foam back tank

[bronco300]

Just thought i'd share my newer tank i did....I have seen it done before and wanted to do it in the future 240 but thought i'd try it in a 10gallon first, and so far i love it.....basically what i did was get some egg crate...spray some "great stuff" insulation foam on it, and then sprinkle sand on top of that and let it dry....i used two seperate pieces because i drilled the 10gallon and am using a closed loop and spray bar...its purely for looks and to hide the bulkheads and pvc spray bar...which i think it does a great job.
what do you think?

top section:

bottom section:

I accidently put the sand in before i should have...this picture is the tank on its back while i set the top and bottom in...and i put in the spray bar then used the foam over the spray bar connecting the two pieces as well.

 

[bronco300]

one thing to be careful of is while spreading the sand over the foam you dont want to overdo it as the sand will weigh it down and the insulation will go elsewhere...depending on what you use to make it more rocky you may let it dry and just use an epoxy resin......here is the finished product...was very fast and easy to do...i like it.

 

[bronco300]

the other problem is with my closed loop...i have micro bubbles coming back into the tank... i didn't think about this previously and should have accounted for it already...so it seems maybe either the pump isn't quite getting water only down, but getting some air with it...or the bubbles that are coming are flowing right back down(considering its a 10gallon)....so i am getting that situation under control soon hopefully. The other thing, with such a small tank...the foam definitely expands alot so if you're not careful your rock will be pretty close to the front...since its a 10 and will only have one fish i dont care as much, but otherwise i'd make sure i use a bit less than i did.

 

[hoshi2]

no comments??

i fixed the bubbles...just had to fill the water top top top and cut down the strainer a bit more

 

[bronco300]

well we fixed the bubble problem it seems, i fill the tank with water to the max and cut down the strainer some...seems to be working for now, i'll have to keep on the water constantly though to make sure it doesnt get too low though.

 

[azfishgal]

I like it.

My husband was asking if I wanted to do something like this when we get a larger tank (in our new house, WAY down the line). I think once it becomes "aged" it looks very natural and like you said, allows you to hide your equipment. Great job!

 

[bronco300]

thanks az!!!! i think it looks good now but will look better later down the road...i'm pretty excited to do it on the 240 as i'll be using spray bars again.

 

[tiberius]

I seen a 375 gallon tank that used black pond foam. I think it is great that people can use these products to hide plumbing!

 

[jtrzerocool]

what type of corals in this tank?
more Zoas?

 

[bronco300]

lol...i was almost thinking maybe just a mushroom tank to help the enormous propogation of them...but then i thought...zoos......uh......mushrzooooooossssss......so i may have to do a combo....i'm not sure i'd be able to handle a tank with no zoos in it...that has to be some kind of sin i think.

 

[bronco300]

i went home on lunch, and noticed the foam expanded even further..lol...oops, i didn't account for that...its not terrible, but it definitely expanded...something to account for.
i like the black because it hides more initially...and gives you that black background...but natural look once the white starts getting the coraline etc it'll look better

 

[jtrzerocool]

im not sure if you mentioned what type of lights you have on the tank...are they PC's?

 

[bronco300]

yep, just regular PCs right now, nothing fancy

 

[azfishgal]

Originally Posted by Tiberius
I seen a 375 gallon tank that used black pond foam. I think it is great that people can use these products to hide plumbing!

That is the look my husband is wanting next time around. I like it.

 

[mscarpena]

I guess my only question would be is great stuff foam reef safe?? Other than that it's a good idea. Let me know why you think or know it is reef safe if you do.

 

[rykna]

Originally Posted by Bronco300
lol...i was almost thinking maybe just a mushroom tank to help the enormous propogation of them...but then i thought...zoos......uh......mushrzooooooossssss......so i may have to do a combo....i'm not sure i'd be able to handle a tank with no zoos in it...that has to be some kind of sin i think.

it'll have zoos! Looks great Luke

 

[bronco300]

well from everything i have seen and read its just fine...you just have to make sure you let it cure out etc like most things yous tick in your tank....there was a post on another forum that did this and actually had uptodate posts later down the road with it filled with life, but i couldn't find it....but anyways, it should be completely safe.
thanks ryk!

 

[ice4ice]

How much more did it expand ? Pics ?
I do like the idea though of using foam but I agree with concerns of chemical reactions from foam and water. MNot to mention - if fish would pick and eat tiny bits of foam as well.

 

[sharkbait9]

i have seen a couple of LFS do this trick with great stuff. One can make their own fixtures to hid stuff and stick rock together. They throw sand and crushed coral on it to cover up the foam so nothing picks at it and eats it.
The foam gets covered in coraline, really nice looking.
Great Job Bronco

 

[bronco300]

it didnt expand much at all....and i would think with it being covered with either sand or rubble that you should be ok with fish picking etc...basically like making homemade rock, cure it out and stick it in the tank and you're fine.