# 30 gal epoxy rock build



## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

Thought I would create a thread to show the progress of this tank as some of you (I hope), might find it interesting. I have been using various mortar and grout methods to create rocks and other structures for a couple years now and have a lot of fun doing it. However I was never really happy with the sculptability and textures of cements as they were not intended for this. Also the curing period always annoyed me and I never felt they were 100% safe. So a couple months ago I ordered a 2qt kit of polygem zoopoxy #307 and dug out an old 30 gal tank to test it in. I wanted to create the look of boulders with moss and epiphyties growing out of the organic matter trapped in between.

The first few images are pretty standard:
bulk head drilling









False bottom and background attachment. I like to lay my pvc for the false bottom sideways instead of up and down as it makes everything more level and prevents pools of water and particles from collecting inside and becoming stagnant. 









Now the fun began! The rocks were carved out with pink insulation foam, I like this foam because you can achieve a lot of detail and it is easy to carve. It is also fairly thick so you don't need to glue a million pieces together. 









The epoxy is then mixed and sculpted onto the foam. This stuff is very thick out of the can so water is added to achieve the right constancy, more water for a runnier mix and less for more of a sculptable putty. By itself this stuff cures rock hard but very smooth so lots of fine and corse sand is added to get a nice rough texture. I also used grey and brown grout pigments to give it a nice base color to work with. I applied it with sculpting and plastic knives and allowed it to set for 1 to 2 hrs. At this point it becomes thick enough to sculpt and texturize without being to runny. 

















At room temp it usually takes a little over 24hrs to fully cure, at which point it will be hard as a rock and VERY strong. The next step is to paint the rocks for which yellow, brown, blue, black and white cheapo acrylic paints were used. This stuff seems to take paint well and after a few watered down layers the rocks had had a lot of depth and looked quite real. While the last coat is still wet I sprinkled more sand over the rocks, it would stick to certain areas creating little pockets of texture. Once all that is dry I painted on a few scattered lichens with thicker yellows, greens and blues. At this point the rocks are ready to be mounted in the tank. I siliconed them the background/false bottom and then used more epoxy to fill in the gaps. The next thing I did was to mix up a batch of dark epoxy to fill in those annoying gaps and holes left in tree fern panels. Once I applied the epoxy I pushed a bunch of loose tree fern fiber into it, this worked out pretty well and dried rock hard. 

Here is the tank up to this point, a lot of the color got washed out of the rocks due to the lights but it gives you an idea of how they look:

























So this is where I am at so far. Next up will be a lid. I will probably go with thick plexi as I can easily drill vent and misting holes into it. Does anyone know how thick plexi has to be for it not to bow under normal conditions?

Thanks for looking!


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## jeffdart (May 21, 2008)

Very nice setup!! Well I just had a plexi tank pull a part do to warm days and cool nights. It was 1/4". But I use it for making my vert fronts an it works fine. I guess it depends on how secure you have it.


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## Arizona Tropicals (Feb 15, 2010)

Looking good!


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## Morgan Freeman (Feb 26, 2009)

Pretty damn awesome.


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## McBobs (Apr 26, 2007)

Looking good! I like the layout you have so far. 

As for the acrylic, I would advise just going with glass. You've already demonstrated your ability to drill glass, so I would just take the extra time to use it instead. 

There really isnt a magical thickness that wont bow under normal conditions. All acrylic warps over time whereas glass wont. 

IMO, go with glass. It will save you headaches in the long run. 

-Matt


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

thanks for all the positive feedback guys! The reason I was thinking of using a plexi top is because of the amount of holes I will drill, 3 in the back for misting heads and then 3 more in the front for ventilation and I am unsure of how glass will hold up under all that cutting. I have drilled 25+ tanks (one of the least fun parts of working at a zoo) but have never done just plane panes of glass before. Any tips on the best way to do this? To keep this project rolling I will probably temporarily use a screen top with glass on it so I can start planting it soon. Next up will be wood/lianas and substrate (hopefully with in a day or two).


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## Julio (Oct 8, 2007)

very nice!! love how you incorporated the fern pannel in the back, looks much more natural.


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## Howiedoit (Oct 29, 2009)

Great Job, I'll be following this thread GhettoPieninja.....?! lol awesome


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

Julio said:


> very nice!! love how you incorporated the fern pannel in the back, looks much more natural.





