styrofoam background project

[turbo_h4]

I've looked at a lot of styrofoam background and decided it time for me to make one. However, few important questions I need to ask first.

1) When using an exacto knife and scuplting styrofoam, I get lots of little "balls" sticking up and falling off. How do I smoothen this out? Does a hairdryer work?

2) Doesn't styrofoam float? When coated with cement, does it weight enough to sink? Or is there another way to get it to sink?

3) What type of sealant can be used to safely isolate the cement/styrofoam from my water?

4) Is there a special type of styrofoam which can be used to produce finer details?

5) I can't think of any way to hide my filter and heater....suggestions?


Thanks, I'll prolly have more questions once I do start. (Well, technically I started on a smaller background for my 20G)

 

[seastaar88]

i think a lot of people epoxy the finished project to the back of the tank directly. you can maybe p.m. ROUNDEYEZ, he's done a great styrofoam project.

 

[R0UNDEYEZ]

Hey, I can answer some of these questions for you.
1) If your getting alot of little balls from carving your knife is dull.I noticed while carving mine that the type of styrofoam I had seemed to dull my blades pretty fast. I havent used a hairdryer, but a heatgun (which is like a real heavy duty hairdryer) i used very lightly over my styro walls to smooth it out a bit.
2) Styrofoam does float and I don't think cement is enough to make it sink... I could be wrong though, I guess it just depends on how big the styrofoam section you plan to use is.. On mine i will be siliconing it to the back wall of the tank.
3) marine grade epoxy resin
4) I used styrofoam like you find in packing materials carved with a very sharp knife and I was very pleased with the level of detail I got. I don't know what kind your using, but I would assume the same type since you were complaining about the little balls.
5) Carve out little sections behind the wall to fit your heater or mount the wall on "blocks" so to speak to push it out a ways from the back of your tank and leaving a small space behind the styrofoam for your heater..
I hope that helps you.

 

[turbo_h4]

Thanks, off to the hardware store tmrw.

is it possible to have it sink even without attaching it to the tank permanently? The reason is this is a new tank, its going to be a cichlid tank. However, I may plan to switch over to SW sometime during the tanks lifetime.

 

[turbo_h4]

would it be ok if i made the styrofoam fit perfectly into the aquarium to hold it in place instead of silicone? I really don't want to silicone my new tank....if i blotch it, it's another $150CAD. Unless someone has a really good method of removing the silicone completely without leaving stains or ruining the tank. (It's tempered glass if it matters)

On my tank, I have about a 3/8" plastic frame all around the top. Would it be enough support to hold down the styrofoam if I made it fit snuggly? The bottom and sides would be fitted to the glass. And the front bottom of the styrofoam would have at 1-1/2" to 2" of gravel. So the styrofoam for sure would not rotate. The concerns are
1a)whether or not it will just pop out of the water.
1b)if it is able to hold it, would the plastic frame somehow get messed up?
2)Because it is not siliconed to the glass, water will for sure somehow seep all around it eventually. Would this cause any unwanted disturbances in the water parameters? (Or possible growth of fungus...etc)

I plan to make the background 48"X20" and about 4-5" thick at the thickest point.

 

[R0UNDEYEZ]

There are a couple things I want to point out for you to consider..
most people make the wall sections in multiple pieces since it isn't generally possible to just drop it in straight because of lips on the top of the tank and sometimes support crossbars for longer tanks.. I dont know if that will be a problem for you or not, but its just something to consider,Espically since you are saying you want it pretty thick.. you might run into difficulties twisting it and inserting it at an angle if you leave it in one large piece.
The other thing is once its coated with concrete (if you go that route) and resin if wont have the same give that styrofoam has now.. it will be very rigid.

