Erwan E
Community Member
For the past 7 years I had a 55 gallons tank with a hand made decor. I loved the fact that I never experienced any nitrate. I recently upgraded to a Red Sea 750 and decided to take the same approach with the decor and bottom. I have the look of sand with no sand , the look of rocks with no rocks.
Here are two photos
1. I used blocks of Styrofoam that I glued together with Silicone I (very important to use 1 …. Non- toxic) to get the general shape.
2. Carved the big blocks with a knife to take chunks out and designed very roughly.
3. Used a blow torch on low setting and stay far enough to slowly melt the Styrofoam without making big hole. This is where your imagination takes you. Don’t try to make small details at this point because the epoxy and sand coming next will cover the small details. I learned with my previous tank.
4. Once you have the shape desired, get Pond Epoxy from Home depot Online. I used 3 quarts for this tank. Follow the mixing direction and definitely used denatured alcohol as indicated.
5. Apply the epoxy with a paint brush in small batches trying to work with horizontal portions, which will require to flip the décor in all directions over the next few sessions. AS SOON AS you have covered a small area with epoxy, apply moist sand (play sand from Home Depot or Lowes) and move on to a different area of the décor.
6. Let your work dry for 24 hours and flip the décor upside down over a large trash bag to collect the sand that did not stick and reuse it.
7. Continue over the entire décor.
8. Once the décor is completely covered….. start all over again. Once finished, the décor will be as hard as a rock.
For the bottom:
1. Get a Styrofoam board (1inch thick) from home depot or Lowes. You will find that in the insulation area. Remove the plastic film.
2. Applying the concept with epoxy and sand, I used white crushed coral to have the white look.
Although the décor and bottom will feel heavy, the pieces will float if not glued with Silicon 1.
In order to make it seamless, I did the “rock” formation first. Then I glued it to the bottom part and work on the bottom. In order to make the whole décor to your tank dimension, I would suggest to cut the bottom in two or three pieces to drop it in the tank. Do not forget to apply a lot of silicone at the bottom to prevent the whole décor from floating. Once you have all the pieces in your tank, you can use a little more epoxy and crushed coral to repair and mask the cuts.
Once the décor is dried, it is completely non-toxic. Cycle the tank as you would with dry rocks.
Here are two photos
1. I used blocks of Styrofoam that I glued together with Silicone I (very important to use 1 …. Non- toxic) to get the general shape.
2. Carved the big blocks with a knife to take chunks out and designed very roughly.
3. Used a blow torch on low setting and stay far enough to slowly melt the Styrofoam without making big hole. This is where your imagination takes you. Don’t try to make small details at this point because the epoxy and sand coming next will cover the small details. I learned with my previous tank.
4. Once you have the shape desired, get Pond Epoxy from Home depot Online. I used 3 quarts for this tank. Follow the mixing direction and definitely used denatured alcohol as indicated.
5. Apply the epoxy with a paint brush in small batches trying to work with horizontal portions, which will require to flip the décor in all directions over the next few sessions. AS SOON AS you have covered a small area with epoxy, apply moist sand (play sand from Home Depot or Lowes) and move on to a different area of the décor.
6. Let your work dry for 24 hours and flip the décor upside down over a large trash bag to collect the sand that did not stick and reuse it.
7. Continue over the entire décor.
8. Once the décor is completely covered….. start all over again. Once finished, the décor will be as hard as a rock.
For the bottom:
1. Get a Styrofoam board (1inch thick) from home depot or Lowes. You will find that in the insulation area. Remove the plastic film.
2. Applying the concept with epoxy and sand, I used white crushed coral to have the white look.
Although the décor and bottom will feel heavy, the pieces will float if not glued with Silicon 1.
In order to make it seamless, I did the “rock” formation first. Then I glued it to the bottom part and work on the bottom. In order to make the whole décor to your tank dimension, I would suggest to cut the bottom in two or three pieces to drop it in the tank. Do not forget to apply a lot of silicone at the bottom to prevent the whole décor from floating. Once you have all the pieces in your tank, you can use a little more epoxy and crushed coral to repair and mask the cuts.
Once the décor is dried, it is completely non-toxic. Cycle the tank as you would with dry rocks.
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