PIcs and Videos of my Handi-Foam Tests

[Ram_Puppy]

When I ordered the foam, I got one bottle more than I needed so I can screw up some cardboard before using the foam on the tank.

After using it, I have some observations (oh, and I will bring one of the test pieces to the next MAAST meeting I can make so you can all get touchy feely w/ it.)

1) The surface of the foam becomes smooth and shiney as it dries. (I am only about 1 hour into the drying process.

2) The foam actually puffs up far more than you think it will after the initial application. My test pieces ended up expanding more than I thought they would

3) The outgassing this stuff does when it drise make for a most AMAZING re-creation of liverock... it has thousands of holes in it that ar incredibly random, it looks like it hosted an entire colony of tubeworms at one point.

5) If you wait 10 minutes for the tacky surface to form, you can forgoe gloves and touch it directly, it won't get on you. the outside is allready cured but still soft while the inside remains a gellatinous foam. at this point, you can gently proke and prod sections of your rock to reduce the 'air volume' in it, (if it's to thick) and shape it a little more to your liking. I suspect you will have to do this a few more times as it dries to keep up w/ it.

6) I am going to do one more test I haven't documented here yet, where I use some southdown sand and sprinkle it on the foam before the surface tacks up.

irregardless... here is what I have so far for you:

http://www.maast.org/albums/Ram_Puppy/DSCN0837.jpg

(Sorry this one is a little dark, haven't had time to edit!)

http://www.maast.org/albums/Ram_Puppy/DSCN0844.jpg

The following two movies were taken w/ my digital camera. You will need quicktime to view them.

The following movie is me just making a lump of this stuff
http://www.digitalflytrap.com/Movies/DSCN0836.MOV

I had a problem uploading the second movie, it you don't get it the first time, try again later.

This one is me testing it on a piece of egg crate and PVC as if to be a shelf and hide a part of my plumbing.
http://www.digitalflytrap.com/Movies/DSCN0840.MOV

[Ram_Puppy]

fixed links

[Ram_Puppy]

just put sand on my last test of the stuff. NOwjust gotta wait for it to dry then skake it off. will see if I can post pics later tonight.

[carlinsa]

looking good..............................

[Mr_Cool]

Looks like a great big pile of grey doggie doo-doo!

[hammondegge]

are you using this for aquascape??

[MikeyBoy]

That piece on the left looks a little suspect!!! haha

[Ram_Puppy]

yeah, I am going to use it on the back wall of my tank. look in general reefkeeping for a topci called 'fun with foam'. there is a link to the guy that has been doing it on reefcentral for over 2 years.

[hammondegge]

so there is no trouble with out gassing or decomposition?

[Ram_Puppy]

no decomp. It is poly-urethane, and inert. this stuff is used to cover steel under the oceans surface and preserve it.

it is fish friendly as well.

I imagine it will outgas regular old air for a week or two after it goes in the tank, but I am not especially worried about that as I don't plan on putting the fish in right away.

I got hte sand test done, I am not particulary impressed, the sand grains did not hold very well, but the sand was also damp. I am going to go ahead and use the sand in the tank, at the very lease it will make the urethane more coarse.

other than that, very very impressed w/ this stuff.

[Ram_Puppy]

Well, it is with Great Sadness I have to report this endeavor as a FAILURE.

this foam product gives the illusion of porosity, it's light, has holes in the surface, it LOOKS great. but it is NOT truly porus.

I Held a piece of foam under water and very little air escaped.

I broke a piece in half and poured water onto one of the halved (the broken interior that was now exposed) and the water just sat there. Not s single drop seemed to penetrate into the Foam.

I will be shipping my last 4 bottles back unless someone wants to buy them off me.

You live an learn. I will go probably make my background out of aragocrete now.

[Richard]

Why do you need it to be porous?

[Ram_Puppy]

well for one peace of mind that it is not a incredibly boyant structure in my tank fighting it's own staying power to hold onto the glass.

2, It seems like a waste of space for bio-activity. I know you think I am anal about this, but I want every square inch of my tank to be as incredbly active and diverse as it can, and a solid lump of urethane foam that water can't penetrate doesnt foot the bill for me, with as much as I would be using, I would probably displace up to 10 gallons of water.

If I make the back of the tank w/ a strong yet thin and visually interesting layer of aragocrete, at least it will be bio-active.

However, when I got home last night I was pretty much at the point of saying 'screw it, everyone else makes their tanks w/out some fancy back, so can you" and just plumbing the dam thing out!

[captexas]

It might look cool to cover the back of your tank with that as you have more control over the shape of it and then use the aragocrete for your rock work within the tank. Way back when at Aquarium Sales & Service, they had some foam backgrounds that were even colored somehow and they looked really cool. Personally, I'd think it would look neat to have the back of the tank look like a rock wall/reef ledge and be able to insert a few corals in it.

