Aquascaping with Insulation Foam (w/ pics)

[ejmeier]

I had originally posted this thread on ReefCentral, but I messed up on pictures, and so no one saw any of the pictures. After getting some free space from nano-reef.com, I decided to repost this using the new webspace - hopefully the pictures will come up. The following is taken word for word from my website (http://www.nano-reef.com/ejmeier/) on nano-reef.com:

 

Using insulation foam was an idea that has been stirring in my head for some months now. Ever since I saw the thread from ReefCentral on Tanu's tank, I just couldn't help but look into this subject.

 

Now, with a fair amount of research under my belt, I decided to try my hand at this stuff. For those of you who are new to this, the basic premise is to spray insulation foam to the back and/or sides of your tank, then to push in live rock, crushed coral, whatever would look decent as a backdrop. Then the foam dries, and hardens somewhat, and creates a "living" backdrop.

 

I decided to foam the back, and one side of the cube. Also, I embedded a return pipe in the foam to hide its ugly appearance.

 

First off, the foam I used was a rigid polyurethane foam. You can find this stuff at Home Depot most likely; I bought mine at Menard's for a little over $3 a can. The exact foam I used is called "Great Stuff" made by DOW. The type was just the regular, low expansion, rigid type. There are others for windows, etc. that expand more, but this is not what I wanted.

 

Here is a picture so you know what to look for:

 

Next, I decided to test this stuff out on a sample piece of acrylic just to get a feel for it. I noticed a few things right away:

 

1. This stuff is VERY sticky; about the consistency of a roasted marshmallow, if you have ever got that gooey stuff on your fingers, you know what I'm talking about.

2. The foam will not adhere to a vertical wall, so you have to lay the tank/surface flat and foam one side at a time. Allow maybe an inch or a half inch for some expansion of the foam.

3. This is a one-shot deal. Once you start using it, you have to finish within a few hours, as it seals itself shut. (I, of course, read this AFTER I had casually began my work on the test piece, then ran frantically to get everything ready for the real thing.)

 

What I did was I sprayed the foam, let it sit for about five minutes to where it started to expand a little, then added some small pieces of LR. Then I sprinkled some crushed coral on top of that, followed by some southdown sand as the icing on the cake.

 

Next, I began work on my actual tank. I followed the same procedure as before, only with more rock and crushed coral. In hindsight, I would not have used the sand at all, or not as much; most of it didn't really stick to the foam once it had dried.

 

I masked off the overflow notches in the back of my tank so that I would still have a working overflow when I was done. I don't think it was all that critical though, as the foam is still somewhat workable once completely hardened. You cut just cut it with a knife.

 

Here is a picture of the return pipe enclosed in foam/rock:

 

Once the back was sufficiently hardened, which took about an hour, I turned the tank on its side and repeated the procedure. Once everything was all hardened and dry, I rinsed it out in the sink, and it was a finished product. (I am planning to do one more rinse tomorrow to wash out any residue that might have been left by the foam.)

 

Finished product:

[tinyreef]

very kewl!

 

i like the final shot. that truly looks like a reef cliffwall to me. can you sculpt it outwards at all or does it just sag too much? maybe if you had a rough skeleton beneath to start?

 

i know public aquariums use that stuff (polyurethane) to create the base and sometimes the fascia of their big tanks. that thread mentioned something about sealing it, i've heard that also in the context of the pub aquariums too. did you have to seal it? did one can of spray last that tank?

[jdsabin1]

That is way cool. I want to see more pics and some pics with the tank full of coral too.

 

Man this nano hobby is really taking off and going big time.

[ejmeier]

tinyreef - I didn't really try to sculpt it at all, just sprayed it on and pushed some live rock into the foam. If you were to use enough foam, you could probably add some decent sized pieces of liverock.

 

I didn't seal it at all - I just rinsed it several times. I think that filling the tank with water for a while and letting it sit overnight as a long-term rinse would be wise as well. I noticed that the foam is somewhat water-resistant, so it takes a while for the water to reach the very back where it is stuck to the tank to get fully rinsed.

 

One can just barely lasted me the two walls, which were both 12" x 12". I don't know if I waited too long and the foam was beginning to harden or seal inside the can, or if there just isn't very much foam in the can. I'm telling you, the can felt just as heavy and full when I was done as it did when I first started. Very hard to tell how much foam is actually left, at least IME.

[ELGORDOINAVW]

just following along

[ejmeier]

Just thought I would post a quick update.

 

I finished my lighting canopy, but my bulbs haven't arrived yet.:

So, I took a high-powered incandescent light from my dad's photo enlarger thing-a-ma-jig for photographing purposes. (If you call what a webcam takes as "photos"!)

Anyway, the camera was having a terrible time with the lighting, just check out this shot:

 

So the pictures are very... weird. The bulb was kinda yellow, but not as yellow as it looks in the pictures. Anyway, here are a few shots of the foam background:

Note that in the above picture all the lights in my room are on, but the webcam is having an awful time with all this light!

 

Hope this sheds some light on what this foam looks like. Too bad for my webcam though.X)

[tinyreef]

looks like you're incubating aliens in there or it's a scene from Dune. still pretty cool looking tho imo.

