PrattysReef
Active Member
So I recently decided to go from freshwater to the wild and wonderful world reef tanks and purchased a second hand aquaone reef system 400. Not too big but not too small either, and have been looking online for inspiration on how to set it up. I have been dreaming of building a floating reef something a little different and would allow for good circulation. So I found online a couple of different tutorials and thought he why not give it a go. This is where I ran into my first hurdle. Where to source the materials I'd need? Which bonding agent to use? What thickness of acrylic sheet would I need to be able to create the shelves to put the rock work on?
After extensive searching taking 2 weeks I finally managed to find some 5mm clear acrylic and some 100% silicone to mount it to the back wall of my tank. The next issue I had was how to shape the acrylic to sweat I needed.
With the use of a heat gun I was able to bend the acrylic sheets to 90° and cut them to size before mounting them to the tan. Wooden blocks were used to hold the shelves in place while the silicone cured.
I was so excited to see how they would preform and 48 hours later I removed the wooden chocks and began to start with my Rock work.
Immediately I noticed a problem. My acrylic sheet was beginning to sag under the weight being placed upon them. Luckily I had a backup plan out in my shed. 10mm acrylic dowel left over from my sons arts and crafts was cut to size and silicone into place to support the shelves.
I'm a little be annoyed that it not completely "floating" but I'd rather not have all my hard work and later on precious corals come crashing down.
Allowing time for the silicone to cure I restarted my rock work and I'm happy so far with the results. I took care to secure most of the pieces together with more silicone adding layer by layer.
Will continue updating this thread as my project continues.
Update July 21:
Added more layers of rock work over the last few days and the scape is starting to take form. Just trying to find a few small pieces to cover as much of the acrylic as possible.
After extensive searching taking 2 weeks I finally managed to find some 5mm clear acrylic and some 100% silicone to mount it to the back wall of my tank. The next issue I had was how to shape the acrylic to sweat I needed.
With the use of a heat gun I was able to bend the acrylic sheets to 90° and cut them to size before mounting them to the tan. Wooden blocks were used to hold the shelves in place while the silicone cured.
I was so excited to see how they would preform and 48 hours later I removed the wooden chocks and began to start with my Rock work.
Immediately I noticed a problem. My acrylic sheet was beginning to sag under the weight being placed upon them. Luckily I had a backup plan out in my shed. 10mm acrylic dowel left over from my sons arts and crafts was cut to size and silicone into place to support the shelves.
I'm a little be annoyed that it not completely "floating" but I'd rather not have all my hard work and later on precious corals come crashing down.
Allowing time for the silicone to cure I restarted my rock work and I'm happy so far with the results. I took care to secure most of the pieces together with more silicone adding layer by layer.
Will continue updating this thread as my project continues.
Update July 21:
Added more layers of rock work over the last few days and the scape is starting to take form. Just trying to find a few small pieces to cover as much of the acrylic as possible.
Last edited:
