Peter_Gun_Riff Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 i saw this on a site and i decided id make one. but i have o idea were to get any othe the material could someone please lead me in some directions styrofoam background Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barca888 Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 That background does look stunning.... However what did he use to cut it out ;\. If he just used a sharp object that would have taken forever. Might try it one day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted February 13, 2004 Share Posted February 13, 2004 hey PGR, try a arts and crafts type store, they should have most of the stuff you need or know where to get it Josh and Evelyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OziOscar Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 Try a builder's supply. That material is often used in insulation in roofs or inside walls (gyprock or some kinds of temperature controlled areas). You can cut it with a hot knife or a hot wire. We used to have hot wires in a wooden handle, plugged into the wall when we did styro sculpture at school (geez - that was a looooooooong time ago) but you need a lot of ventilation and a little practice as it's easy to stuff up badly. Hot cutting might make it too smooth for this job. That article looks like he just used knives which is what aided in giving it a very nice, coarse texture which makes it more natural looking, especially after smoothing with a hot air gun. Cheers - OziOscar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link2Hell Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 Hi All Contact a Styro manufacturer(you could try concreter or house builder) for block Styro (better than sticking strips together) Check the opening into the tank so you know how big each module has to be Shape with Hot knife, Electric carving knife, gas torcher, hot gun, soldering iron or other more messy means (knife, jigsaw etc) Coat with a bitumus coating like Pabco hydroseal that is marked safe for potable water (human consumption) and then adhere a coating of sand and/or gravel to it Leave it cure for a few days then rinse/hose it down thoroughly and leave for a couple more days Place in a test tank with a test fish If all is good for a few days then your ready to silicone it to the display tank and fill with water Nothing is ever certain which is why I recomend a test tank Start small and practice cheers L2H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter_Gun_Riff Posted February 15, 2004 Author Share Posted February 15, 2004 ive decided 2 make styro rocks which will be good as i can get them the way i like and saves alot of preasure on the tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colfish Posted February 15, 2004 Share Posted February 15, 2004 hi pete check around some of the new building sites for the large blocks of styro that are used under concrete slabs. be sure to ask the guys if you can have some scrap pieces. btw great article. regards colfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BigBwana Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 This probably will not help you out Pete, but for anyone else thinking of doing this in Sydney, check out ReverseGarbage at http://www.reversegarbage.org.au/ in Marrickville. They have a whole bunch of used materials including styro and I got enough to do three 3 foot tanks for 5 dollars!! They also have an assortment of "wierd" crap that is kinda fun to look through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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