Howiedoit said:


> Great Job, I'll be following this thread GhettoPieninja.....?! lol awesome


thanks! and yeah I kinda decided that was a good screen name 8 years ago in middle school, I think my original name on dendroboard around that time was something similar so I thought I would stick with it when I lost my password a couple years ago and had to make a new account. I will probably change it however since I am no longer in 8th grade.


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## nathan (Jul 24, 2009)

Looking forward to seeing this once its finished and planted. And again in a few months when its grown in a bit . . . NICE WORK SO FAR !


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

ordered the last few misting pieces I needed as well as the rest of the lighting. I will hopefully add substrate tomorrow. I would love some input on my plant list which I will post tomorrow (on my gf's computer right now)


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

So I finally got around to taking some pictures of the little progress I've made lately.









Added vines, substrate and leaf litter. I have yet to make the real top so I'm just using a screen top covered in plastic for the moment. I am still waiting on some misting parts and another light so I have yet to order plants but I did add this little philo I had in another tank.









Does anyone have an ID on this species? This was a cutting I got from a zoo that I used to work at, they used it in their amphibian room as well as some display enclosures, I have never seen it produced leaves over 2.5inches so I feel it is either a miniature or only produces mature leaves under specific conditions. As for the rest of the plants I have begun to make a small list of species I am thinking about:
Monolina primuliflora 
Selaginella erythropus 
Selaginella moellendorfii
Peperomia Prostrata
ficus 'panama'
Philodendron Burle Marx Fantasy
xmas moss
pellia

That is about as far as I have gotten, I would love some input on what speices you guys think would work best. I am trying to go for a central/northern s american high altitude/cloud forest feel so I will have the misters running fairly often. Any suggestions would be awesome, I am especially interested in an Anthuriums, any ferns and probably an orchid or two.


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## Derek Benson (Feb 19, 2004)

Is it a philodendron wend imbe? I have one in my 65 gallon, but it's in a clump and looks a bit different from yours.


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

the leaves are similar but they get a little larger and it grows in a more standard vineing/creeping patter then the clumping of wend imbe, i will probably add a few of these in here as well however.


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

*Re: 30 gal epoxy rock build (update!)*

It has been a couple weeks so it's time for an update. I finally have the misting system running and did the first round of planting a few days ago.
























I still have yet to get an ID on this philodendron in the last picture, anyone have any ideas?
Here is the short list of plants so far:
unidentified philodendron
unidenfited mini ariod (Black Jungle)
Selaginella erythropus
Anthurium scandens
Ficus 'Panama'
various mosses

Obviously this is just the beginning and I plan to add more plants soon as well as another light. Plant wise I will probably add:
Rhodospatha rufibarba
Peperomia prostrata 
Selaginella moellendorffii
I also will probably add more Anthurium and Peperomia sp. but I am especially interested in Anthurium Polyschistum and any Marcgravia species, dose anyone know of any good sources for either?


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## roberthvalera (Jun 9, 2006)

Looks great so far! Very natural. I think using fewer species and repeating them looks alot less busy and more natural.


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## hukilausurfer (Aug 31, 2009)

This viv is looking great! Are you gonna add any bromeliads?


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## wimvanvelzen (Nov 1, 2008)

This looks great indeed! Love the small details of the lichen / algae on the rocks!


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

thanks a lot for all the great complements guys! As for bromeliads I'm not sure, if I decide to put some vents that came out of the water recently in this once it grows in a little I will put one or two in, probably a Vriesea or Guzmania species as these are more geographically accurate to dendrobate ranges then Neoregelia.


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## Arrynia (Dec 27, 2009)

Excellent!! Gave me some ideas for upcoming tinc viv!


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

thanks! I have some more plants in the mail so I should post another update later this week. I hope to start another 30 for some of my azureus soon, this time with a full rockwall however. I hope to make it as close to a 'biotope' as possible. Also in the works is a tall tank (hopefully a big exo) for my Agalychnis moreletii group with a large tree buttress being made out of the same epoxy.


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## ems1016 (Apr 23, 2010)

How is it that water based acrylic paints will hold up under these moist conditions? My other hobby is figure model painting and building (the old Aurora and newer resin figure models) and we use acrylics predominantly in that hobby because they don't have the unnatural glossy look of enamels. BUT---these acrylics are easily removed---even years later from these styrene or resin models. That is why we seal all acrylic paints with a Testor's Dull Cote sealant (which I doubt would be safe for frogs). Maybe acrylics will hold better to your stonelike material than it does to plastics.

