26g Bowfront Foam Wall Mixed Reef

sam.basye · Nov 23, 2016

Foam day!

Finished foaming and letting it dry.

bump3rb33tl3 · Nov 24, 2016

I just picked up a 2×2×2 cube tank...think Im going to try my hand at a foam wall! Wish me luck! I will be asking lots of questions along the way, hope you dont mind

sam.basye · Nov 24, 2016

bump3rb33tl3 said:
I just picked up a 2×2×2 cube tank...think Im going to try my hand at a foam wall! Wish me luck! I will be asking lots of questions along the way, hope you dont mind

Nice! That's a 60g cube right?
That's what I'm thinking about getting as my next tank whenever that time comes.

Any and all questions are welcome!

I should have my mini tank foam wall completed tomorrow and will start a how-to thread on it for those interested in building a foam wall!

sam.basye · Nov 24, 2016

Here's another teaser pic!

Still need to cut out a hole for the return and silicone the edges.
Not going to epoxy the wall this go around.

bump3rb33tl3 · Nov 24, 2016

sam.basye said:
Nice! That's a 60g cube right?
That's what I'm thinking about getting as my next tank whenever that time comes.

Any and all questions are welcome!

I should have my mini tank foam wall completed tomorrow and will start a how-to thread on it for those interested in building a foam wall!

Yes, its a 60gl cube. Im super stoked about trying my hand at it.

It will be a few weeks before I actually get started...gotta recover from the holidays first lol!

Will start a thread as well, but on the flipside will be on this thread asking alot of questions [emoji6]

Ljaus · Nov 24, 2016

What an awesome reef. Love it!

sam.basye · Nov 24, 2016

bump3rb33tl3 said:
Yes, its a 60gl cube. Im super stoked about trying my hand at it.

It will be a few weeks before I actually get started...gotta recover from the holidays first lol!

Will start a thread as well, but on the flipside will be on this thread asking alot of questions [emoji6]

Sweet, post here when you start the thread and if you have any questions!

Ljaus said:
What an awesome reef. Love it!

Thanks!

bump3rb33tl3 · Nov 24, 2016

sam.basye said:
Here's another teaser pic!

Still need to cut out a hole for the return and silicone the edges.
Not going to epoxy the wall this go around.

Are you using live rock? Also, in one of your first posts, you commented about letting it dry and little and then adding sand.....what kind of sand did you use?

sam.basye · Nov 24, 2016

bump3rb33tl3 said:
Are you using live rock? Also, in one of your first posts, you commented about letting it dry and little and then adding sand.....what kind of sand did you use?

Kinda, the rock incorporated in the wall is dry lace rock, but will turn to live rock in time. Otherwise there isn't any live rock in the tank other than the wall, whish is essentially one big live rock!

Any sand will work, for this build I used a mixture of crushed coral and crushed shells. I didn't have any sand so I improvised.
Generally, I would add the crushed coral and sand right after foaming and then once dry, use epoxy and sprinkle sand while before the epoxy dries.

I'll highlight all this in the mini tank build thread which will also be posted here.

sam.basye · Nov 25, 2016

The wall has been completed!
And it looks really good - tooting my own horn. Lol

Got a little carried away last night cutting the foam from the backside of the wall D:

I decided to go ahead and epoxy the wall for the write up.

I also siliconed the edges and cut the hole for the return.

Added sand, just waiting for the silicone to cure and will be adding water!

I also added optics to my homemade LED box light. Made a big difference.

Planning on doing the write up tomorrow evening! Stay tuned.

bump3rb33tl3 · Nov 26, 2016

sam.basye said:
The wall has been completed!
And it looks really good - tooting my own horn. Lol

Got a little carried away last night cutting the foam from the backside of the wall D:

I decided to go ahead and epoxy the wall for the write up.

I also siliconed the edges and cut the hole for the return.

Added sand, just waiting for the silicone to cure and will be adding water!

I also added optics to my homemade LED box light. Made a big difference.

Planning on doing the write up tomorrow evening! Stay tuned.

Looking good!

sam.basye · Nov 26, 2016

Just added RO water!
Should've washed the sand first... Lol

Looks like I'll have to cycle the water a few times.

sam.basye · Nov 26, 2016

Well, I apologize for being lame...

No thread yet, tomorrow for sure!
Spent all my time today helping a fellow hobbyist who was out of town whose tank wasn't looking good. Then I bought a fish from the pet store!

Pygmy cherub angel

Then I spent all my money on the Legendary live sale! :0
So, as long as I start the thread before Tuesday night - after my wife comes home from work and see it all. Lol

I want the tank to be clear for the final product pictures.

Put a little filter with carbon to try to clear it up.

cope413 · Nov 26, 2016

So, do you just sprinkle the sand on the foam or do you have to "press" it in a bit?

sam.basye · Nov 26, 2016

cope413 said:
So, do you just sprinkle the sand on the foam or do you have to "press" it in a bit?

Just have to sprinkle it while it's wet, and epoxy/sprinkle after it's dry.

cope413 · Nov 27, 2016

Not totally clear on the epoxy. What kind of epoxy and how/why do you use it?

sam.basye · Nov 27, 2016

cope413 said:
Not totally clear on the epoxy. What kind of epoxy and how/why do you use it?

I use the epoxy as a way to adhere sand or crushed coral after the foam has dried.

I would sprinkle crushed coral right after foaming so it sticks to add texture. Then brush epoxy on the wall in sections and sprinkle sand for color and coverage.

Epoxy is expensive, and smells bad, but I had some sitting around, so I used it for the 2.5g.
I used contact cement for the 26g because it was cheaper, but it dries kinda yellowy.

It was 2 part epoxy and the other I used Elmer's contact cement.
I've seen fiberglass resin used from auto parts stores as well.

The pond foam comes out black and doesn't look totally natural. That's why the epoxy/resin is added so you can basically glue sand to make it blend better.

I used beach sand/crushed coral dust for the 26.

sam.basye · Nov 27, 2016

Stay tuned!

Currently uploading 100 pictures to photobucket!

Now just need the wife to get off the laptop. Lol

cope413 · Nov 28, 2016

sam.basye said:
It was 2 part epoxy and the other I used Elmer's contact cement.
I've seen fiberglass resin used from auto parts stores as well.

The pond foam comes out black and doesn't look totally natural. That's why the epoxy/resin is added so you can basically glue sand to make it blend better.
I used beach sand/crushed coral dust for the 26.

@Randy Holmes-Farley any issues with 2-part epoxies degrading or depolymerizing in the tank?