Custom Rock Wall for 180 Gallon...

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C

CrystaliZed

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 22, 2010
139
0
0
VA Beach
My boyfriend and I have been working on a rock wall for the 180 gallon we've had for awhile now but haven't been able to set up until lately due to moving.

Here's the progress... hopefully done within a day or 2 and getting ready to water-seal & secure into tank...

1st - Bought the large sheet of 1" polystyrene & 2 4" black PVC piping...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7072.jpg

2nd - Building layers & larger "rock" sections around the black tunnels...
We used different size saw blades & scrapers to do the "rock" carving... my bf had tons of these tools around b/c he's a contractor... "Great Stuff" foam was used to help fill in the "tunnel" areas...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7075.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7083.jpg

Next... Made sure the 2 middle sections (about 1.5 ft. each) snapped together into the middle section of the tank. This had to be done b/c a 3' section wouldn't fit directly into the tank due to the plastic molding on the top that holds the glass lids...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7094.jpg

Starting to paint w/ an item called "Restore" - it's a weather proof, non-toxic, water soluble paint used for decks & concretes. It has sand/gravel in it for a grit look... got it in a dark gray color...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7097.jpg

All the layered sections in the 3' area in the middle of the tank between the 2 filters, depths between 2" up to 7-8" in depth to give the look of natural slate & shelves throughout the wall for fish to sit on or hide under
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7103.jpg
Separated...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7183.jpg

Next the "rocks" were layered w/ black sand for shadows & lighter shades of grays for highlights...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7184.jpg

Dry fit into the tank to make sure the edges fit around filters properly...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7186.jpg

Working on 7" end pieces on the outer parts of the filter...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7185.jpg

...still in progress...

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* * * Here is also another decor I made for my new Cichlid that is staying in my old 55 gallon... I pulled out some of my old decor and used it as well...

4" PVC piping & polystyrene base. Resin was used to harden the sand onto the pipe & onto the polystyrene base. Silicone was used to glue the plants into the base & the rocks on. "Great Stuff" was also used to help fill in some gaps between the slate rocks & the pipe. I let dry for a couple days then totally immersed it under water to help dislodge some of the loose sand hiding in areas... It weighs probably 5-8 lbs.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7071.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7079.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7077.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7089.jpg
* End Result...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7192.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_7193.jpg
 
Thanks!

The paint is called Restore. Its an epoxy paint... it's non-toxic, meant for outdoor use on wood or cement & cures the polystyrene really well... we also used silicone for gluing the polystyrene "rocks" onto the wall base.
 
Thanks everyone...

So far the "Restore" we're using seems to be fine... it's actually DECK Restore. We were thinkin' we may have to resin all of it, but we didn't want it to have a "shiny" look to it so we did some more research on this Restore product and it seems as if it'll be fine for the fish. I hope anyway... I have 3 12" Balas I don't wanna lose... Think I may throw my 6" Catfish in for a week to test it all out... lol!
 
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