Fake rocks?

[lbannie]

Any ideas on how to make a rock wall that will be totally submersed in water? I was hoping the fake route would take away the weight of real rocks!

[deranged chipmunk]

There are a few vendors out there that make faux rocks and full fake backgrounds. Vivarium concepts was one, but I don't think they are around any longer.

There are some lightweight rocks that you can use. I know, lightweight rocks sounds like and oxymoron, but there are actually rocks that are lightweight. Mostly volcanic rocks, like lava rock and pumice (sometimes sold as feather rock). Pumice is so lightweight, that small pieces actually float. I have used it in tanks before and it holds without problem if you used silicone and foam to adhere it to the glass.

One word of caution when using volcanic rock, wear gloves. While it breaks up easily, smaller pieces can be sharp, although not sharp enough to injure frogs. They seems to navigate around and on it without many problems.


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[lbannie]

Thanks! I'll check into those. I've found sites where people make the rocks out of styrofoam then deal with pond armor pond shield. I'm not sure I'm that artistic though![emoji4] I'm really going to take my time with this one and do it right!

[deranged chipmunk]

No problem the other option would be foam the bejeezus out of the background and carve out the rocks and then paint/detail them with acrylic craft paints. It's a lot of work though. That's why I opted to buy pumice instead lol


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[lbannie]

No problem the other option would be foam the bejeezus out of the background and carve out the rocks and then paint/detail them with acrylic craft paints. It's a lot of work though. That's why I opted to buy pumice instead lol


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If I used acrylic paint, would that be safe to be under water all the time? Or do you still seal it?

I'd love to use real rocks from the stream outside my house like I did in my 10 Gallon, but I think it would be too much weight [emoji25]

[deranged chipmunk]

Yes. Sealing it would be necessary, otherwise, the paint would dissolve. The easiest way to seal it would be to spray it with a clear acrylic spray paint. Other options would include 2 part epoxy or marine epoxy. Silicone is an option, but it would cure with a dull haze that will just get worse as the humidity takes it toll on it.

Depending on how high you stack them, and how you adhere them to the tank, regular rocks could work. If I were going with that method, I would use smaller rocks, a lot of silicone and some foam. The foam will lock them in and prevent them from falling off the background. I wouldn't trust just silicone only.


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[jarteta97]

Doesn't vivariumworks have some really nice molds? Here's their website, check it out:

http://www.vivariumworks.com/

[lbannie]

Wow! Very nice stuff. Very expensive [emoji26] I'm going to try my hand at making my own..... Bought myself a styrofoam cutter for Christmas! We'll see[emoji6]