I would think mixing the acrylics in with the media itself might work and color set as part of the mortar, grout or whatever one is working with curing process.

Ed


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

Yes mixing the acrylic in the epoxy and then applying it is one effective way of coloring the epoxy, but you still need to do a coat or two of very watered down paint afterwords to achieve depth, otherwise the entire piece would be one uniform color. Acrylics are plastics and will bond differently to different materials. They are notorious for not bonding well to plastics and resins unless you apply it in a very thick coat, I think this has to do with the fact that it cannot permeate these materials and thus just pools on the surface. Acrylics permeate easily into absorbent materials such as canvas, paper and wood, once dried on these surfaces it is almost impossible to remove. To same holds true for the epoxy rocks I believe. The epoxy absorbs the watered down paint instead of having it just pool on the surface. When it comes to coloring epoxy rocks I usually think of it more as a stain then a paint.


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## slipperheads (Oct 17, 2007)

I hope I am as exited as others to revive this thread, can we get an update on how the paint is holding? I am curious, I just did polygem on my rockwall and did a basecoat of brown for now, its still drying. I hope it just holds up as you explained!


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

I was going to wait and let things grow in a little longer before I post more pictures but why not post some quick ones now:


















user roxrgneiss sent me some really great Marcgravia cuttings which you see beginning to spread across the background as well as Anthurium Polyschistum. I also added some Selaginella plana. Also another light was finally added and I have begun to mist the tank a couple times a week with diluted aquarium fertilizer so things are finally starting to take off. In other news I have a another 30gal w/rock wall in the works for some of my azureus as well as a tall enclosure with an epoxy tree for my Agalychnis moreletii so keep an eye for more info on those soon.


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## BR5 (Dec 7, 2009)

Nice work, keep the pictures coming


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

Any updates?


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

This tank has grown in very well and is looking really great, however the foreground of the tank is currently being taken up by potted plants waiting to go into another tank I am working on. Once I can get them out stay tuned for a nice update. thanks!


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## Judy S (Aug 29, 2010)

jeffdart said:


> Very nice setup!! Well I just had a plexi tank pull a part do to warm days and cool nights. It was 1/4". But I use it for making my vert fronts an it works fine. I guess it depends on how secure you have it.


sorta off topic--can you explain how you make your vertical fronts??? And are the tanks glass or plastic...Need some guidance...


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

*Re: 30 gal epoxy rock build (UPDATE 1/22)*

hey guys it's been forever since I updated this thread. The tank has done quite a bit of growing in over the past several months:








































still no inhabitants, I may put some anthonyi that I am picking up as tads in eventually or a group of hyla ebraccata


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## Kaity (Sep 18, 2010)

*Re: 30 gal epoxy rock build (UPDATE 1/22)*

That looks awesome! What kind of vines did you use?


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## Okapi (Oct 12, 2007)

Its beautiful!


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## skylsdale (Sep 16, 2007)

Looks like a perfect enclosure from some azureus...the boulders and seeps found in their forest island habitat.


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## ghettopieninja (Jul 29, 2008)

Kaity said:


> That looks awesome! What kind of vines did you use?


thanks, it is a combination of a Marcgravia sp. and ficus panama. 



skylsdale said:


> Looks like a perfect enclosure from some azureus...the boulders and seeps found in their forest island habitat.


I've been very tempted to throw my pair in here for the same reason. But I've been very interested in developing more of a 'forest floor' enclosure for some time with fabricated tree buttresses and lots of leaflitter/debris, which I think suits them very well. Should be done with that in a week or two.


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## roxrgneiss (Sep 30, 2007)

*Re: 30 gal epoxy rock build (UPDATE 1/22)*

Very nice work on the rocks and nice job planting the tank. It has grown in beautifully. I always love to see tanks like this grown in. The Marcgravia really took off.  How do you like that Philodendron as a terrarium plant? Is each new leaf larger than the last?

Mike




ghettopieninja said:


> hey guys it's been forever since I updated this thread. The tank has done quite a bit of growing in over the past several months:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Arpeggio (Jan 15, 2011)

Dude that is SICK~!


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## Mitch (Jun 18, 2010)

A little late... but this viv looks awesome! Did you end up putting the SI's in here?


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## davy (Jul 13, 2010)

that's a very nice viv.


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## Mitch (Jun 18, 2010)

Mitch said:


> A little late... but this viv looks awesome! Did you end up putting the SI's in here?


Asking again!


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