Hello, well, the age old question, should I do a sand bed, or BB? some say yes, some say no. Well, I like the look of the sand, but the ease of maintenance of a BB, plus my tank is a nano, and nano's are known for building up detris in the sand bed and rocks, causing nitrate/PO4 problems down the road, and I went to try and avoid that. Anyway, upon searching various threads about making fake sand beds, I came accross the best one IMO, i tried the silicone method, where you silicone the sand down, but it didnt turn out well, it didnt get good coverage, and you can see through it, The best method IMO, is what im going to show you in this thread. I Got this idea from another forum, but its 4 years old, so I figured i'd try it out and post an updated thread where everyone can see it. Now, the basics.
What you will need,
Famowood 2-part epoxy resin, found at lowes,homedepot ect.
2 plastic wax free mixing containers
A wooden paint stirrer
Sand of your choice
Wax paper
Ok, Heres what the resin looks like in the box,
And heres a shot of the 2 parts,
First thing you need is to either make a box the same size as your tank, or you can mix it directly in your tank, I wouldn't reccomend it since its permanet.
My tank is 18x18", I made my jig 19x19" so i can have some exccess that i can cut off, better to have to much than too little. I made my jig out of scrap peices of acrylic, but you can use basically anything,
Once you have your jig made up, line the inside with wax paper, the resin won't stick to it, so it makes for easy removal,
Once thats done, you can begin mixing the resin,
The resin comes with directions, but basically you mix equal parts of both the resin and hardner, mix for 2 mins, pour into a seperate container, and mix for another 2 mins. Add the sand at the end of the mixing, how much depends on how you like it, i added 2 1/2 cups of sand to the full 2 bottles of resin.
Once you've completed the mixing, pour the resin in the middle of your jig, this is self leveling, but use your stirrer or a spackle troul to work the resin into all the corners and get it fairly level.
Once your done pouring the resin, sprinkle more sand over the top, the resin looks cloudy but will dry perfectly clear,
Once its set, remove the jig, peel away the wax paper, and you have a fake sand bed!
For larger tanks, i reccomend making the bottom in sections for easy insertion and removal. this 19x19" jog used all the resin in the quart sizes containers, but i made it alittle thick, so you'll have to experiment with the size tank you have. any questions freel free to ask. Thanks
EDIT- also, when the resin is setting, you can your rocks in it to make the imprint of the rock, so when it dries, you'll have a perfect negative of your base rock, so it will fit in there nicely.
What you will need,
Famowood 2-part epoxy resin, found at lowes,homedepot ect.
2 plastic wax free mixing containers
A wooden paint stirrer
Sand of your choice
Wax paper
Ok, Heres what the resin looks like in the box,
And heres a shot of the 2 parts,
First thing you need is to either make a box the same size as your tank, or you can mix it directly in your tank, I wouldn't reccomend it since its permanet.
My tank is 18x18", I made my jig 19x19" so i can have some exccess that i can cut off, better to have to much than too little. I made my jig out of scrap peices of acrylic, but you can use basically anything,
Once you have your jig made up, line the inside with wax paper, the resin won't stick to it, so it makes for easy removal,
Once thats done, you can begin mixing the resin,
The resin comes with directions, but basically you mix equal parts of both the resin and hardner, mix for 2 mins, pour into a seperate container, and mix for another 2 mins. Add the sand at the end of the mixing, how much depends on how you like it, i added 2 1/2 cups of sand to the full 2 bottles of resin.
Once you've completed the mixing, pour the resin in the middle of your jig, this is self leveling, but use your stirrer or a spackle troul to work the resin into all the corners and get it fairly level.
Once your done pouring the resin, sprinkle more sand over the top, the resin looks cloudy but will dry perfectly clear,
Once its set, remove the jig, peel away the wax paper, and you have a fake sand bed!
For larger tanks, i reccomend making the bottom in sections for easy insertion and removal. this 19x19" jog used all the resin in the quart sizes containers, but i made it alittle thick, so you'll have to experiment with the size tank you have. any questions freel free to ask. Thanks
EDIT- also, when the resin is setting, you can your rocks in it to make the imprint of the rock, so when it dries, you'll have a perfect negative of your base rock, so it will fit in there nicely.
