pico-reefer Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello, well, the age old question, should I do a sand bed, or BB? some say yes, some say no. Well, I like the look of the sand, but the ease of maintenance of a BB, plus my tank is a nano, and nano's are known for building up detris in the sand bed and rocks, causing nitrate/PO4 problems down the road, and I went to try and avoid that. Anyway, upon searching various threads about making fake sand beds, I came accross the best one IMO, i tried the silicone method, where you silicone the sand down, but it didnt turn out well, it didnt get good coverage, and you can see through it, The best method IMO, is what im going to show you in this thread. I Got this idea from another forum, but its 4 years old, so I figured i'd try it out and post an updated thread where everyone can see it. Now, the basics. What you will need, Famowood 2-part epoxy resin, found at lowes,homedepot ect. 2 plastic wax free mixing containers A wooden paint stirrer Sand of your choice Wax paper Ok, Heres what the resin looks like in the box, And heres a shot of the 2 parts, First thing you need is to either make a box the same size as your tank, or you can mix it directly in your tank, But I wouldn't reccomend it since its permanet. My tank is 18x18", I made my jig 19x19" so i can have some exccess that i can cut off, better to have to much than too little. I made my jig out of scrap peices of acrylic, but you can use basically anything, Once you have your jig made up, line the inside with wax paper, the resin won't stick to it, so it makes for easy removal. Once thats done, you can begin mixing the resin, The resin comes with directions, but basically you mix equal parts of both the resin and hardner, mix for 2 mins, pour into a seperate container, and mix for another 2 mins. Add the sand at the end of the mixing, how much depends on how you like it, i added 2 1/2 cups of sand to the full 2 bottles of resin. Once you've completed the mixing, pour the resin in the middle of your jig, this is self leveling, but use your stirrer or a spackle troul to work the resin into all the corners and get it fairly level. Once your done pouring the resin, sprinkle more sand over the top, the resin looks cloudy but will dry perfectly clear, once its set, remove it from the jig, peel away the wax paper, and you have fake sand bed! For larger tanks, i reccomend making the bottom in sections for easy insertion and removal. this 19x19" jig used all the resin in the quart sizes containers, but i made it alittle thick, so you'll have to experiment with the size tank you have. any questions freel free to ask. Thanks EDIT- also, when the resin is setting, you can your rocks in it to make the imprint of the rock, so when it dries, you'll have a perfect negative of your base rock, so it will fit in there nicely. Link to comment
bananahands Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Cool idea. Any pics of it in your tank? Link to comment
pico-reefer Posted August 13, 2011 Author Share Posted August 13, 2011 Thanks. Cool idea. Any pics of it in your tank? Not at the moment. i will next week... once the tank arrives Link to comment
vinhle00 Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Yeah would like to see it in a tank with rocks and stuff, pretty cool. Link to comment
_Mitch_ Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Very cool idea. Basically bare-bottom, but with the sand look! I love it. Link to comment
Kazooie Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Does that stuff stick to skin/hair? Link to comment
neuwave Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Umm I use that epoxy for the inside of the stand (walls, sides, etc) to keep the salt water from damaging the stand. It makes a great water seal over the wood. I was thinking about coating the epoxy around various parts of plumbing and equipment that touch water, giving them a nice solid water seal. But when I called the company to see if it was completely inert with zero chemicals leaching out in the salt water. They were hesitant to say yes. They just didnt know what to tell me. So they told me to call anther competing company who makes a epoxy that is used for koi ponds called pond armor. I called pond armor and they said their epoxy is 100% aquatic safe. Either in salt or fresh. Just wanted to let you know what I found out when I called them. Anyway your project is looking good. Link to comment
pico-reefer Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 i know a bunch of people that used this same method, no one has had any ill effects. I'm sure their just saying that becuase they dont want to deal with the liability. Kazooie- yes, this stuff sticks to everything Link to comment
neuwave Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 Probably so, just keeping their hands dry from any liability. Just though I'd give you a heads up on what the manufacturer said. They just couldn't confirm if the epoxy leached out any silicates or phosphates or anything else. Just was trying to help out since I found a manufacturer who stated that their epoxy is completely inert and would not later leach any unknowns into the water. But no worries, just sharing my research. Anyway time to feed the fish lol. Link to comment
