Regular Member Snider82 Posted October 13, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted October 13, 2009 I have seen tanks before that had rock walls and i LOVED the idea. i Decided i would try it. it was a very fun (and messy) project. all the of product's i used have been in an established tank for over a year, so i went a head and used them. i don't want to be responsible if someone uses them and has a problem with them, so use at your own risk. I started with "egg crate" or Light diffusers and cut them to fit the back of my tank. Lay them flat to i can play with my "dry" rock I've been collection and make it look sorta how i want it. I had to use a grinder to split some of the rock in half. I drilled holes in the rock and zip tied them in place (1-2 Tye's a rock). I picked up 4 cans of "great stuff" foam. its crack and gap filler. (red can yellow top) I picked it up at Home Depot. basically i sprayed the entire egg crate with this stuff. under rocks covered zip Tye's. You cant really use too much of this stuff (i will explain why). I made a few lumps to simulate rocks. It looked really horrible at this time, but it turns out nice. wait about 20 min to let it dry on the surface. If you touch it and it sticks to your fingers its not ready. I out gloves on for this, i mushed the foam into the egg crate, flattening it and formed it under the rocks for support. you can add more foam if u need to. i let it dry over night, the can said 8 hours i think. i picked up a 50lb bag of agrinite, u can use sand, just research it and make sure its clean. and a box of 2 part finishing resin http://www.zapglue.com/Finish.html . this part is MESSY! mix a bit of glue, and "paint it on the foam. i use alot to be sure the sand covered it. then pour the sand on. i did it in small sections at a time to be sure the glue didn't set on me. once its covered let it dry ( i left it over night, but moved the wall out of the way after 6 hours. glue it into the tank! now this is pretty much permanent! i used 5 tubes of aquarium safe silicone. basically goop it REALLY good so no water can get behind the wall. stick it in place and find a way to hold it against the glass. (see my pics lol) after 24 hours u can take the supports off, but let it cure for 72 hours before adding water/live stock. Pic's coming soon 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Snider82 Posted October 13, 2009 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 13, 2009 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member AubreeMarie Posted October 14, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted October 14, 2009 Looks good! i want to try this when I have my own place and start getting into reptiles again. Here's another great step by step for those interested in other ways you can take it http://www.blackjungle.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=2108 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ~SHAWNA~ Posted October 14, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted October 14, 2009 Great step-by-step instructions. I can't wait until you post the pictures of the completed project because it truly looks amazing! I'd like to point out that Brent did the part that he describes as MESSY on our dining table as seen in the pictures. And judging by the pictures, newspaper was not protecting much of the table top. Guess what is on my Christmas wish list?? (haha) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Snider82 Posted October 14, 2009 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 14, 2009 i just have to point out, the table is perfectly fine. (Shawana wants an excuse to spend money). i had large piece of acrylic glass under the rockwall, and any pieces that spilled i vacuumed up easily. there is ONE little foam mark on the table that can be scrubbed off with an SOS pad. more pic's coming later 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ~SHAWNA~ Posted October 14, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted October 14, 2009 (edited) i just have to point out, the table is perfectly fine. (Shawna wants an excuse to spend money). i had large piece of acrylic glass under the rockwall, and any pieces that spilled i vacuumed up easily. there is ONE little foam mark on the table that can be scrubbed off with an SOS pad. more pic's coming later Can't blame a girl for trying. Edited October 14, 2009 by ~SHAWNA~ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member CatfishSoup Posted January 24, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted January 24, 2010 tht does look cool! i wouldnt mind seeing this tank in full working order 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Snider82 Posted February 6, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted February 6, 2010 WoW, its been a while. Here are some updated pic's. sry its been soo long!! Heres a shot of the setup This is my sump - after i rebuilt it. My nemo (he died ) SOme mushrooms Zoo's I will post more later 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member justkeepswimming Posted February 9, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted February 9, 2010 wow! that is so cool! i LOVE how it looks 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.