my method of building fake / faux rocks - Page 19

brp4e. · #**181** 01-04-2011, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rdk2ooo

Curious, what does soaking it in water&vinegar do?

Concrete leaches lime which is basic, so you have you soak it with vinegar which is acidic to neutralize it.

mmadog202 · #**182** 01-10-2011, 05:07 PM

Hello all. Im mike, and I am fairly new to this hobby. This thread has inspired my girlfriend and I to build a pdf viv. I did a lot of research and found some great information. I recently went to Guatemala and bought a myan mask. Since I realized that a lot of pdf's come from central and south america, I decided to incorporate a similar mask. I'm no artist by any means, but I am really happy with the way things turned out. The only thing left to do is caulk in the back ground. O... there is also 2 water lines that come from the water pump to feed 3 waterfalls on the background. 2 waterfalls on the right and one on the left. so yes there is a false bottem with egg crate. Instead of a foam hot knife I decided to use a dremel tool with a router bit. That works great on the foam but makes a HUGE mess...lol.(plus its not a fire hazard) The shop vac quickly became a good friend. Cant thank you all enough on all the endless knowledge. I would love to return the favor, please feel free to ask questions. Now I just wish I had another tank so I can do it again. I will post more pics soon.

Pictures by mmadog202 - Photobucket

Rdk2ooo · #**183** 01-11-2011, 11:07 PM

nice. very nice. what's the name of the styrofoam you used? is it like the kind florist use for arrangements?

mmadog202 · #**184** 01-12-2011, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rdk2ooo

nice. very nice. what's the name of the styrofoam you used? is it like the kind florist use for arrangements?

Thanks. I used the styrofoam from hobby lobby. Yes and no. They had two kinds of styrofoam thats used for florist. I used the more plasticish or like I say "deep Fried" foam. The other is a softer type of foam, it absorbs moisture and breaks down fairly quick. That worried me cause I didn't want to deal with the plaster falling apart. If you can zoom into the close up pic of my mask pic and you can see which styrofoam I used.

mmadog202 · #**185** 01-12-2011, 02:14 AM

I think this is the foam I used. I cant see the pic real well but its the same price that I paid for it in the store. I actually used two of these panels and glued them together to give the false rock depth.

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mmadog202 · #**186** 01-12-2011, 02:00 PM

I put the rest of the pics in my photo bucket. Check them out.

http://s1104.photobucket.com/albums/h328/mmadog202/

Rdk2ooo · #**187** 01-13-2011, 01:34 AM

I think it turned out great. I'll have to make a trip to hobby lobby I guess and get me some of the foam. I had some of a smaller size a while back and it seems like it would be easier to work with than building up layers of regular styrofoam. And again, awesome tank!

mmadog202 · #**188** 02-17-2011, 06:24 PM

I am also willing to build and sell to anyone that might be interested.

Jsnptnd25 · #**189** 03-25-2011, 09:03 PM

Hey Rudereefer, I was wondering is you thought a habacrete background could be used in a reef tank? I was showing a friend your build log and when he saw the reef he said imagine a background like that in a reef tank. I personally think it would look AMAZING once the coralline algae grows.

James913 · #**190** 03-26-2011, 02:51 PM

Awesome jobs, I was wondering, if instead of painting the concrete, if you could add a colored sand, or stain to achieve the end result, just a thought and I could be way off, lol.