 

is the foam sealed against the glass or off of it a little. also, is it porous or is it bubbly?

[ejmeier]

tinyreef - to tell you the truth, the foam is kinda smooth on the outside. I'm not sure if it's completely porous though. If you tear off a piece (which I did on my test piece) it is almost like a sponge. But the surface seems almost waterproof. It is not totally waterproof though, as I can see the air pockets through the back wall - and in these air pockets there is a bit of condensation on the aquarium wall - so at least some water must be getting through. I wonder if this will have any effect on the nitrates? ???

 

Also, it is attached directly to the back of the tank. The pictures may be a bit decieving (and blurry).

[deacon hemp]

Originally posted by tinyreef

looks like you're incubating aliens in there or it's a scene from Dune.

 

thats frickin hilarious

 

Ejemeier since i seen this a few days ago you have inspired me to do this on my next tank,question what type of rock did you use?

[deacon hemp]

Originally posted by tinyreef

looks like you're incubating aliens in there or it's a scene from Dune.

 

thats frickin hilarious

 

Ejemeier since i seen this a few days ago you have inspired me to do this on my next tank,question what type of rock did you use?

[Chamkeeper]

EJ,

 

There is a product called "Zoopoxy" that is designed to seal sculpted foam. I have seen it used and it comes out pretty cool. They also have lots of DIY info on their site.

 

Nice job, can't wait to see the completed tank.

 

http://www.polygem.com/zoopoxy.html

[ejmeier]

Chamkeeper - checked out that site. Not too bad, but it's really expensive - $ 75 starting out, plus like $23 for more epoxy. I guess at under $4 a can that just the foam is good enough for me. I haven't had any problems with it yet.

 

deacon hemp - I just used fiji LR mostly. It doesn't really matter, some of the pieces I put in were from acropora skeletons that I bought years ago. You could stick practically anything in there, whatever floats your boat.

[Raise]

That is stylish.

[ejmeier]

Just thought I'd bring this thread back to see if anyone has tried this yet. Does anyone have anything to add/share??

[nanoman]

Nope, just tagging along.

[swordfish]

Not that kind, you friggin' pervs! I have always wondered what would happen if you took a 50 gallon drum of that expanding foam, set it in a field and then shotgunned it with a 12 guage from about 100 feet away. I mean how big, and how fast do you think that colossal mountain of foam would form? I can imagine you'd have a 300 foot high pile of the stuff in a mere instant. Come on, admit you'd kill to see them do it on Jackass or something.

 

How many cans do you think it'd take to fill someone's car? How about their cubicle at work? Man that stuff sure could wreak havoc if sprayed into, say, the dash vents or air intakes of your enemy's car, now wouldn't it?

 

Well, at least it sounds cool to me. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get in line for bedtime medication at the nurse's station.

 

Jeff

[JohnnyMTB]

That looks really cool. If it's not completely sealed won't you have a huge problem with algae, DOS, and just plain stagnant water in all of those little pockets? Seams like it would turn into one huge sponge filter just waiting to crash your system when it can't hold any more.

[ejmeier]

Originally posted by JohnnyMTB

That looks really cool.  If it's not completely sealed won't you have a huge problem with algae, DOS, and just plain stagnant water in all of those little pockets?

 

I'm not too worried about that; liverock has pockets, and it isn't completely sealed either...

 

What is DOS?

[Jandree22]

your sure this foam wont leach any nasty chemicals or whatever into the water? or simply just break down submersed in water all that time?!

 

i've gotta tell ya tho, it does look pretty sweet;)

[ejmeier]

Trust me...:

 

No, seriously, I did some research over at a few other forums. I started at a FW forum, because it is more common in FW tanks. Then I looked at some threads on RC. Here's some of the threads:

 

FW board:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showt...&threadid=12408

 

RC thread on polyurethane foam:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=199240

 

Dutch site on the art of foaming, among other things:

http://cichlidinspiration.net3services.com...-%20Background'

[Jandree22]

I certainly like the idea of cutting a piece of plexi glass to fit along the sides of the tank, then shooting the insulation onto it.

1) Lets you remove it if it ever becomes a problem or you don't like

2) If you mess up, just buy another sheet of plexi glass, not a new tank

3)Makes it possible to do a 48"x21" wall without turning a 75gal on it's side;)

 

I will seriously check into this as I'm in the beginning stages of setting up my 75gal into a reef:happy:

[ELGORDOINAVW]

don't mind me just following along

[Gunfury]

that stuff is pretty nasty if you get it on your hands or clothing - extremely sticky/gooey. I would recommend wearing gloves or something when you use it and work in a ventilated area. Until it cures you might not want the chemical residue to get on your bare skin ....

 

neat idea though ...

[zamboniman]

I second that Gunfury....

 

Says wear gloves on the can.... USE GLOVES.

 

Used it last weekend for a home project.... Didn't use gloves... Got it on my hands..... Week later it's still there..... Tried the acetone like the can said everything......

 

Nothing gets it off... just has to wear off.

[Gunfury]

yea same here zamboniman - last time I used it I accidently smeared some on my index finger. Took a layer of skin off when it finally pealed away. not sure if was a chemical burn or just the stickiness but it will definitely chew your hands up if you get it on you ...