Idea for Faux sand bed. Envirotex Lite high gloss finish.

[awcurl]

I am also wanting to use this in my 250 but I am only in the planning stage at the moment so I have a few questions. Did you mix the sand in with the epoxy or pour the epoxy and then pour the sand over the top only or both? Does this spread out evenly or do you have to trowel it onto the bottom?

[gqjeff]

mixed a small amount with it so it did spread easily.. I did have to lift the tank to get it were I wanted it but no biggey. I then put dry sand into a strainer and sifted it over the sand a few times whenever I saw the epoxy coming threw.

Good luck, Jeff

[doody]

Hows this project going for everyone? I am planning on doing this to my 29g. I was wondering if anyone has tried to creat a backdrop with this stuff by pushing base rock into it, like the foam methode?
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/show...threadid=38698

[RonSF]

Originally posted by doody
I was wondering if anyone has tried to creat a backdrop with this stuff by pushing base rock into it, like the foam methode?

That's my plan for a new 170 I have on order. I am going to use high density polyurethane foam, sculpt it to have an inch or two of relief, cut out some areas to embed LR, then coat it with epoxy and sand. Before the epoxy cures, I will smash the LR into the mix.
Has anybody tried this with the Sweetwater brand epoxy sold at Aquatic EcoSystems (I may have missed this in an earlier post)?
-Ron

[doody]

I was thinking maybe you dont need the foam if the epoxy is thick enough, but I never used the epoxy.

[RonSF]

My thinking is that the foam allows you to create an irregular bottom shape in a more controlled way than just with the epoxy alone. Epoxy has a tendency to be self leveling.
First it was DSB vs. BB, then Envirotex vs. Sweetwater, now foam vs. no foam. When will it stoooooppppp . . . .
-Ron

[ricka]

mattjk,

How's the pico doing??

--Rick

[thesmith]

Any word as to whether corals (or clams) will attach to the 'faux sand'?

[CamBarr]

I dont see why they wouldent its a hard surface.

[CamBarr]

what epoxy are you guys using?
cam barr

[finding nemo]

Oh My, thats fabulous, I love it, it looks like you just poured a bag of sand in the tank. What kind of sand did you use to mix into it, I love the color of it. Please post a pic of it upside down, then I will be convinced its in there, lol, know what I mean? I want to do the same thing with my smaller tanks, its fabulous

[gqjeff]

You can see pics in my gallery of the faux bed.... Its awesoem Iluv it.. I have a ton of flow and no sand storm... 6-8K gph in my 240...

[finding nemo]

Wow GG, thats a beautiful tank, how deap is the bed. Is it made like this thread? Do you have a pic of a closeup of the bed? What did you make it out of?
Really great looking. And love the room its in to, the wall color is beautiful

[gqjeff]

TY very much... If you click my www link I have some newer pics... The bed is about 1/4 deep... It is made exactly like this thread.. The only thing I did different that worked really good for me was to dry some sand for a week before hand. What I did with this sand after it was dried was put it in a strainer and sift it over the mix of epoxy and sand until i could not see the clear epoxy seeping out any longer... It looks completly natural.. I have had some other reef keeping friends come by and they always ask how can I have so much flow with the sand.. I start to chuckle then comes the 15 minutes explination of what I did hahahah.. I absolutly love it and would never have another tank without it... If you click my gallery you can see some closeups of the bed before water was put into the tank... for my 240 I used about 60-80lbs southdown and 1.5 gallons of environlight tex... If you want to know anything else PM me and I will give you my cell number and I can maybe explian it better.. I am not a fast typer or a good typer for that matter..

Peace, jeff

[gqjeff]

Karen, you have a very nice site and setup also....

[ReeferAl]

CamBarr,
I see you've found another faux-sandbed thread (this 1). I like the looks of these results even better than the pvc glue method. If I were setting up another tank now I think it is what I would go with. Have you decided how to go about your 30 gal sps tank?
Allen

[finding nemo]

Hi Jeff, I am in the middle of moving from AZ to Tx and will be giving this a try on a 20l first when I get there. I love the look, ver clean, no junk showing and growing under the sand in the front of the tank. May contact you about it in the near future. Thanks a bunch. karen

