word of warning regarding DIY styro backgrounds

[CJH]

That's a good approach - this guy did something similar, except he used fiberglass instead of concrete:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211530

I thought of doing something similar with mine but I wanted more underlying structure to mount plants on to and didn't think the texture of the fiberglass would work as well.

That's really nice. Don't know how I've never seen that thread before.

For what it is worth, if you used a cheap epoxy resin to wet out the fiberglass you wouldn't have the smell issue and it would not eat through the foam. This is why so many surfboards are made with epoxy nowadays since the builder then can use any foam he/she wants to form the board. If you use polyester to wet out fiberglass on a surfboard you basically have to use polyurethane foam.

I would get a fairly thin epoxy. There is one company that distributes an inexpensive thin epoxy but I can't recall the name at the moment. If you're interested just reply back and I'll think of it.

[EDIT] This is the product: http://www.uscomposites.com/epoxy.html

Also, you mentioned texture. And I think it was you who asked if drylock or cement or something would stick to the fiberglass in Joey's thread? Epoxy would be better than polyester and I can say from experience that Drylok sticks to cured epoxy very well. Not sure about a coating of cement or mortar.

 

[Kanta]

Holy crap his roots he made were incredible, looks like I found a new project

 

[kingkarter]

Could you post the link to the build?

 

[kingkarter]

nvm i found it

 

[the_deeb]

Also, you mentioned texture. And I think it was you who asked if drylock or cement or something would stick to the fiberglass in Joey's thread? Epoxy would be better than polyester and I can say from experience that Drylok sticks to cured epoxy very well. Not sure about a coating of cement or mortar.

Yeah, I seem to recall asking that. My experiences since then are consistent with yours - Drylok has definitely stuck to the epoxy sections my tank quite well. I do think the Drylok creates a much more realistic texture than the relatively glossy epoxy finish.

 

[CJH]

Yeah, I seem to recall asking that. My experiences since then are consistent with yours - Drylok has definitely stuck to the epoxy sections my tank quite well. I do think the Drylok creates a much more realistic texture than the relatively glossy epoxy finish.

Yeah, I learned Drylok sticks to epoxy by accident. But I also know it sticks to melamine as well as slick vinyl film so chances are that it would stick to polyester as well, maybe even the common types with a lot of wax in them.

But I would personally go with epoxy due to the extremely low odor when compared to polyester. Factor it you can likely use less of it for this type of project and the cost difference is probably trivial. But polyester you can get pretty much anywhere and often in small batches so that's a plus for it.

 

[Effrul]

Not much to add to the topic except my featherfin catfish chews on my concrete diy background with passion. Its styrofoam covered with concrete, no epoxy or sealant on the concrete. So might want to add them to fish to avoid if you have a diy background.