Making a cave from flagstone pavers.

[kenand]

Want to go with a different style of a cave and will flagstone pavers be ok in the tank? I have a 180 gallon that I'm starting and will only host 2 lion fish.

 

[TX_REEF]

I've seen people say it's fine and others say there are bonding agents whatever used in manufacturing so don't risk it. I can say I've used concrete pavers in a large stock tank with koi in the past with no issue, but I also wouldn't risk it in a reef tank. The peace of mind is worth the extra $ for proper rock, IMO.

 

[kenand]

I've seen people say it's fine and others say there are bonding agents whatever used in manufacturing so don't risk it. I can say I've used concrete pavers in a large stock tank with koi in the past with no issue, but I also wouldn't risk it in a reef tank. The peace of mind is worth the extra $ for proper rock, IMO.

I've seen people say it's fine and others say there are bonding agents whatever used in manufacturing so don't risk it. I can say I've used concrete pavers in a large stock tank with koi in the past with no issue, but I also wouldn't risk it in a reef tank. The peace of mind is worth the extra $ for proper rock, IMO.

What do you know about spray foam? I seen a YouTube video and a guy was making caves with that.

 

[TX_REEF]

What do you know about spray foam? I seen a YouTube video and a guy was making caves with that.

Never used in saltwater, but “waterfall foam” (https://amzn.to/4c4miK7) is supposedly completely non-toxic once dry and I have used it in a pond for goldfish and koi in the past without issue. Just make sure it’s fully cured before getting it wet.

 

[kenand]

Never used in saltwater, but “waterfall foam” (https://amzn.to/4c4miK7) is supposedly completely non-toxic once dry and I have used it in a pond for goldfish and koi in the past without issue. Just make sure it’s fully cured before getting it wet.

Thak you.

 

[Joekovar]

I used the purple polystyrene insulation board Owens Corning makes to sculpt some shelves on my columns. It's been in there 4 ish years now with no ill effects I've been able to see in that time.

The stuff is easy to work with. The issue with foams however, is they tend to float.

You kinda have to get an over estimate of how much volume your foam has, calculate how much weight in seawater that volume is, and incorporate more than that weight into your structure to keep it underwater.

If you get deep into the foam rabbit hole, you can make your structure nearly weightless, as far as the bottom of the tank is concerned.

 

[PapaFishRocks]

What do you know about spray foam? I seen a YouTube video and a guy was making caves with that.

My whole back wall and small cave are regular old spray foam and Krylon paint. Been doing this for years with no issues.

All spray foams are made from the 2 basic ingredients. MDI and Polyols.
Once cured, essentially inert.

 

[kenand]

My whole back wall and small cave are regular old spray foam and Krylon paint. Been doing this for years with no issues.

All spray foams are made from the 2 basic ingredients. MDI and Polyols.
Once cured, essentially inert.

That's beautiful. Thanks for the tip on the spray foam.

 

[kenand]

That's beautiful. Thanks for the tip on the spray foam.

A guy at work showed me this item. I'm going with my gut and I believe you with just spraying it with fusion. After all,you've probably been doing this a while and I trust most people on here and that no one is going to try and hurt someone's fish. Let me know what you think of the product. Thanks.