DIY aquarium decors

[aquanox24]

Hi all,

I'm new here and have some questions, hope to find from experts here.
I thinking of creating DIY decors (rocks etc) for my tank. After browsing the web, i saw two methods

1) Polythene foam
2) Fiberglass

I have some questions on these two methods.

1) Polythene foam - what kind of cement (for the foam coating) can i use which is aquarium safe and can be found locally?
2) Fiberglass - Where can i find fiberglass cloth and resin in sg?

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

[Freddyprince]

You might be interested in thishttp://www.arowanafishtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?32765-Making-of-Underwater-Rockwork-amp-3-D-Cavern-Background&highlight=neptune

[aquanox24]

You might be interested in thishttp://www.arowanafishtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?32765-Making-of-Underwater-Rockwork-amp-3-D-Cavern-Background&highlight=neptune

Ok, i did the foam background and did the cement first layer. After it dried up, the colour was not what i was looking for. It was a light grey colour. I wanted a dark brown colour.
I read online about cement colouring but i been to few hardware shops and they didnt sell it, some dont even know what i was talking about.

Anybody did DIY backgrounds before and able to advise?

[eddy planer]

Have you completed the background yet? Kindly show your build to us, please?

[aquanox24]

Have you completed the background yet? Kindly show your build to us, please?

i'm still in the midst of it but i'm about 75% done.
Since no one could answer my question, what i did was to cover the foam with 3 layers of cement, let it dry for a week.
Then i apply Krylon Fusion spray paint on it, 3 layers and let it dry for another 10 days.

Everything is artificial including the carpet grass. Have not decided on the kind of substrate and the decorations to be placed so it looks quite bare.
On the left would be an artificial sand waterfall.

Hope it works.

[aquanox24]

i'm still in the midst of it but i'm about 75% done.
Since no one could answer my question, what i did was to cover the foam with 3 layers of cement, let it dry for a week.
Then i apply Krylon Fusion spray paint on it, 3 layers and let it dry for another 10 days.

Everything is artificial including the carpet grass. Have not decided on the kind of substrate and the decorations to be placed so it looks quite bare.
On the left would be an artificial sand waterfall.

Hope it works.

Here is a better picture of it.

[solidbrik]

Looks nice! Lol

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

[eddy planer]

That's very nice build, looking so natural. Have you soaked this whole build totally immersion under vinegar-water to neutralize the very high PH due to concrete base for the couple of days? Alternatively, else you will see many dead faunas that cannot survive on high PH water.

BTW I'm really very regretful to let you know the Krylon Fusion spray paint is no recommend as it may toxic to your fauna. I got reply from Krylon staff :

"I have been looking for some paint for aquarium decorations and finally contacted Krylon directly re. their Fusion paint for plastics/resin. This is the response I received this morning:

"Thank you for taking the time to contact Krylon. Unfortunately, we don't recommend any of our products for immersion. We also have not tested the effects on fish when our product is immersed in water.

I'm sorry I couldn't help.

Sincerely,
Greg
Krylon Product Support"

Does kind of make me wonder what kind of paint the manufacturers of "aquarium safe" ornaments use. so beware - especially since everything is made in China, where they seem to have fewer controls over materials used in manufacturing. The best use to acrylic paint and silicon spray over after the paint is dry. Take a look of my build which taken few years ago.
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...vivarium/page4