Foam that is safe for the aquarium ?

[magnosis]

What type of foam can I use safely in a freshwater planted tank ?

I want to use it to sculpt a mountainscape; I will lay a few inches of fluorite, and rocks on top of it.

It needs to fill a space approximately 24 x 10 x 6.


Can I use pieces of this ?  I have a few extra sheets of this exact product lying around...

[dan2x38]

I have scene articles of people using the 3M foam like that. Brine a member here used the blue and pink to build a structure. There is also the spray foam but i think there is a specific brand you need not just any brand?

[JetJumper]

http://homehardware.ca/en/rec/index.htm/Paint-D%C3%A9cor/Painting-Supplies/Caulk-Coatings-Seals/Expanding-Foam/Foam-And-Acc/FOAM-POND-STONE-GRT-STUFF-12OZ/_/N-2pqfZ67l/Ne-67n/Ntk-All_EN/R-I2030985?Ntt=pond+foam

I have seen talk of this stuff on ReefCentral. 

[magnosis]

Thanks guys.  I've stacked a few pieces of Styrofoam SM (the blue panel stuff) under big rocks.  2$ worth of foam replacing a 30$ bag of fluorite, I think it's worth it.

... and this morning I thought, well, I should really test its buoyancy in a tub and make sure these rocks are heavy enough to hold it down before I fill up the tank    it would be bad (but funny nonetheless) if everything fell floated apart when I add water !

[dan2x38]

Silicone in place... you can hollow out part of the foam on top to sit more whatever in... you can smooth it with a propane torch, lots of water in a spray bottle works and an old metal spoon kept in the water to smooth the foam some. Practice and scrap so ya don't ruin your terrace. LOL

[Hookup]

there is one dude on RC who tells anyone that great stuff foam is no good if it's the yellow version... apparently it degrades in SW... and from my experience this is very true... after a year there were spots, that I thought, the hermits had picked at...  but according to this RC-user, the foam was deteriorating...

just fyi... i still think it was hermits.

[salt-lik]

Hookup, did you apply epoxy on the foam after it had dried?  Just curious. 

I've seen reports of Great Stuff used with epoxy and even coated with substrate/gravel.  People seem quite happy with this combo.

[morrom]

Hello,

I have used that type of Foam in a lot of my art projects (not fish related), its great very versatile.
If you do use heat to shape it be CAREFUL it melts super fast. In my experience the best way to shape this type of foam was to cut it roughly to the desired shape with a hack saw or foam cutter, then sand it the rest of the way using foam sanding blocks. Buy a few different grits start out with the heavier and move to the smaller grit the closer you get to the shape you want. Makes a mess but its worth it IMO, either do it out side or have a Vac ready to clean up the mess!
One more thing to note the foam can be brittle when it gets thin so be careful.

Trevor

[morrom]

The original piece was made with that blue foam I sanded it to shape and smoothed it out with plaster, and sanded it again. Made a latex cast and poured a two part plastic to make the final piece. A little paint and the finished product is what you see.
Just to show you what that foam can be used for.

[magnosis]

Wow this is amazing, Trevor ! You are truly gifted 

In my case I mostly used the foam as a filler to save up on substrate cost, it is entirely covered by 2-3in of fluorite and rocks.  Although after reading what you guys said, as well as Joey's recent post & video on the 3D background, I'm definitely inspired for my next project ;-)

Thank you all for the advice !

Will post pics of my hardscape in the FW build thread tonight  I'm pretty happy with it.

[morrom]

Thanks for the kind words  .
Looking forward to seeing the hard scape!

[Hookup]

Hookup, did you apply epoxy on the foam after it had dried?  Just curious. 

I've seen reports of Great Stuff used with epoxy and even coated with substrate/gravel.  People seem quite happy with this combo.

Yes...  I did...  And the less epoxy spots were affected... The fully epoxied places were fine.