I want to make a minimalist scape for sps out of pvc for a red sea reefer 525 but having trouble finding an epoxy or something to coat it in. Kind of the way aquarocks looks. Do I need to buy a dozen sticks of reef epoxy or water weld? Or is there an easier method to covering the pvc with something I can texture? Anyone attempt this in some fashion before with ideas?
EMarco makes a good cement that is often used to make larger scapes from smaller rocks. I see no reason it couldn't be used to coat PVC
Check out what @Rakie did. Somewhat similar, but a bit more involved perhaps. These are just a couple of links from his build thread (since it is long), but there is more info between Post 296 - structure https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-garden-rakies-shallow-sps-cube.291517/page-15#post-4578633 Post 310 - adhering rock https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-garden-rakies-shallow-sps-cube.291517/page-16#post-4601379 Post 318 - more rock https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-garden-rakies-shallow-sps-cube.291517/page-16#post-4642104 Post 408 - completed https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-garden-rakies-shallow-sps-cube.291517/page-21#post-4900756
@Paul B has a thread in the DIY section on homemade rocks. gives a very good step by step on coating PVC with cement.
It'll look much better as coraline / algae starts to cover the PVC. I'm patient, I don't expect it to look natural right away -- And if you have any exposed PVC you shouldn't either. Patience with this type of setup. I'm also going to remove the rocks on the bottom and put some black PVC pipe down there covering the white legs. It'll blend in with the bottom, and i"ll grow low light corals on it to blend in. Sad to say it's in use, and exactly what I wanted, but STILL not 100% complete. Here's a few pictures.. Frags aren't all placed yet so don't mind the racks too much
Maybe I'll look into cement. I was scared because there will be coral and I heard cement will mess with the chemistry of the water
I read that the black pond foam adheres well to pvc. Do you think it would be practical to build the pvc structure, spray a thin layer of pond foam to give the pvc a more rocky shape then cover it in several coats of mortar? I read Paul B's way of wrapping the pvc in cotton string then using mortar. I just can't find anything about if mortar can stick to the foam
Oh man that's going to look slick. Do you have a thread @wills612? Definitely something I want to follow in the future when it starts getting covered in corals.
Agreed. Very cool idea. You definitely need a thread in the DIY forum. I bet several reefers would be interested in this.
It took me a long time but I finally settled on a method I liked and just put it in place this weekend. Now to let the coral grow out and follow it in for ever. Looking for 2 nice floating coral islands. Probably have to take trip to the bottle corals website now.
Oh wow, that looks really cool. That would have given a much more natural look while waiting my corals to grow out
I have 2 marine bio pure blocks and about 20 pounds of rubble rock in the sump. With a small 2gal refugium