I was opposed to using silicone at first too, but I decided I wont really be changing my tank once its set up and silicone comes off pretty easy with a razorblade .
Hope that helps.
::edit:: If you use pure silicone it shouldnt stain anything either.. ::

 

[cshepard]

I was thinking about sealing some driftwood with marine grade epoxy resin, and asked my husband, who is a boat builder about the stuff. He says that after alot of time in the water this resin will start to flake off and that's why wooden boats sealed with resin also have to be either varnished or painted regularly to protect them. He didn't know of anything that would permanently seal wood (and presumably styrofoam).

I'd be interested to know of anyone who has used this method and has had their backgrounds underwater for a long time, to see how they hold up.

 

[turbo_h4]

hmm, i'm interested in that too.

Anyways, I decided to buy the styrofoam today. I got one big piece... 96"x24"x2" for $10CAD....I cut in half and glued them together using GE Silicone II and put a table upside down on it for pressure. So hopefully I have a 47x24x4 piece tmrw when I check on it. Which should nr the right length, but the height needs to be trimmed a little. Going to start carving tmrw and see how it goes. Although I have a bad feeling about the foam. The balls are bigger and tends to rip off easier. Anyways, wish me luck, will post pics if it goes well. If not, I'll be silent..hehe.

 

[turbo_h4]

::edit:: If you use pure silicone it shouldnt stain anything either.. ::

I'm using GE Silicone II which is 100% silicone. If it goes well I may consider just sticking the bottom .

 

[turbo_h4]

wow, everything is going well. I've got the foam the exact dimensions I want. Started to carve it and it's looking good. Even have the hidden compartments for the filter and heater done.

Had to stop carving because the two layers of foam were not bonded strong enough and lifted up so had to reapply silicone and stack weights on top.

Tmrw all the carving should be done and the first coat of cement goes on.

 

[turbo_h4]

picture

here's a picture of what i have done so far. As you can tell, I'm pretty far behind schedule. Sorry for the poor quality photo. I used the camera on my phone and had to shrink it down to attach.

I can't seem to find epoxy resin. The only thing close to it is 1part or 2part epoxy for garage floors. But those are like $30/gallon, doesn't seem like it's in the right price range. And also it's not clear.

 

[turbo_h4]

can anyone tell me where i can get epoxy to seal the styrofoam? I live in toronto. I've been to home depot and when i asked for epoxy resin, they look at me with a blank face..

Or is there anything else i can use?

 

[R0UNDEYEZ]

That looks really nice Turbo.
Its coming along great so far.I would check a boating/marine supply specialty store for the resin. Its pretty expensive, but I haven't been able to find anywhere else that sells it personally.

 

[turbo_h4]

dry fit

looking good so far i think....any comments?

I already put on 2 coats of cement. I really can't find any epxoy resin. I think I will just go for the regular clear coat lacquer. Give it a good rinse and monitor the PH levels since it's still in a fishless cycle.

 

[Masta_Cheef]

Looks pretty good! Looks like a tight fight. What kind of substrate were you going to add (if any)? What color were you planning on making the thing?

 

[turbo_h4]

substrate is gravel. The bigger ones, about the size of a penny. Mixture of black, blue, and light blue.

The colour of the background would be light gray. Which is the colour of cured cement. I decided to save a few bucks and not get the colour. I figured a light gray would be pretty realistic anyways.

 

[turbo_h4]

i read a lot of articles where ppl use cement, and don't seal it and put it in their aquariums. Can this be done safely? Most of them just let the cement cure for 24hours and submerge it in water for a few days.

 

[R0UNDEYEZ]

It can be done, it just alters the water PH (and KH if I remember right) Where I live has incredibly hard water so thats why I avoided that route.. I would think though you would be better off doing that than using plain old laquer to coat it though...

 

[turbo_h4]

Thanks again roundeyez.

More pics would be posted. Last coat of cement and then letting it cure. I'll wake up now and do it.

 

[longtyme68]

I had never thought of doing a styrofoam backing. That could make the tank look unique. Considering that most LPS and LFS offer the same backings. That may be something I can look into doing.