my method of building fake / faux rocks

[Poker1]

Rudereefer, when you did the practice vive... Did you have problems with the Ultraflex 2 curing correctly. I am working my first vive and am using the UF2 method. After letting the first (thin) coat cure for 48 hrs, I then tried the vinegaqr bath. As the "rock" got wet the UF2 started rubbing off. Maybe I'm freeking out about nothing this is my first time.

Only thing I think I may have done wrong is the temp. at which the "rock" was curing. The temp. dropped to around 45-50 degrees. Working in an uninsulated garage.Thats why I let it sit 48 hrs beforee its first bath.

Can't wait to see your current vive updates. Looking great!

[beckdg]

post 102... yay!

[brokenhands]

Hi, I was just wonderng how your Bonsai is doing in there? I'm trying to decide on one for mine but obviously it needs to be suited to the conditions so wondered if yours have done ok?

[RudeReefer]

Originally Posted by Poker1

Rudereefer, when you did the practice vive... Did you have problems with the Ultraflex 2 curing correctly. I am working my first vive and am using the UF2 method. After letting the first (thin) coat cure for 48 hrs, I then tried the vinegaqr bath. As the "rock" got wet the UF2 started rubbing off. Maybe I'm freeking out about nothing this is my first time.

Only thing I think I may have done wrong is the temp. at which the "rock" was curing. The temp. dropped to around 45-50 degrees. Working in an uninsulated garage.Thats why I let it sit 48 hrs beforee its first bath.

Can't wait to see your current vive updates. Looking great!

Hmm, I did a few thin coats of the UF2... I let it dry completely for 3 or 4 days before I "sunk it"... if it is too thin over areas of great stuff, you will get some tiny cracking in areas... so make it thicker over great stuff. I did mine in the kitchen, so it was always warm in there...? Let me know what happens again..

[RudeReefer]

Originally Posted by brokenhands

Hi, I was just wonderng how your Bonsai is doing in there? I'm trying to decide on one for mine but obviously it needs to be suited to the conditions so wondered if yours have done ok?

so far so good, with which seems like a little growth on the leaves... it's pretty wet in my vive in areas too... a waterfall this big is a little hard to keep from splashing here and there, but everything seems to be doing great plant wise.... my friend suggested I raise up the tree a little with more soil under it, because root rot is something you wont see right away, and it is cause from too much water... I plan on getting to it this week.

[RudeReefer]

oh, here's a peak at what I'm working on next! I'm building a vive for my friend who has PDF's.... I believe the tank is a 53-55 gallon? 30L x 24H x 18D. He wants to use corkwood. So, I will try to come up with a way to use his wood, and have rock all around the two pieces. I just cut the "tree" in half to make the two sections. I cut an angle on the right tree to give it more of a lean so they were not both sitting the same in the tank. I will hopefully have a slow trickling waterfall in the center which falls in to a small pond. WISH ME LUCK! haha.. this will take a little more effort then the last one. He's lucky I love doing this... after this I will tackle my 55g.

[beckdg]

Good luck!and lotsa pics

[RudeReefer]

O-K! After battling the Swine Flu, or a severe cold, I am back in action... YEESH! It's 1:30am, I put on the new Blu-ray DVD of the POLICE live reunion concert and started working about 2 hours ago. Nothing better then a late night project with good music and no cell phones going on interrupting you... Looking at this build, I am going to classify it as a more advanced build... way more work then the previous ones.

I want to take the two halves of corkbark I cut and make the wood meet rock where you see glass on this background. These first few pics will show the cork bark cut in half, and placement on the tank.

I then start cuttnig and fitting my large foam block, hoping I can use both halves for most of the background... like the left side and center areas.

I already constructed my false bottom from egg crate, PVC legs, and wire ties. My friend decided he wanted a small pond somewhere, so i drew one in with marker, cut it out, and finished it off with egg crate walls. The walls help later on when you want to stick concrete on the vertical areas. It sticks better having a wall there. So I recommend taking the time to make a complete floor.. no cutting corners. The thin creek will hopefully appear as a crack in the ground later that leads to the pond. We will try to make it look less like a straight line. The less water/pond the more room you will have for plants, so don't go crazy.

[RudeReefer]

Now comes the fun.....

Fitting the wood and foam together like pieces of a puzzle. This will take a lot of time cutting, and placing the pieces in and out of the tank. I'm cutting and fitting a little at a time. You can always take away, adding will be a pain in the butt. There will be concrete/Habacrete mix joining the wood and foam together in the end, but, besides the pieces fitting side by side, there is space between the glass and the skinny part of the wood that touches the glass. My goal is to have a thin area of styro behind this wood that ends up touching the glass. I will most likely end up using aquarium silicone to seal the wood and foam to the glass, and to each other. I dont want to just rely on concrete on glass here. The tighter these pieces fit together, the stronger it should be in the end.

I'm staring by holding the wood against the foam to create the first contoured edge, where the foam meets the wood. Use a marker and draw in the outline of the trees edge. Look at the back of the tank and notice there is about an inch and a half thickness on the bark.... I'm going to try and keep a thin flat styro piece this wide, since the wood is not straight, and there are gaps along the glass. (hope this makes sense-look at the side profile pic of the tree)

Now I start cutting the foam with the heat tool, trying not to cut all the way out the back of the block since I want that thin edge behind the tree. After the front view contour is cut, I go and cut the thin side profile.

[RudeReefer]

Now, after a little trimming, it fits together nice and tight.