cullymoto Posted November 16, 2012 Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 Hey there AA. I have been thinking about re-doing the aquascape of my tank, you see i upgraded to a large tank and simply just transfered over all the decore I had before! now things are good, fine, happy, but a little ugly and mis-matched. I have been playing with the idea of creating my own scenery pieces. I have experience with metal working, concrete / mortar work. and am thinking about basically creating a wire frame, concrete coating / sculpting. painting, then clear coating. Leaning towards something like a root -type (amozon river) or even something like a big-a$$ bone-sigh tree with some christmas moss on top type of thing. At this time the design is on paper and still being tweaked. I would like to ask members here for their opinions / experience on do it yourself things of this nature. What products did you use? what would you do different? what problems did you run into? I have also been thinking about creating a silicone covered bottom. basically laying a nice sand and placing a layer of silicone over top so that the tank is bare bottom (easy to keep spottless) without being as ugly as a bare bottom lol. anythoughts on this? Can i "heat" the silicone somehow so it flows over the sand and is a very thin layer? Will it pick up the sand as it flows and suspend it? anyway. opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blink Posted November 16, 2012 Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 For your sandy bottom idea you'd want to use a polyester resin. You could use epoxy but epoxy resins smell awful for at least a week, usually longer. Keep in mind that the tank will need to be dry and stay empty for at least a couple days. If you want to know more call Viking plastics and tell em what your trying to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cullymoto Posted November 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 emailed Viking. thank you for pointing me in that direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cullymoto Posted November 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2012 So the good people at viking plastics got back to me, turned me onto a product called "ecopoxy resin" coupled with a clear hardener. non toxic, no voc's, naturally sourced (made from soybeans) sounds like I might have a winner. As far as the fake branches go, im thinking that concrete would leach, messing with the KH of the water column. spray foam might be the way to go. Wire up the shape i'm after, encase a Brick in the bottom for weight, spray foam my hearts content, use epoxy with coloured hardener to seal foam.... sounds simple enough.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 There have been some awesome DIY threads on MonsterFishKeepers.com - check it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blink Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Sooo, I may have gone to Viking today and picked up some Ecopoxy... I was looking for something to seal my new tank stand with and well, this stuff just sounded like exactly what I was after. I'll post up results or a review once I've got it done, hopefully this weekend. The price was right and after reading a few reviews from boat builders this stuff sounds like a hot ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cullymoto Posted November 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 you beat me to it lol. I am still in the R/D of this project. I would really appreciate it if you would post your experience with the ecopoxy. Thanks blink. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blink Posted November 17, 2012 Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 Well my project is quite different but I figure that Viking was good for both of us. First coat of Ecopoxy has been laid down, did the bottom, back and part of the inside of my stand with pretty heavy coats. Didn't use much material so far and the verdict is in on it's working performance. This stuff is nice!! -It does NOT emit any detectable odor -It mixes easily although it doesn't change color when it's fully mixed (might be able to use a colored hardener to solve this problem) -It spreads really well. Some resins are goopy and really viscous which makes them hard to work with (especially when fiberglassing) but this stuff is thin and spreads very nicely. -It even self levels to some extent, not something I'm used to seeing in polyester resin and something I've never seen in traditional epoxy resin. I have no idea on the finished result as it's sitting in the hobby room (yes!!!! I can work resin in the house! Holy cra... er, mackerel!) This is such a big deal for me because I've had projects sitting all summer waiting for me to find time to work on them and either the weather was poor or I was busy but this opens doors... I can't emphasize enough how happy I am about this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cullymoto Posted November 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2012 well that is Great news Blink. Thank you for the update. I think this seals the deal, when i am ready I will be making a permanent aquascape of my 125 gal... In my living room... without moving the tank. fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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