Rebirth of the Foam Wall, A new build

[jaynkeel]

So after a while of looking around older posts the old foam wall and fake rock idea popped into my head. I was in need of something me and my son could work on together, as he is 11 anything to pull him off the video games for a bit is a win for me, Thanks to members like dgphelps and a few from the random net I stumbled onto the Marineland 5 gallon portrait tank and had an ahhh hhaa moment. Let me start off by saying this thing is nicer than I thought it would be. My initial goal was to throw a project together and upon completion sell it. Like I said something to keep me and the kids busy through long stretches of boredom.

 

Once I received this in the mail though I really was surprised by the quality of it for the most part. Hey for a $50 tank aio to boot I wasn't expecting crystal clear glass and even with the rounded corners the view ain't bad. I have noticed a few minor issues that I need to address, one being the attachment of the aio wall looks weak to me with weird standoffs for supports staggered down it's tall profile. Another is the underpowered pump rated for 75gph which we all know would not cut it in this world. A few other features I would like to point out is the top is simple yet elegant and they even added a notch for an airline or heater/ pump cord on the backwall inside the viewing part of the tank. Again minor but it's the little things right?

 

The light on the tank is underpowered as all the reviews online claim, and no matter what I do it seems to sit crooked, it's just plain weird. A good idea executed poorly. I will get some pictures up in a bit although I think most people are familiar with the tank and how it looks. For my idea the portrait or taller stance is going (in my head) to look stunning when it's done. I have a few other cubes running in the house currently and this is a refreshing change in profile.

 

Now our plans for the tank revolve around bringing back the spray foam wall construction with my own twist. I am sitting on the fence right now as to which direction I want to go with the construction. It will be sprayfoam over top eggcrate then silicone into place for adhesion. Now I know due to the rear wall (the aio) being acrylic thats a no go there. So my idea is to make the structure one piece and have gluing points on the sides, back , bottom to lock it in there. I also want to try minimal sand on the bottom and rather use the foam for that as well as a portion of the side walls covered to give the effect of a viewing hole from the side profile. This tank is not big so dimension side viewable area uncovered is 7 x 13 " front is 9 x 13". Giving an area inside of 7 x 9 " plus the depth of around 13".

 

If anyone has any idea or experience I might be overlooking please let me know. I will have more to add as the build commences. Right now we have the tank, some eggcrate, zipties foam. So enough to get started...

 

[skibum513]

I have seen foam used in reptile tanks never in a reef tank. Cool Idea I would make sure to coat it really well in an aquarium safe epoxy or paint. Would also be neat to incorporate reef rock into it or something sounds like a fun project post some pictures if you can.

[jaynkeel]

Thanks! I have decided to not use any rock in the foam. Wanna try 100% foam with just a little sand. I am leaning towards using an epoxy / paint to enhance the color to look more natural. I know between algae and coralline it will color up in time but I want it too look good from the start. And will do on the pics

[Mike Savage]

Check out this thread starting at about post 36. http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/332911-mikes-18-custom-cube/page-2#entry4485796

 

Mike

[jaynkeel]

Ok time for some picture updates. This actual tank will be going back and the new one will be here Tuesday. This one upon cleaning the glass after unboxing had a few deep scratches in the viewing panels. Needless to say not comfortable with that after investing a lot of time and work into it in the long run. Gotta love Amazon prime, as they make the swap pretty simple no questions asked and ship the replacement tank out while the current tank is still here vs. doing it the long drawn out way of playing the waiting game. In these photos everything is just a mock up nothing is secured yet with zip ties. Again once ready it will be ziptied for a 1 piece unit. Figured that would give the best adhesion due to the rear wall being acrylic and not glass.