Either way, thanks for sharing in your experiments, definately an interesting alternative. ;)

[seamonkey2]

bummer it did not work out, I was looking foward to a great result :( :(

there was a guy, who cut LR in half and epoxy the flat part of the LR against the wall of his tank, it looked very nice, but he said it was a pain in the rear to do., very time demanding, I was thinking on that when you post it first.

if you want to do a wall of LR and you dont mind the extra work maybe that would be the way to go.

Jose

[Ram_Puppy]

I don't forsee myself cutting liverock in half anytime soon.

If I do end up making aragocrete to go over the tank, I know how I am going to do it I think.

Step 1) take measurements of each back panel of the tank
Step 2) create plywood forms with the proper horizontal and verticle dimensions, with a depth of approximately 4 to 5 inches
Step 3) waterproof molds w/ paint (maybe some foam! :) lol)
Step 4) Put 2 inches of sand in, and start making the aragocrete, alternatively adding and taking away from the mold w/ sand
Step 5) put return pipes in aragocrete, put final back layer of aragocrete in (Maybe some 1/4 PVC to use as hooks to go over the edge of the tank and hold it up.)
Step 6) let it dry, cure it, cure it some mroe, cure it some more... a little more...
Step 7) insert in tank.

The big problem I have w/ this is waiting the 6 weeks to cure the stuff. I want my tank up now!

Richard makes a good point, it doesn't have to be porus and bio-active... that would be ideal... it is a quick and far from dirty solution... but so is just plumbing it and going for it!

[hammondegge]

I have zoos and anthelia growing on the back of my tank, very happy with this wall of filter.

[hobogato]

yeah, you could just start supergluing frags of zoas, gsp, etc to the back and once they spread and encrust, it would look really cool

ham, have a pic? i would like to see it.

[hammondegge]

just started with the zoos, i'll get a pic when the lights come on. didnt think of GSP, that will be a good place for the little pests.

[Shark_Bait]

Would be cool over the foam. Just to give it some shape and texture.

[hammondegge]

here it is, sorry color sucks

[hobogato]

that's way better than a solid color or seascape outside the glass. my tank is a see thru both sides, so im trying to get gsp's to take over one overflow on one end and plan on gluing zoa's to the overflow on the other end.

[hammondegge]

yes, i agree. i am going to try the gsp for more color, i have zoos on the overrflow. they are coloring up with a greater intensity then elsewhere in the tank. the are about 10" from the MH bulb. i would like to find some xenia or anthia of other bright colors (these are pink) does anyone know of such?

[hobogato]

i have seen blue anthelia, i believe at frag farmer. (what a coincedence-sp? since im trying to put together a group order with them)

http://www.fragfarmer.com/main.php?item_id=414&item_type=20

[hammondegge]

****, that's one pricey weed!

[hobogato]

way more than i would spend!

[Ram_Puppy]

I have never seen anthelia in person (that I know of) does move and spread like star polyps?

[hammondegge]

yes it will reproduce along a surface just like GSP with mat like expansion. it will also show up around the tank on occaision. i think it drops arms that float to other areas. this just started to happen for me. it is controlable as long as you remove the young polyps.

[hobogato]

it is more like xenia, but single polyps. also called waving hand coral.

[cbianco]

Looks like I have the same stuff only green not blue. I paid five dollars for a frag at Fin-Addict about eight months ago. This stuff grows like a weed.

Christopher

[hobogato]

those are green star polyps. anthelia is more like xenia, only one "polyp" at the end of each one (kinda like an anemone)

[hobogato]

heres a pic of an anthelia zoa combo rock from my old tank.

http://www.maast.org/modules.php?set_albumName=hobogato&id=acf&op=modlo ad&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php

[cbianco]

Ahh... similar but different, lol.

Thanks for the schooling, :)

Christopher

[Ram_Puppy]

thanks guys!

[hobogato]

sorry for the hijacking!

[Ram_Puppy]

no biggie. my brother and I were talking and we think this stuff could be used to make very cool mountains for the trainset were getting my nephew next year.

[BIGBIRD123]

Ram,

I'm working on a nozzle tip to force air into man-made argonite rocks to make them as porous as lava rock but still be heavy enough to keep on the bottom. "Fingers crossed" that it works. What it does is force air and the argonite thru a tube so that it can be shaped as desired. will update with data as soon as tests start.

Steve

[ou812pezz]

What recipe are you guys using to make your agracrete (Ag)? I use crushed oyster shell (from the feed store), cheap white sand for aquariums, Portland cement and small 1/4" airline tube clippings. I mix to the consistency of cottage cheese (the key is in how much water you add). Pour it in crushed oyster molds (in a box) and cover with dry crushed oyster shell. Then I take 5" airline tubing and push it through various parts of the Ag and leave them in. I also make dimples in the ag with the tubing. Let it dry 24 yrs then pull out all the air line tubing. Let dry another 12 hrs and put in water. The rock is very porous and has excellent texture. If you thin this mix down to a cream consistency then you can paint a few coats on a Styrofoam background for an interesting affect. I'm in the process of doing a sunken temple head set in ruins with this effect.