pond foam

[Aquariareview]

Has anyone used this stuff. Pond Foam. reef central thread I have seen a few threads where they say dont use GREAT STUFF but instead use POND FOAM.

 

I am planning a new reef system and I have seen a few tanks with this stuff. I am impressed with the look and am thinking about trying kind of project.

Edited January 9, 2010 by Aquariareview

[ctreptow]

I used the black pond foam on my rock wall tank. It was running for a year and the foam held together fine. I had huge issues with algae and microbubbles but I can't tell if it was the foam or the epoxy I used. I replaced that tank a couple of months ago and the system seems to be much healthier without it.

[Stu]

I used Great Stuff Pond Foam for my rock structure. It's actually made by Great Stuff, but is black and is UV resistant. I did a good bit of research on RC/here before trying it, and the issue with regular Great Stuff is that it breaks down over time under UV lighting, while pond foam, regardless of brand, doesn't. Great Stuff or pond foam become inert once it hardens.

 

For my purposes, it worked great and has shown no problems after about 6 months. Here's a build thread of the rockwork:

 

http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...c=30924&hl=

 

The only issue I ever had with microbubbles was the week my skimmer was breaking in. I used a fiberglass resin from Home Depot and let it cure for about a week or so after applying the sand. From what I've read, it seems that most of the microbubble/skimmer issues are tied to epoxy, rather than foam.

[ctreptow]

Yep I think i used the Bondo epoxy at home depot instead of the fiberglass resin.

[steveoutlaw]

If you are going to use an epoxy to cover it with with aragonite, make sure you research which epoxies are reef safe. I used one that wasn't and it never cured. My skimmer was consistantly acting like they do when you put a newly glued frag in the tank.

[cabrego]

Take a look at my build thread in my sig. I used a pond foam to build my Wall.