Originally posted by gqjeff
TY very much... If you click my www link I have some newer pics... The bed is about 1/4 deep... It is made exactly like this thread.. The only thing I did different that worked really good for me was to dry some sand for a week before hand. What I did with this sand after it was dried was put it in a strainer and sift it over the mix of epoxy and sand until i could not see the clear epoxy seeping out any longer... It looks completly natural.. I have had some other reef keeping friends come by and they always ask how can I have so much flow with the sand.. I start to chuckle then comes the 15 minutes explination of what I did hahahah.. I absolutly love it and would never have another tank without it... If you click my gallery you can see some closeups of the bed before water was put into the tank... for my 240 I used about 60-80lbs southdown and 1.5 gallons of environlight tex... If you want to know anything else PM me and I will give you my cell number and I can maybe explian it better.. I am not a fast typer or a good typer for that matter..

Peace, jeff

[finding nemo]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed the visit.
Roses are my passion as are brains and xenia. But I guess I love all of the saltwater stuff. lol. Just cant have to many tanks.
Or can we???

Originally posted by gqjeff
Karen, you have a very nice site and setup also....

[Daniel62]

Hello Jeff,

What are your tanks Dia.?

Thanks

[ReeferAl]

Originally posted by RonSF
I am going to use high density polyurethane foam, sculpt it to have an inch or two of relief, cut out some areas to embed LR, then coat it with epoxy and sand. Before the epoxy cures, I will smash the LR into the mix.

It sounds like an interesting idea. I was thinking about it though and have a concern. The foam is basically alot of air. When it is coated with the epoxy/sand mix and the mix hardens the epoxy/sand will become a structural element. It will be holding up the rocks above and keeping the water pressure from compressing the foam with its trapped air bubbles. If the epoxy shell is not structurally up the the task it will crack and mess up the base. The foam alone would not be as vulnerable since a bit of compression from the water pressure would just deform it. It is not a rigid structure that would crack. Besides, has the foam been used under live rock or only on the sides or back?
My suggestion would be to stick some foam to a piece of plexiglass or something, coat it with the epoxy and sand mix and when cured submerge it in a bucket or tank filled with water, with a few rocks piled on top. If the coating doesn't crack under stress you may end up with a very nice result in your tank. If it cracks you may have to rethink the foam. Just a thought.
Allen

[RonSF]

Originally posted by ReeferAl
It sounds like an interesting idea. I was thinking about it though and have a concern. The foam is basically alot of air. When it is coated with the epoxy/sand mix and the mix hardens the epoxy/sand will become a structural element. It will be holding up the rocks above and keeping the water pressure from compressing the foam with its trapped air bubbles. If the epoxy shell is not structurally up the the task it will crack and mess up the base.

Allen-
Your point would be valid if I were planning on using a fairly low density foam, like the Great Stuff in a can, but I'm going with a higher density material. I plan on using some urethane foam that I have left over as scrap. It is 14 lb. density (the bead foam that ice chests are made from is 1 lb. density, for comparison sake). The stuff is soft enough that you can dig your fingernail into it, but just barely. Once the resin goes on (probably 2 layers) it will be extremely tough, so I don't think it will be failing from weight issues. My only concern would be cracking from long term UV exposure, but I'm hoping that UV won't be an issue using marine epoxy.

My biggest concern at the moment is how I treat the edges. I'd rather not glue it in permanently into the tank and haven't decided if I want to taper it at the sides down to no thickness, or keep it 3/4" plus at the edges and try to pack loose sand between the foam/resin substrate and the glass sides. I know that it will look the nicest if I go with the latter plan, but don't want it to start looking green and yucky like a DSB on the edges and don't know if my closed loop will wash it all away regardless.

-Ron

[scot]

Any updates from poeple that have done this?

Is coralline growing on the sand?

Pictures?!

[CamBarr]

What about silicates does epoxy contain silicates?
also what epoxy have you guys used?
thanks,
cam barr

[gqjeff]

standard 240 96*24*24

environlite tex is the epoxy..

I am not having any problems with silicates at all from this...

Yes I have coralline starting to take off on the bed also.. If you click on my gallery and my www page you can see a few pics.. I need to take allot more pics and also some closeups...

Karen PM me anytime...

Peace, Jeff

[jmann]

I would really have a concern about using epoxy with MH lighting as epoxy does nor standup to UV for very long. I had a fiberglass repair co. in Fla. for 10 yrs and anytime we used epoxy on a boat if it was going to be exposed to the sun we painted it over and not with epoxy paint but with polyurethanes. Just a thought.