my method of building fake / faux rocks

[RudeReefer]

And you thought we were done painting....

Alright, I want to make this look as real as possible, and if moss or algae doesn't grow on my waterfall, no problem, it will already be there. The paint I'm using is Phthalocyanine Green, and Black (non toxic acrylic by Liquitex). Water it down for this step or it will look too fake. I'm washing on some dark green in areas where water would splash but not constantly run over the rock. From the top to bottom of the waterfall, and around the base where it meets the creek. On some rocks I will go a little heavier on the paint mixture. With using less black, you'll get a bluer green in areas. Being watered down allows you to get that blended in look, like the algae is lightly covering the rocks.

[RudeReefer]

Next step is the area where water runs over the rock. I've looked at several pics of rainforest waterfalls, and have even seen them in person. Where the water has contact with the rock, it turns a dark brownish black color. I don't know if it's from mud or algae, but it looks black. So I'm making a dark muddy wash using the Burnt Sienna, and Black paint. Keep in mine I test this stuff out on a small area first. When it dries and I like it, then I continue. I hit the areas where water would run down the waterfall, and even continued the dark color into the pond. The waterfall looked just fine without the green and brown steps, but check out the finished look. When the real water runs over this, it should look pretty neat.

[RudeReefer]

Here is the tank that inspired me to do this.. it was at the Chatanooga Aquarium in Tennessee. They have some awesome fresh water displays there. It was maybe only a 50 gallon or less size, but it was so cool. Whoever built it did a great job. I think it just had some fish in the bottom of it.

[beckdg]

now that is really really looking good there reefer. thanks for posting a couple pics that'll show up too.

a++ job all around! now finish the thing so i can see it done.

[RudeReefer]

I planted a few things and just made a test run on the waterfall. It looks so cool running! Looks pretty realistic! I still need some more plants, and I may add a piece of wood from my other vive. Here' a few pics of what it looks like so far. I need to dial in my plumbing, seal off the top, and make a lid for it. I'm also thinking of running a low profile LED light setup in the end.

[Tom Highum]

What are you keeping in there? The tank is amazing I am going to try the technique on a 10 gallon. What kind of paint did you use? How long did you let the Ultraflex 2 cure before painting it? How much was the carving tool?

[RudeReefer]

I'm going to house orange and black leucomelas, three of them. I'm currently housing a Dendrobates galactonotus with them, he's small, black and yellow. They are all getting along, I know it's not recommended, but this is only temporary. I also have blue azureus (in another tank), they will be in my next 55 gallon project!

I use Liquitex Acrylics. They come in tubes, and small plastic bottles. They are pretty much at any hobby store. Actually, you can find the green styro, white styro, and the heat tool there as well. The tool ran around $20 or so. I cured the small waterfall in the 10g for nearly 3 weeks in water and vinegar. I changed the water every three days. The rock was stuck to the glass so well, I just has to fill the tank with water to submerge it. I did that in a bath tub. Let me know if you start a thread, I'd like to see your pics! I just saw today that some guys use tile grout instead of cement. Then they used a non toxic sealer... no soaking was necessary with that stuff, so maybe look into it. The only bag of Ultraflex I found was 50lbs or so.. so there is LOTS of left over material especially if your only doing a ten gallon... so maybe the grout is better? Look on Youtube for the guy that does the rock tutorials with the grout for lizards... I saw him today after I posted my vids. His doesn't seem to get the finer details though like mine did. ?

[Tom Highum]

This guy How to create a fake rock wall | Reptiles | Pets & Animals Video « Wonder How To ? I don't know how modge podge does in a high humidity setting because the things that guy makes are for desert species. I have also heard that blue and green paint should be avoided because they contain copper?

[RudeReefer]

Here's some shots of whats happening up top. Some of the white foam is temporary. I need to plug it up so they cant squeeze through to the overflow. You can see the pump and tubing running down. I made the nozzel out of plumbing and aquarium fittings. I wanted it to fan out so it wasn't too strong flowing out. I'm fitting the plexiglass tops. You'll notice I left some of the blue plastic over the overflow area, just to keep light from shining down and promoting any unwanted algae. And yes, I had to put the frogs in, I couldn't take it anymore!!! They are running all over the place, they seem to love it. We'll see how they like the waterfall in a bit. I ended up plugging two of the cracks in the rock a little because the water was traveling too far over my wall. I just used a little Habacrete. And remember the yellow guy is only in there temporarily.

[RudeReefer]

some pics... wonder if they will climb up high once I turn the water on!?