DIY Rock Wall / River Tank (long with pics)

[joey02]

Sorry to all for the delay in an update. I'm sure it was because of the same reason you see project posts unfinished with no updates. I had to scrap the whole project! The Quikrete Hydraulic cement will not work for this, at least without being sealed with something. When I fill the tank with water, a crystal film covered all the glass and parts of the wall became soft & crumbled / dissolved. I wound up taking the entire thing out & had to scrub the glass forever to get the film off. I was so frustrated with all the time & $$ just wasted I simply avoided the whole thing, including this thread. (which is why I think so many project posts become abandoned here).

I do apologize to everyone for not updating sooner.

Joel

Dont feel bad about it. I had the exact same problem you did. except mine was on a 6 foot tank!
But im at it again though! This time im using a different cement(higher quality) and im sealing/covering it with epoxy resin, which will form a hard layer over the cement!..... check out my thread!!

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167076

 

[gthiele]

Wow, that really sucks man, sorry

 

[The Amazonian]

I really love this project!!!!!!

 

[ANIMALHOUSE]

Nice Project. I would think that after you made the wall you could find a place that could make a mold of it and make a Plastic one.

Might sound funny but then you could use Water Proof Paint to paint it.

Don't get discouraged.

You have to start somewhere and Murphy's law is inevitable.

 

[Dragonflyx2]

would fiberglass seal it up enough and then paint?

 

[ChrisGray]

looks great but a lot of work
cant wait to see it all set up

 

[Matt724]

Bud, i'm sorry to hear that, but don't worry. We're all right there with you. This is my failed attempt: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=240653. I know its a heart breaker, but after 8+ months, I've done a lot more research and plan to reattempt it during my winter break (a year after my last attempt). BTW, in case you plan to try again (which i highly recommend since it looked beautiful from the beginning, is to use thorite thoroseal instead of the quick**** stuff since it is completely water proof, hardens underwater, and does not raise ph alot (if at all, so i've heard). I would also suggest using epoxy to coat it, but ino that stuff gets alittle pricey, so i might even try to avoid it. Also, i would be keeping tanganyikans, so ph arond 8 or 9 would work for me anyways. I had the same problem though, with the concrete just chipping off and dissolving. Anyways, this just caught my attention under DIY when i was looking for diy sumps, soooo yeah.

 

[Buckdog]

Wait. You may have to scrap the FIRST build but stop, pause and think about doing it again. You have a great idea and I encourage you to try again.
This is a link to the folks who make an epoxy that is specifically for stuff like this. It's just a suggestion:
http://cgi.ebay.com/EPOXY-RESIN-AQU...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item48379986a6

If the link doesnt work go to Ebay and type in "aquarium epoxy". Scroll down to the Max ACR, open the page and scroll down to the reef building section and check it out. It may give you ideas. The epoxy will not give you the natural "rough" appearance unless you add rock or sand to the stuff before it cures. Or mix it in.

Your on the right track. Even if you dont use the epoxy other folks have done similar projects here using cement with great results. I would do a search here, try it again with a small section to see how it comes out then scale up to full size. Good luck.

 

[Matt724]

yeah, the only problem is that epoxy and resin isn't cheap for people during the great recession. If i were you i'd look into thorite, little more expensive than that quikrete **** but well worth it, esp since you don't have to worry about pH anymore.

 

[Thalan]

You should definitely consider redoing this. You did a fantastic job as far as aesthetics.