owen Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Hey I thought Id share with you guys my diy fake rocks In the past Iv always used real rocks, but they weigh a ton and to move the tank youve got to break down the whole thing, and for us renters its a real pain in the a.. For my new tank I wanted to create a land area and two water areas. The usual glass divides look unnatural and making it out of real rock was out of the question. Fake rock all the way! Im going to keep this brief.. mould- foam in mould- its two part closed cell foam used in boat building. foam out of mould- foam being carved- foam carved- 1st coat black sand from west coast and powdered soil, at a ratio of 8/2- second coat of black sand and powdered clay, at a ratio of 2/8- pic was taked before it was washed.. all done, I just did two coats and a touch up coat- close up- looks like stone to me I had to paint epoxy around the waterline to stop it wicking up water- 450mm x 450mm x 450mm cube tank- thanks hollywoods before background- after background- 'artists' impression of how it will look when done- when finished the whole tank will weigh less than 30kg empty of water. FAR FAR less than it would if made from real rock. If anyone wants to try their hand and make their own, Im happy to pass on advice from what I learnt along the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott16 Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 cool wats going in it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owen Posted January 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 its going to be a rockpool tank. its going to have a big purple shore crab and its live food- shrimp, pods, snails and stuff that can hide in the holes in the rocks untill caught.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott16 Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 awesome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony law Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 did you jusy use epoxy and sand and mix togeter or some thing else,cheers ant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owen Posted January 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 did you jusy use epoxy and sand and mix togeter or some thing else,cheers ant nope I painted the epoxy on first(thin a coat as poss). I mixed together very fine black sand and finely powered soil and clay(must be very dry) and sprinkled a thick layer over the wet epoxy. wash, dry and repeat.. I found that black sand and silt comes out like river rock, and black sand and clay comes out like sandstone. the most important thing is the sand and powdered soil/clay has got to be very fine, or it comes out looking like a blob of sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 if your fake rocks were submersed, would they float being foam? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owen Posted January 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 they are uber buoyant. They need to be glued to the tank as weighing them down kinda defeats the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim r Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Very impressive owen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeous Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 well done... any idea if fish would still lay on them or would the fakeness be detected?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 that is hard core thats like... mad scientist shit does the fake rock sink ? cos maybe i can buy some off you:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlid7 Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 does the fake rock sink ? They need to be glued to the tank as weighing them down kinda defeats the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richms Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Thats really good. Could you disolve out the foam with a solvent to remove the boyancy once the shell is hard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owen Posted January 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Thats really good. Could you disolve out the foam with a solvent to remove the boyancy once the shell is hard? not with the foam I used but i guess you could with polystrene. If I was going to make hollow rocks Id buy some moulding latex and make a female mould from a real rock, then glass inside it, then fibreglass inside the mould. I would then coat the outside of it as I did the foam. sounds hard I know, but thats what I would do... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anthony law Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 so what going in it any up date pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owen Posted January 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2008 so what going in it any up date pics a crab and some shrimp and other hardy sea creatures. but its too hot at the moment so Im going to wait until it cools down before stocking it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mankeycow Posted February 7, 2008 Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 how u make the backround? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted February 7, 2008 Report Share Posted February 7, 2008 well done... any idea if fish would still lay on them or would the fakeness be detected?? I'd say they would. In the wild angelfish lay eggs on leaves, mine for example will hunt out anything long, fairly solid, and bright green, usually my filter hoses Amazing work owen, thanks for sharing the process too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeous Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 any update pics?? :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casper Posted February 8, 2008 Report Share Posted February 8, 2008 Taking orders yet? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owen Posted February 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2008 how u make the backround? If you are interested in seeing a construction log of the whole build Iv posted it on a vivarium board - http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136377 oh and I have since come up with a way of making faux river stone out of hypertufer thats far less work and they sink too! but thats another story.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DantezGirl Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 just curious are they safe for fish long term with all chemicals ect? not even sure there is chemicals lol any way love the tank and the kiwi enginenuity would love a sink able rock pool if you can come up with one for ma newts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k1w1y2k Posted February 11, 2009 Report Share Posted February 11, 2009 Looks great, will have to try it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishkeepa Posted April 14, 2009 Report Share Posted April 14, 2009 if you read the full topic at the link you can see the finished tank and it is absolutely amazing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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