# Where to buy Foam?



## liveforthis (Jul 16, 2009)

Hi,

I am wanting to build a 65 gal tank with a rock background. I have been reading about construction of these backgrounds all over the forums.

I want to use the polyethylene foam, however I can't find it at lowes or Home Depot. It appears I will be ordering online.....Can anyone direct me to a website or place that sells this foam? Also what density do I buy?

p.s. dumpster diving is out of the question as there is no electronic store close by.


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## Matt (May 16, 2008)

I found all my foam at HD and Lowes. I don't know if it is specifically polyethylene though. I found big sheets of blue stryofoam in the house insulation section, and Great Stuff all over the place in small display stands. I made rocks by chopping and reshaping the blue foam, and more organic shapes from the great stuff.


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## Ken (Jun 21, 2009)

Someone had posted this site on another thread. I haven't bought anything from them (yet), but they appear to have just about any kind of foam you need. 

Closed Cell Foam, Padding, Minicel, Polystyrene Foam, Styrofoam Sheet


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## MeiKVR6 (Sep 16, 2008)

We sell polyethylene sheets... Just carve, cover in silicone and coco and you are done.  From what I can find - we beat prices on non-vivarium oriented sites. 

New England Herpetoculture - Misc

Shameless plug - but it'll save you money.


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## melas (Oct 24, 2007)

MeiKVR6 said:


> We sell polyethylene sheets... Just carve, cover in silicone and coco and you are done.  From what I can find - we beat prices on non-vivarium oriented sites.
> 
> New England Herpetoculture - Misc
> 
> Shameless plug - but it'll save you money.


Is that polyethylene or polystyrene? Styrofoam is polystyrene and is brittle and composed of many little "balls" of foam whereas polyethylene is pliable and is similar to the density of a "pool noodle". 

I've heard that Lowe's sells the polyethylene (though I have never gone looking for it). The blue and pink foam at Lowes is not polyethylene. The link supplied above (Closed Cell Foam, Padding, Minicel, Polystyrene Foam, Styrofoam Sheet) is a good source. PM me - maybe we can do a trade for some (I have bags of it from servers etc at work).

Good luck!


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## MeiKVR6 (Sep 16, 2008)

^^^ Ah you are correct! My mistake.  Ours is actually "florist styrofoam". It's more dense than the normal styrofoam - it's not compromised of many little balls - it's a pretty rigid board that does *not* absorb water. Actually - even after looking it up - I don't know the exact name besides "florist styrofoam"...


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## melas (Oct 24, 2007)

Haha! I can actually imagine that working quite well for the rock wall (cement/grout over foam). You want a foam that is porous to help the cement "lock" on to the foam.


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## Garuda (Feb 15, 2008)

I found some squares of it at The Container Store.


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## liveforthis (Jul 16, 2009)

All I could find at lowes was the little whiteball Styrofoam....For making rocks you want the open pore foam right???


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## melas (Oct 24, 2007)

I've always used the open-cell foam. I think you'll find that the pores allow the cement to create a very strong bond with the foam. Also, polystyrene has been proven to be an endocrine disruptor . . . don't need that getting into your frogs!


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