DIY Reef Rock Walls

[KrazieCanuck]

Hello, I remember reading somewhere about people building their own Reef Rock Walls.  I see that in most cases they are built with egg crate, foam, epoxy and sand/crushed coral.  Been considering doing this, but had some questions before I started this.

Are these safe to use in the saltwater aquarium? (no toxins, pollution to the water, etc...)
Has anyone had any issues?  (fish dieing, picking at it, corals suffering from it, etc...)
Does it deteriorate over time?
What brand of foam and epoxy would you suggest?  (think I remember someone mentioning Great Stuff foam?)

Thanks, any info would be greatly appreciated.

[RoxyDog]

I did my rock wall with DIY rocks from OI, great stuff foam, aragonite and 2 part epoxy resin (I think that's what it was).  No egg crate or zip ties.

Yes, they're all safe to use in SW.  I personally would not use the great stuff foam without using the epoxy resin over it though.

I had no issues with fish picking at it or corals suffering EXCEPT:  b/c I did not use egg crate, I didn't have to wait a few extra days for silicone to dry.  I put my wall in a few hours after the resin said it would be dry and cured.  That was not enough time!!  Almost all of my fish died (and some corals) the next day while I was at work.    I then waited like a week for it to dry out, filled it up and emptied it several times with FW, then tried again.  All is well now and it's completely covered in coraline and awesome.    I can't say 100% for sure it was the epoxy, but I saw no other reason for the problem.

I believe the great stuff foam will deteriorate over time without the resin on it.  I've only had it going 6 months now but have not experienced any problems.

Great stuff foam and the 2 part epoxy resin I got at Dynamics Hobbies, I think it was called Zpoxy?

[Hookup]

http://ottawainverts.com/2008/12/13/building-foam-rock-walls/

This is from my system... the walls are now over a year old with no adverse effects.  They are completely covered in coraline algae as well, I even have some corals that are attaching themselves to the walls... like a superman monti..

It's an easy project.

[Snider82]

I followed Hookup's rock wall build,  and im very happy with it.   no problems to be reported here.

[KrazieCanuck]

Thanks for the input guys.  That website on OttawaInverts is great.  Tells exactly what materials are needed including brands.  Hookup, I saw pics of your tank, it looks great.  I think I may take on the project next week and see what happens.

Thanks again all!