carving a background from styrofoam

[Stuey]

Hi everyone,

I was reading an article about two guys that have used styrofoam to create a background for their tanks.

It fits inside the tank kinda ike the Juwel sheets you can buy.
In the article it says the styrofoam is painted 3 times with concrete mix, with powdered colour added.

I was wondering if anyone had used this method. I am interested in trying it, but my main concern is leaching from the concrete mix into the water and killing the fish.

I wonder if using a coating like the one used in ponds would prevent this happening

Would appreciate any input

Cheers
Stu

is styrofoam the same as polystyrene?

[Silurus]

is styrofoam the same as polystyrene?

Styrofoam is foamed polystyrene.

[PhilipAsh]

Stu,

Check out the below link.

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_othe ... _styro.htm


Phil

[Graeme]

Dead spots would be my concern!



G.

[Stuey]

Thanks for the link Philip, I shall read it through when I get the chance.

If the planned backdrop is siliconed flat to the back glass panel, then deadspots would be avoided Graeme

[Stuey]

Forgot to ask in previous post,

Anybody know of anywhere in the west yorkshire area where styrofoam is available from?

Thanks

[Graeme]

Good luck!



G.

[coelacanth]

Anybody know of anywhere in the west yorkshire area where styrofoam is available from?

B&Q? Not sure if they've opened any branches in deepest Yorkshire yet, I think people over there are not yet ready to start thinking about home improvements

[coelacanth]

I was reading an article about two guys that have used styrofoam to create a background for their tanks.

Incidentally, is this the one out of Cichlidae, the BCA publication? I've read and re-read that article a few times, I think I'll give it a go at some point this year on a display aquarium here.

[Stuey]

hi there,

The article was from the site:

http://www.hagblomfoto.com/aa.htm

cheers
Stu

[derecskey]

This is my polystyrene and concrete background.

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dderec ... m=1424.jpg

[WALL]

I used the foam from building sites ( under the slab )
This stuff is about 6ft x 4ft x 6in in size
I use a heat gun to change the shapes and create the affect.
Paint with black jack then add small stones before the the paint sets off.then place in the tank

Best tip i have is do it slowly and have heaps of trials before doing you main tank with your best fish.

WALL

[GeoffO]

I bought 3 of those Juwel sheets for a new 400l tank and at £15 a sheet they are rather expensive. In less than a month the first one had started to buckle - guess what? they don't take to being submerged in water! - within 3 months all 3 had popped up to the surface.

I guess that shows me not to submerge something less dense than water without using a bucketful of silicon first!

[WALL]

Geffo,
add extra glass across the top ( 6mm) with silicon and let set off .then place foam in and yes heaps of silicon. paying close attention to the edges you need to seal this area off and let dry for over a week.
then shape with heat gun (small ) it does not take a lot of heat but remember to ventilate room well when doing this .
the hardest thing is doing this on larger tanks -more foam ,more upward pressure,more problems with holding it down.
has i said before start small and work your way up
use only 1 peice of foam not layers ,water gets in between sheets

i hope this helps you out

Wall

[GeoffO]

Thanks for the tips, Wall. I'll certainly try them out next time I have the tank empty (could be a while!)