Bananalobster Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 One question.. Ive been thinking about making a series of caves out of some polystyrene and then covering it with quick dry cement.. Anybody with experience in this that could tell me what has worked for them and whether it would be safe or not to use cement dye to make the color of the cement a little more appealing/darker? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy_t Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Yeah I've done that sort of thing - I know you can add colour to the concrete but I found the algae does it pretty fast and it looks natural too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 You would want to soak it all for a while to let the lime leach out of the cement or it will screw with your PH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananalobster Posted October 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 The tank Im putting it in has malawis so I didnt think the lime would be too much of an issue... Unless it makes it way too high? Im trying to make it go with a darker theme because the fish I have are electric yellows and I thought it would be a cool contrast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy_t Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 Yeah don't worry about the lime then - I used it for my Tanganyikan's and the pH is stable at 8.2 (and thats with 40kg's of concrete!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.PROPHECY Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 im also thinkn about doin this for malawis, do you kno if u gota cover the cement with an epoxy paint? or will it be ok without it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy_t Posted October 12, 2006 Report Share Posted October 12, 2006 you can if you want to but you don't need to and epoxy isn't cheap!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocform Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 Try this forum. Also the cement dye is generaly acidic so it would definitely change the PH level of your tank http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/synthe ... 17921.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicjay Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 i have tried poystyrene, the whole lot ended up floating, even when weighed down with rocks and bricks, the moment there was some movement, they came tumbling down, The ony saviour was the glass was 10mm thick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Some cement dyes are metal oxides. Black (iron oxide). Best to check the dye compounds for toxidity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.