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Rocks: Make your own (004)


davez104

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I am attempting to build a background from styrofoam, not sure if I'm tackling it right or not but having a go anyway. I am using a cement based adhesive designed for tiles, I know people use quick drying cement so figure this stuff should be ok. I almost have it finished but was wondering if I should coat it all in some kind of clear stuff to seal it or just leave it as is? I know it should be soaked for a while to leach any chemicals out of it but don't really have the room for all the fish to go, so was also wondering if hosing it down a couple times a day for a few weeks would achieve the same result? What do you reckon?

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You dont have a bathtub to soak it in? Or a neighbours bathtub? I would be very wary in your position. Definately wouldn't want anything nasty finding its way in viz a DIY job with harsh paints/sealants/cement used. If it were me I would give it a couple of coats of pond lining paint, thick coats, as this should seal all the nastys on the inside, and keep all the goodness on the outside.

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Hmmmm, bathtub? Might run that by the missus, I am already grinning just imagining the response! Could be worth a shot though. Would really like to soak it for a bit, then seal it with something. All the fish I have that are worth something are in the 8 footer that the background is going in so would hate to lose any of them.

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Hi Dave, I too have just been making a styrofoam background but wasnt a huge fan of the fact that the cement would leach and may even crumble if hit with enough pressure, the solution i found was pond sealer which is Ph neutral and gives the rocks a protective cover, does give them a bit of a gloss though. If your interested in the pond sealer they sell it at Bunnings in SA for like $20 for 1 litre which was more than enough for my purposes.

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If you wanna avoid the gloss effect, maybe dusting with clean sand while the second coat is still wet? It should impregnate easily (the water-proofer we use at work has this done to it to make it non-slip) and even give sandy effect rather than the blue/green these roducts usually are. Maybe even go for a heterogenous sand like river sand.

just a thought

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Yea it is clear, its a white sorta liquid when u first put it on but it dries clear, the sand idea seems like a winner, though with it being clear u may get the colour of the sand shining through, may be best to try that on a test piece...the brand i used was Crommelin, if you are after more information they have downloadable guides on their site as well as product descriptions

http://www.crommelin.com.au/waterproofing.php - look at 'pond sealer clear'

http://www.crommelin.com.au/diy.php - for the guides

As regards how much you'll need i couldnt tell you, im preparing mine for a 4x2x2 but im not filling in the whole wall just making 2 large rocks for the back ( cover about 3.5 ft)and a few smaller rocks to litter the bottom. Though the 1L i've got is only half uses and on the first coat there was a bit of waste (it has to be thinned out). Bare in mind there is also a 4L container but that is $60.

8x2 should produce a pretty cool background.

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