pico-reefer Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 Probably so, just keeping their hands dry from any liability. Just though I'd give you a heads up on what the manufacturer said. They just couldn't confirm if the epoxy leached out any silicates or phosphates or anything else. Just was trying to help out since I found a manufacturer who stated that their epoxy is completely inert and would not later leach any unknowns into the water. But no worries, just sharing my research. Anyway time to feed the fish lol. No problem, The guys i know have had it in their tank for years with no phosphate problems or anything, and the pond coat is an epoxy for sealing ponds ect, its not a resin, so it wouldnt work. plus it doesnt come in clear. Link to comment
miniwhinny Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Planning on doing this in a new build I'm working on...do you have any updates since you made it? Link to comment
MedRed Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Looks pretty cool. the only problem i see with that is if it's not perfectly sealed into the tank, you'll have an unreachable area collecting detritus. Link to comment
JamesHL88 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I should make these with dry rock sticking out in nice one piece aquascapes and sell them! Just drop the thing in the tank add water seed and watch your cycle. Link to comment
M@! Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I'm really thinking about doing this for my 30G Seahorse cube. I like the look of sand but BB for seahorses would make life much easier. I was also worried about detritus collecting in the edges if it wasn't completely snug. I was thinking siliconing this in would fix that problem? Link to comment
miniwhinny Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I'm really thinking about doing this for my 30G Seahorse cube. I like the look of sand but BB for seahorses would make life much easier. I was also worried about detritus collecting in the edges if it wasn't completely snug. I was thinking siliconing this in would fix that problem? I think I'm going to make mine right in place in the tank. I have a couple of spare 20's so I don't mind experimenting in one. If it's built in place there won't be any gaps in the corners of edges. I'd love to hear from someone who has one up and running to see how they are long term. Link to comment
Deano Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 I think I'm going to make mine right in place in the tank. I have a couple of spare 20's so I don't mind experimenting in one. If it's built in place there won't be any gaps in the corners of edges. I'd love to hear from someone who has one up and running to see how they are long term. Mine has been in my BC29 since 2006. No problems. Here is the link to my build where I installed it. Link to comment
mmcguffi Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Looks pretty cool. the only problem i see with that is if it's not perfectly sealed into the tank, you'll have an unreachable area collecting detritus. I was also worried about detritus collecting in the edges if it wasn't completely snug. I was thinking siliconing this in would fix that problem? You could always fill gaps with real sand/just cover it with a light layer of sand so it still blows around a little bit and whatever making it more realistic. If you ever need to get rid of it or change it it would be a really simple siphon job Lookin good tho OP Link to comment
Dani3d Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 How do you keep that clean? Link to comment
Trick Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 How do you keep the algae off of it? Link to comment
Deano Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Algae does not grow on mine. It could be because most of it is under the rock work. But the front part is exposed. That usually has a small amount of sand on it so that may keep the algae away. But is has never been a problem with mine. Link to comment
BLoCkCliMbeR Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 novel idea. there was one dude here that used tile. he found some coral limestone tile and was using if for frag mounts then decided to tile the bottom of a tank. not exactly sand, or sand like but def was cool Link to comment
miniwhinny Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Mine has been in my BC29 since 2006. No problems. Here is the link to my build where I installed it. Looks nice! What brand of resin did you use? Link to comment
Formula462 Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 REAL SAND FTW! lol just playing, that's cool. Link to comment
Deano Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Looks nice! What brand of resin did you use? It was a castin' resin sold by Michaels arts and crafts. I think it was called Easy Cast. Link to comment
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