 

 

 

[jaynkeel]

I forgot to add this as well as ask input from whomever has an idea. My question is, This is a lower intake on the aio wall about midway up the wall. The pump this tank comes with is rated for like 100 gph. I am going to be replacing it with around a 300gph pump. Would it be wise to keep this functional or block it off with the wall? I can build slots into the wall to allow it to still function or perhaps make the wall so this intake draws water from behind the wall which would normally be semi stagnant. I was also thinking of blocking it off temp and putting in the new pump and see if it starts to run low on the overflow because of the increased pump size and reduce intake. Thanks in advance for any input as always.

 

[jaynkeel]

Bump. Anyone got any ideas about the lower intake.

[Steensj2004]

Bump. Anyone got any ideas about the lower intake.

Personally, I wouldn't see why blocking it off makes a difference. Besides, I had small gobies in my Biocube that liked to sneak into the AIO section. Id block it, it would look better IMHO.

[jaynkeel]

My concern was would the overflow be able to handle the increased flow rate without having to mod it. It would be easy to mod it but right now it looks really nice from the factory and I was hoping to retain that. I will probably have to put the new pump in when it gets here take a piece of plastic wrap fire up the pump and try to temp block it off via that way. My thinking is that it should create enough draw to suck the plastic to the wall to seal it off temp. If that pans out then I will just cover it with the wall and seal it off. Just didn't know if I was overlooking a flaw in my thinking.

[jaynkeel]

This should up the flow some.

 

[jaynkeel]

So we mocked up the frame or skeleton for the foam wall. Gonna try and include a tonga type piece going down from the one corner that can have some zoas on in the future. Well some more pics.

 

 

 

[jaynkeel]

Nada ? No interest in this tank at all folks? Perhaps foam rock walls are not that exciting for people these days. Or should I have put it into a different topic. Well anywho if anyone is silently following then the foam is going on today, it will look rough at first but when done should look killer...

[FishI]

I like it. Something different for sure.

 

What about the filtration benefit of live rock?

[jaynkeel]

The foam becomes the live rock. I will have to seed it with a small piece for a short while though. And Thanks!!

[Marc.The.Shark]

That's pretty elaborate skeleton, following along, want to see how this turns out. Pretty sweet idea, get to shape your scape exactly how u want it. What foam are you using, is it a closed cell type?

[vlangel]

Just happened upon this thread today. I am old school, (or is it just plain "old")and anyway I remember foam walls. I like what you've done so far and will be following.

[jaynkeel]

Foam is on!! But this is the stage that looks like poop literally. After some sanding and shaping and painting will look totally different. My son and I had a fun time and a few laughs and to me thats the best part...

 

[jaynkeel]

The foam is a spray foam made by Beckett, normally used in ponds to retain the rocks in a water feature. It is inert when cured, totally fish safe and proven by many to be reef safe. I have used it many times in ponds and even left untreated for years exposed to the elements here near Buffalo NY it holds up and even weathers to a unique finish. This example pic is from a spot in my waterfall outside that was an extra glob I left when building, unsealed fully exposed to sun and snow for 4 yrs now. If you push on it with your finger hard as a rock with just a little give, like trying to push in that tight foam board you would see at Home Depot ( pink). The two green circles in this pic are real rocks, everything else is the foam, including the spot covered in moss.

 

[jaynkeel]

Well that is weird no matter what I try the green circles wont show up? Anyway the reddish looking rock upper left and the grey upper right..There now...Magic!!

[jaynkeel]

This knife was made for this job I swear. Effortless removal of excess foam with precision accuracy. Paper thin cuts not a problem with a laser sharp KA-Bar, locally made I might add

 

[jaynkeel]

Getting there. Knocked little bit out tonight. Not so intestiney looking now.. Lots more to go.

 

 

[jaynkeel]

Did some more. Kinda a lot of glare in this one then shady in the next few.

 

 

The arch done.

 

 

Up close detail of one of the many tube worm hole features added.

 

 

Now just need to clean it up a bit, add some base color then highlight. Then seal with epoxy sealer.

[jaynkeel]

One final pic to end the day. A little color now.

 

[Mr. Microscope]

Really cool build! What are your livestock plans?

[smeagol108]

Looks pretty awesome to me