styrofoam rock wall

[ghiggi]

I have seen some freshwater tanks where the owner has created a 3 dimensional rock wall out of carvable Styrofoam blocks across the back of the tank, instead of using a 2 dimensional picture background. I was wondering if anyone has seen this, or thinks this can be done in a saltwater tank?
I was thinking you could carve the Styrofoam to resemble a reef wall, with little nooks and ledges. Coat it with an epoxy to seal it and then coat it with aragocrete to give it a more realistic look and texture. And the aragocrete coating would eventually become seeded, like homemade LR.
Does this sound plausible, or is there something I'm missing?
I want to change the look of my tank from the normal -- rocks piled in the center -- configuration. And I was thinking a nice reef wall in the back would look like I had just cut a cubed section strait from the ocean. I have only had a FOWLR so far, but I've been reading and researching, and now I'm ready to make the move to corals. But I want to get the aquascape completed first.
Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[bona42na]

I have been thinking about the exact same thing. I'll bump this up to see if we can get some more input. I think its a very plausable idea. Most aquariums are doing this sort of thing and I have seen commercial South American ( ie Amazon type ) in the LFS . I will look to see if there is some sort of manufacturers insignia next time I visit.

 

[dskidmore]

If it helps, I read an article about some live rock aquaculture experiments where they used styrofoam-aragocrete rocks. Unfortunately the results only listed a bunch of water parameters, not growth patterns on the diffrent kinds of live rock.

 

[ghiggi]

bump!!!

 

[jag3365]

There always has to be a first! So you can lead the way to let us know. I am interested in this too so I'd love to hear about any results.

 

[squidd]

It's not a totally off the wall idea...
I've heard about it (read about it) somewhere.:notsure: Probably the same place as DSkidmore because I remember the concerns over formaldahyde leaching...Although there were pictures of coraline growth and frag placement..
I think it was on one of the DIY forums I visit :notsure: I'll look around and see if I can locate it/more info on the process...
But my understanding was that there are "initial" concerns over leaching when first produced, but that with "curing" similar to the "agrocrete" issues, that it becomes inert and was safe for your tank...

 

[dskidmore]

Given how much rock you can make out of the smallest available bag of portland cement and some cheap sand or crushed oysershell, if you're not worried about the weight, you could just make the whole thing out of agrocrete(TM).

 

[squidd]

And just to confuse matters further...
The foam I had seen was "sprayed" on the back wall to cover up some interesting "piping" for flow distribution...
But, the same could be done with the "agrocrete" by laying the tank on its side and "molding" it in place...:thinking:

 

[dskidmore]

You'd have to be real sure that everything was where you want it to stay permenantly. I'd hate to try taking a chisel to cement inside a glass tank.

 

[ghiggi]

First, is there a difference between "agrocrete" and "aragocrete"? Because I was thinking of coating it with the "aragocrete" mixture that is talked about on GARF.org.
The problem I see with making it completely out of "aragocrete" is I believe the mixture would be to thin to build up a nice 3 dimensional wall with ledges and over hanging arches without some sort of mold to keep the mix from running while it sets up. But if "agrocrete" or even "aragocrete" can be made in a firm enough consistency to hold its' shape without a mold, then that may be a little easier to accomplish.
And you wouldn't have to mold it right onto the glass. You just need to mold it so that it has a flat back and attach it with silicon just like you would the styrofoam wall.
I have heard of people using styrofoam packing peanuts as a cheap alternative to bioballs (I'm not advocating this, just heard of it being done). And the styrofoam sheets I'm thinking of using are the same material, just in a denser form that makes it very easy to carve in great detail. But even so, It would still have to go thru a normal curing process, so you would be able to test the curing water along the way.

 

[squidd]

Agro crete or aragrocrete sp. (actually aragrocrete is closer to describing the mixture made of Aragonite sand CC and cement..)
Can be mixed to most any consistency and will "build up" into 3 dimensional form... easier with a sand mold but it could be done..but then, so could a flat "reverse" face mold be made...:thinking: