Hi

Does anyone have experiance in sculpting polystyrene???

I want to make a background for my wifes cichlid tank, i havent decided if i want it to be rocks or wood, but the idea is the same (i think)

sculpt the poly and then cover in concrete?????

There are several ways you can shape the Polystyrene.

A simple way is with a hot wire cutter made from a length of Nichrome wire.. like the type used in elements.

Just make a holder something like the shape of a catapult and insulate the ends, then string the wire tightly across the two arms.

A 12v supply (power pack or battery) should make the wire glow.

Adjust the length (ohms rating) till you get the wire hot enough.

Another method is a hot air gun if you have access to one.. and another is a small butane gas torch.. but this is a bit messy and lots of fumes.

Most people I have read about doing this have problems in keeping the poly in a sunken position.. so you might have a few probs there.

Bill.

as in it bounces back after it has dried?? i have a hotairgun

as in it bounces back after it has dried?? i have a hotairgun

I think he means as in it floats in water.

I have used the hot wire many times and found it easy and does a great job. Also have used the paint stripper gun and that does a good job too, just make sure to do it outside as the fumes are bad news!!

You can get a good surface finish using sandpapper, then depending on what you are using it for it is easy to cover i.e. concreete and chicken mesh for tank backdrops, paint for decoration, paint and sand for reptile backdrops.

Just use your imagination.

Good luck and have fun.

Ira said:

I think he means as in it floats in water.

Sure do.. the prob is keeping it submersed.

Bill.

i guess the trick is having enough concrete????

how did midas get his to sink??

Ya can cut it tight enuff to jamb in under the top braces, if it is being used for a back-drop.

Alan 104

Yes either jamb it under a top brace or silicone it to the base, or back, of the tank.

I too have used a hot wire.

I think that Midas had enough concrete to get his to sink, I found that I ended up dissolving out some of the polystyrene with acetone so that it would actually sink.

If you want to do rocks try this forum

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/synthe ... 17921.html

hey does anyone know what the paint is you use and where you can get it? i know jansens used to sell one called pondflex but pretty sure they dont any more.

Im thinking of making a palaudium with a waterfall and dugouts for ferns out of poly and i understand you can paint it then sprinkle gravel over it for moss to grow on.

I have also carved poly with a hot wire and sanded it and covered it in concrete with great results. not for a tank but for landscape models for uni.

hey james- what are you thinking of putting in the palaudium? fauna wise?

I cut caves and features out of two 100mm layers of polystyrene with a hot wire then used a concrete product called Cemix Patch to give several thin coats. I poured the last coat over the front to give a good finish. When it had dryed I cut out as much of the poly from the back as I could and concreted that too. Have not had it in the water yet but should be no bouyancy problems.

davidb: I'm wanting to transfer my japanese fire bellied newts to a decent sized tank and im also hoping to have enough water space to get my marble echinodoris horizontalis (spelling?) and tennellus growing well. I have lined up a tank and hopefully four lights and a filter and pump to run the waterfall, as well as CO2 oand some good propagating sand and substrate. I dont want to use the concrete on teh poly because i am affraid the newts may scratch themselves on the sharp surace.

Im going to look into what other plants i can put in the land area as well. i wouldnt mind getting somethign with a nice flower in there also.

in my 250 litre tree frog vivarium, I have just stuck a 10L planter box in gravel. there is a wee little filter in there, but I didn't want to go hard our with a waterfall because of the cost and the work involved. Instead I have opted for more plants.... Over the gravel base I have added fertaliser free pottingmix. On top of that I either have a mix of moss and riverstones. My riverstones were really expensive as they are the ones that are shiny black when dry as well as when wet. I have about 5 species of ferns, as well as a few other plants. For a background I used big pieces of bark and those fern like things that grow on walls etc (similar to kidney ferns- will find out what they are called). I normally water the plants once a day and spray them 2x a day...