DIY fake rock shelf

[rhdoug]

I have a large hammer coral that has been living on an eggcrate shelf for the last couple of years. You couldn't really see the shelf itself because the coral is so dense, and the egcrate was black. I had to rebuild it due to the shape of the old shelf and the growth of the turbinaria in front of the hammer. I wanted it to give the illusion of the coral growing on a rock shelf as opposed to the "floating" effect it had originally. I made it out of eggcrate and colored epoxy. Here's how it turned out, I'm pretty happy with it.

FTS:

A closer look:

Before it went in the tank:

The support system made with eggcrate brackets with sure grip magnets:

 

[LeCorals81]

Very nice!

 

[shred5]

That looks really nice.

Dave Polzin

 

[spscrazy]

what a great idea think I'm gonna steal that one for my white hammer

 

[rhdoug]

It was pretty easy to make. I just mushed the epoxy along the front edge in different shades of purple, pink and white, then used a piece or 2 of rubble as a stamp to get the texture right.

this is the stuff:

here it is before detailing:

 

[spscrazy]

how did you affix the magnets ?

 

[rhdoug]

I made brackets from the eggcrate, then cut out a space for the magnets. The magnets are super glued in place, then the brackets are superglued and zip-tied to the shelf.

Here's a better view:

 

[Wy Renegade]

That looks pretty cool, nice job!

 

[Electrobes]

That's really cool, I love it!

 

[spscrazy]

thanks I'm gonna order stuff to make these I really like this idea!

 

[rhdoug]

Glad you guys like this, it came out better that I thought it would. I forgot to mention, I made the eggcrate shelf 2 layers thick. I did this for 2 reasons - for shelf and coral stability. With the 2 layers there is a deeper hole for the coral skeleton to sit in, and the skeleton won't shift in the current. The old shelf was only 1 layer and I found it a bit flimsy. If you look closely you can tell that the eggcrate is doubled up.

 

[PR_Reefers]

Very cool... I think I might try something similar also!!! :bigsmile: thanks for sharing!

 

[ImageX]

in the post above you said here it is before detailing it... what exactly did you do to detail it to have the more of a rock look??

 

[BlazinNano]

That is a really coo idea. With the hammer on it you can not see the egg crate at all.

 

[rhdoug]

ImageX- Detailing it is pretty easy. I had mixed 2-3 different shades of color for the edge. Just take different shades of the pink and purple and randomly smush it around on the edge. I also used some "natural" color which is the white or light grey. Then I took a piece of a (dead) hammer skeleton and a couple of pieces of LR rubble and used them as "stamps" all across the epoxy, sometimes creating pretty deep holes and crevices. After it sets for 20-30 minutes it is a little stiffer and holds the detail well, so give the overall shape some time before stamping. It is helpful to do that stage near the tank so you can look at actual rock while working. I let mine dry overnight before putting it in the tank, but I also use the same material to mount coral and stick rocks together in the tank so it is not an issue.

BlazinNano - You are correct, the eggcrate is invisible with the coral in place, even the brackets are hidden due to the shadow. It also helps that my back glass is black, but it looks completly natural and matches the shape and color of the rest of the rock in the tank. As the coral grows it is simply a matter of cutting the skeleton and re-arranging, or taking frags to trade to the LFS or another reefer.

 

[butts182]

What a great idea! Especially having the color mimicing coraline. I would expect real coraline to grow over it.

 

[rhdoug]

Yes, coralline and other stuff will eventually cover it making it even more natural. I am really pleased with this thing and anyone can easily do it.

 

[Chops30]

Oh wow, I really like this idea. Hummm I got some black eggcrate thats itching to be used. Where'd you get your Sculpt material?

 

[rockinzebra457]

That looks really nice! Where did you get the colored epoxy? I am thinking about making a rack like that in the near future.

 

[iani]

Very cool. That looks great. How did you texture the epoxy?