left his mark on the hobby with this combo he came up with.I am planning on doing the same to my nano in the near future.I have to say your setup looks way better then tiggsy's does,and you dont even have water in it yet.

Gonna have to keep an eye in this thread to see what the final outcome looks like once you have corals and fish in the tank.

looks great! will the wall you constructed seed and become live over-time?

Does Anyone know what kind of epoxy finishing resin to use when doing the Spray foam rock work? Will the stuff you buy for Fiber glass work(without using the fiberglass pads of course)? Cause the Fiber glass Epoxy resin with hardener is about all i can find where im from.

Rick12
Yes the rock will become live over time.

Vinnie I replied to your PM.

Thank you for the nice words. The tank of the month used the same stuff.

The epoxy that I used was a two part finishing resin that I bought at a model train store. Tiggsy used a product called "Z-Poxy" fro Zap, (the original super glue company). I could only find it on line and I needed quicker so I used the other stuff.

I have some very rich (in life) live rock and cheato in my other fuge that I will seed it with. I'll also use some coraline scrapings to speed up the process.

Hey Kannin
Just a little hint to help you with the spread of coraline algae.I always use a small fully coraline encrusted rock with a powerhead or one of my returns pointed at it to spread the coraline around.

Believe it or not it actually works.I was very skeptical about 6 years ago when a friend told me to try it.After a month,you could literally see that the coraline was spreading across the tank covering all the rocks and glass.

Very nice! How did you make the external overflow?

Thanks Alpine... for thew coraline tip.

Tunjee... I purchased the tank with the external overflows on it.

WOW Nice job!!!

question- if the foam is inert after it has cured, why the epoxy? to hide the colour?

I'v been told that the UV can have an effect on it... but, the main reason I used it was so that I could stick the sand to it.

I've also seen people paint a very watery cement mix over the foam to even up the color

Thank you for posting this!!! I have an empty tank on my hands and 100# of 4-6 inch Marco rock that has been cooking for a couple of weeks to get all of the junk out of it. I've been planning a build very similar to yours, and I really appreciate the opportunity to see how you did it.

I had been planning on making the rockwork look like a big "M", with the rock forming walls on both ends of the tank, going along the back, and coming to a peak in the center, with pass-though holes in the rockwork, just like you did.

Thanks for posting the very cool photos. Its nice to see how someone actually executed an idea that is very similar to the one I've had in my head!

Let me know if you have any questions during the process.

I like it...I will be referring to this and the Tiggsy thread on my next tank build. I am really liking these builds that conceal the overflow boxes.

Just curious...Is it just me...or does that rock formation on the left side have a Yoda look to it ???

And the formation on the right (in the third picture) looks like gonzo (or an ant) doing a power walk.

(Not making fun...just a wierd coincidence)

I really dont believe that uv light will effect the foam.That was just a concern of Tiggsy when he did his rock walls.The foam method has actually been used by several other reefers here on RC in the past.Only difference is that they used just foam and with a few rocks just placed here and there.Mostly on nano tanks from what I have seen.

Also the freshwater guys have been useing this stuff for years as well with no ill side effects.

Tiggsy was the first to incorporate the use of foam,liverock,and epoxy in this way.There are a few good reasons that I see for him doing it this way.

1.Just useing the foam alone without the addition of epoxy,sand , etc.. over it ,gives it a dull and unnatural look.

2.The epoxy will keep your inhabitants from pecking at the foam and possibly eating it,leading to there death.

3.It looks really cool and the possibilities are endless.

Kannin did an awesome job at taking an idea to the next level.Me and my wife read Tiggsy thread and were really impressed.When I started reading this thread I was like holy **** honey come check this out.Lets just say we feel Kannin did an excellent job and the aquascapeing alone looks like a masterpiece.

Here's some more pics with different lighting. The outer lights are bluer than the center one...

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1433.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1436.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1437.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1438.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1439.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1442.jpg

All I can say is WOW! you did a great job. Cant wait to see the progress

Centerpiece

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1445.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1446.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1403.jpg

If someone could invent a camera that had binocular lenses... you could see it better.

thats pretty sweet man nice job!

Very cool!! Awesome job!!

very nicely done, looks great... what kind of sand bed are you planning on having?

I'm planning on a couple of inches. I love gobies and other sand dwellers.

Thanks all of you for the compliments... I put alot of myself into this project. If I haven't said it enough... Thanks again Tiggsy.

That's pretty awesome, I can't wait to see more.

Do you sprinkle sand and crushed coral on the wet foam and then epoxy it after the foam has dried? Or do you add the sand and crushed coral when the epoxy is setting?

Let the foam dry, then brush on the epoxy, spinkle on a few pieces of the larger grained crushed coral and then use a spoon to sprinkle on the finer grained sand. Let cure at above room temp for at least 6 hrs.

Remember this though... the foam will expand to atleast 3 times it's original size. Less is more. Don't apply too much.

whats the difference between finishing resin and the regular fiber glass resin? Just cause Ive got the later at hand and if I dont need to go on some long journey to try and find the other .....

Did you shave any foam down after it dried? Would that foul things up?

Note, you need to use EPOXY, not resin. The diffrence is that the epoxy will not attack the foam. 2 part epoxy will not eat at the foam, and is avail at West Marine ETC.... it will also give you ample work time with the project. One other note I did not see here (I know because I did the same thing two years ago), you need to secure the hole project to the floor and sides WELL. Over time the foam will take a slight curve and attempt to float upward in the tank. Use of real heavy pieces of LR are recommended,s o you are not only reling oon the adheasive bond to the glass. In the end though it looks REAL NICE!:rollface:

I don't know... The finish resin company told me first hand that it dries inert and that there is no danger of it flaking off. I don't know if fiberglass resin is the same or not.

I really only had to trim it where it squeazed thru the holes in the egg crate.

You are right... it does bow a little. If you look up the page at the second to last pic... you can see a piece of egg crate going from the pillar on the right to the front glass. Having the top of the reef braced under the eurobracing and the front of the reef braced up against the front glass makes it impossible for the reef to float up.

Marine Surveyor... Do you have pics of your reef?

You do know that epoxy is a resin right?Thats why its called epoxy resin.Might not be a good idea to try and confuse people.

There are several types of Epoxy resins out there. The reason I asked is from the discription from Tiggsy's build with the brushable aplication it sounded closer to the same type of resin used for working with fiber glass witch is aslo a two part resin very runny and able to vary the set time with the amount of hardener added i.e. enough time to paint it on and ad sand/crushed coral and such. Most Epoxy's that Ive worked with are two thick to spread with a brush and start to set quickly

What I used was good for about 20 minutes befor it started to become hard to work with.

The caves are hard to see in the photos, so I took some pics with PVC in the pass thru caves to aid in the depth perception...

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1455.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1454.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1453.jpg

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_1452.jpg

This is gonna look like something straight out of a nature documentary!! You'll have David Attenborough knocking on your door to come and do the voice-over soon!!

Am very impressed with how beautiful the finished look will be...

Is there any chance that the wall will act as a heat sink and give you temp issues?

Have shown my LFS owner this thread and he's already talking about a 'reef wall' tank!!

Awesome work.

All i have access too is Bondo Brand i think it will work or at least i hope because its all i can find!

Thats what Ive been looking at as well. For the price and amount it would be well worth it. Says its water proof and with coating it with sand and crushed coral theres really not much that will be "open" to water. Im really thinking about giving it a shot on one of my smaller pieces for my 65g and letting it set for a while in water just to see if any adverse effects happen before adding it to my tank.