5Ft Tank Build

[Alasse]

lol thank you!
 
I enjoy doing them, only i REALLY need a place to do them outside the house lol.

 

[BigTuna]

I've been thinking about how awesome it would be to do a very large tank with a fake reef for large Angels.     Dare to dream, this is way above anything I could ever dream of doing.  Lots of fun seeing your progress..

 

[Ninjouzata]

Very well done!
Can't wait to see it in the tank with water. Realize we'll be waiting a bit though

 

[Alasse]

Hasnt been put in the tank yet, i need to do some of the sealing while it is outside the tank, was sposed to get it done today, but something else came up and just didnt get there. Tomorrow i am hoping to get it in. I bought some extra silicone today just incase lol

 

[Alasse]

Still not in tank. I have to move the tank to a different room, tis heavy enough without adding more to it lol. Once its moved i hope to get this BG in!!

 

[eduller]

This is amazing. I'm really excited to see the end result here.
 
So this is just normal expanding foam? It doesn't leach any chemicals or anything into the water? Or do you seal it with something before you put it in. What kind of paint do you use? I'm intrigued!

 

[Alasse]

Normal expanding foam. The BG will be sealer to stop leaching The 'paint' is cement colouring powder

 

[eduller]

I would really love to do this myself. So you are covering the foam with layers of cement - like quikrete? What is BG? Is that the epoxy? Sorry for all the questions, but I have a new tank waiting for some kind of awesome decor, and this would be just the thing. Would you be willing to make a quick list of supplies you've used so I can wrap my head around it? I don't want to poison my poor fishies by doing it wrong. THanks!

 

[Alasse]

What  i used
 
Styrofoam
Expanding foam
Silicone
Render
Cement colours (powder)
Pond sealer

 

[star4]

I knew it would turn out to be brilliant

 

[eduller]

Can anyone translate render from Australian to American lol? Is it just quick setting concrete from the hardware store or is a special kind? Thanks so much - this is an awesome project and I'm really inspired

 

[Alasse]

The product i use is "Cement Australia Render It".......no clue what you equivalant would be.....google the one i have used and 'translate' lol

 

[eduller]

Okay I did some googling and figured it out. My last question and I'll stop tying up your thread and just wait for more pictures I'm not sure I want to silicone it permanently into my tank. How buoyant is this stuff once in water? What if I stuck a few really strong magnets onto the back with silicone and magnetted the whole thing in through the glass? Does that sound anything like possible? I know I can just try and see, but I really want to get my tank filled and cycling. I'm only planning on making a small background for the corner of the tank, so I thought I'd let it soak, etc. in a large bucket whilst my tank cycles. With magnets, I could conceivably just slide the thing in when it's finished.

 

[Alasse]

VERY bouyant....you can try the magnets, never hurts to try it.
 
I will however be siliconing this one into the tank, it will have silicone behind and under it, it will also get a bead of silicone run around the edges to make sure no fish can get behind it and as little water as possible too
 
Ask away questions are fine
 
I am hoping to get this near finished tomorrow, in tank, joins done, sealed ready for its 7-10day curing time before it can get wet

 

[eduller]

Good luck! Put up pics!