Sounds good, keep us posted WITH pictures off-course.
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Ok, here it goes. first thing i did is lay out the pvc for the UGJ system
i'm using a rio 2100 subpump with 3 jets, 2 in the front blowing towards the center of the tank, and one in the center rear (the direction can still be adjusted, i may change them to blow more circular along the tank. i could not find the marineland prefilter kit so i made my own with some epoxy and a sponge.
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i'm using a rio 2100 subpump with 3 jets, 2 in the front blowing towards the center of the tank, and one in the center rear (the direction can still be adjusted, i may change them to blow more circular along the tank. i could not find the marineland prefilter kit so i made my own with some epoxy and a sponge.
looking at a lot of these projects i've noticed a lot end up looking like a stone wall, more man made then a natural rock surface, i wanted to avoid this and have plenty of depth, so i thought about gluing a template around the tank interior, then glue more foam to add detph to it, then cut out individual rock shapes and glue to this to get depth and shape
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Yesterfay my girlfriend held a brunch for several of her friends and one of mine. when my friend had to leave and i was surounded with females jibber jabbering about candles (aparently candles are the female equilivant to power tools... or porno for guys. Girls just go nuts over them. During this time i snuck out. and did some work in the garden. then spent aobut an hour just playing with foam cutting it and blow torching it.
I eventhouly made this piece
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which made me think i could make a good looking wall out of one piece of foam and have depth and shape to it. it would be easier to make, easier to concrete, and easier to seal.
the only downside in this new train of thought was....
I eventhouly made this piece
which made me think i could make a good looking wall out of one piece of foam and have depth and shape to it. it would be easier to make, easier to concrete, and easier to seal.
the only downside in this new train of thought was....
having to rip out all the already glued foam from the tank, and take a razor knife and scrape all the silicone off of it. this took a good bit of effort.
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but i feel it was for the best cause i think the solid piece idea will work out a lot better
but i feel it was for the best cause i think the solid piece idea will work out a lot better
here are the pieces of the tank the 2 squarish pieces will go in the back, the glued on riser is over the grooves for the filter intake. and the curved ones go on the side, its glued 2 layers to add thickness to allow more depth in carving.
You can see i started a little bit of carving last nite.
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You can see i started a little bit of carving last nite.
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i did some more carving this morning before work. I'm really leased how it is turing out, i'm able to get a lot of depth and under cuts, and its one easy to concrete chunk, (the knotch to the left is the groove for the heaters, there will be another carved piece glued over that hole.)
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and here you can see the under cuts to allow water to the filter intake.
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welll thats all for today, hopw to do a lot more carving tonite maybe start the concrete phase tommorow.
and here you can see the under cuts to allow water to the filter intake.
welll thats all for today, hopw to do a lot more carving tonite maybe start the concrete phase tommorow.
every one seems hyped and interested in this project! so i will continue.
while cleaning out the back yard during the candle party, I found an old piece of patio furniture with square plastic legs. I cut them down and scrubbed them clean, and mounted them to both corners. This will be the channel for any electrical cables to be run out of view.
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while cleaning out the back yard during the candle party, I found an old piece of patio furniture with square plastic legs. I cut them down and scrubbed them clean, and mounted them to both corners. This will be the channel for any electrical cables to be run out of view.
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Here is all the pieces cut and placed inside the tank.
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I spray foamed around the water jets, and started the first coat of quickcrete. Man this stuff does not go on easy. you can also see the air lines ran behind the back of the styrofoam and emerging from the bottom.
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I spray foamed around the water jets, and started the first coat of quickcrete. Man this stuff does not go on easy. you can also see the air lines ran behind the back of the styrofoam and emerging from the bottom.
Holy barnacles Batman 
That is looking awesome. I really like the idea of hiding the jets with a mound of Great Stuff then carving it like a rock.
Really spiffy!! :thumb:
I must be carving defective. I cannot seem to cut the foam right. The shapes never look like rocks. How do you guys do it?
That is looking awesome. I really like the idea of hiding the jets with a mound of Great Stuff then carving it like a rock.
Really spiffy!! :thumb:
I must be carving defective. I cannot seem to cut the foam right. The shapes never look like rocks. How do you guys do it?
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Well i may have a slight advantage. I have made about a million rocks over the years for various video games. And while this is sculpting them out of foam instead of digital polygons, the basics are the same.
one thing i like to do is get the feeling that the rocks are stacked and layers and not just stacked together like a block wall with morter inbetween them. The rock wall look comes from carving grooves down between the rocks, uniformly all the way around.
Here is a method of my sculpting.
1. quickly cut in lines for your rock placement, these don't have to be perfect. I found its best not to put too much thought in this, just put them where feels right.
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2. pick one of the outer most stones, preferably one that you want to be sunken in pretty deep, and start cuting, i often cut way back over half the thickness of the foam. The more you cut, the more water you get, and the more 3d the over all piece will be.
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3. move on to your next stone, and pay atention to where it conects to the other, does it go behind it? Does it go infront of it? Does it smoothly sit beside it?
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and i would sugest getting some small pieces and just practice before you start on the project.. i didnt. And i had to rip everything out and start over
one thing i like to do is get the feeling that the rocks are stacked and layers and not just stacked together like a block wall with morter inbetween them. The rock wall look comes from carving grooves down between the rocks, uniformly all the way around.
Here is a method of my sculpting.
1. quickly cut in lines for your rock placement, these don't have to be perfect. I found its best not to put too much thought in this, just put them where feels right.
2. pick one of the outer most stones, preferably one that you want to be sunken in pretty deep, and start cuting, i often cut way back over half the thickness of the foam. The more you cut, the more water you get, and the more 3d the over all piece will be.
3. move on to your next stone, and pay atention to where it conects to the other, does it go behind it? Does it go infront of it? Does it smoothly sit beside it?
and i would sugest getting some small pieces and just practice before you start on the project.. i didnt. And i had to rip everything out and start over
Rhinokio
Thanks so much for the pictoral steps. That really helps a bunch.
Thanks so much for the pictoral steps. That really helps a bunch.
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