I made a Stalactite

Having dove a few times in caverns and seen the lifeforms growing there, i've always been facinated the way fish and creatures interract with those animals perched upside down on those caves. So in my project i've decided to do a Stalactite . A rock formation usually of calcaire origine and teaming with life. So now in my tank i have an upsidown rock. For this project you'll need;

nugget size rocks
2 accrylic square rods
Eggcrates about 64 square inch.
zip ties
Great StuFF Foam
2 tubes of epoxy putty
accrylic cement
sand paper
a small saw
epoxy resin
crush coral and or sand
drill and drill bit






You'll need 2 square accrylic rods; one for the stalactite and one for support.






You cut it so it fit your tank border




You can see here in this next picture how the zip ties and eggcrates are used , the eggcrate has been cut in a triagular shape much like the stalactite final look, and the rocks grafted around with the zip tied, do not worry about the weight( the foam acts as a floater).






In this next picture there is a flaw, that i will correct right away with the next picture after that. The flaw was discovered after the first week when the tank was filled and the stalactite was not completely underwater. The MH where burning the surface of the foam and resin, so i did a repair job on it that i will show you now so you don't make the same mistake.




The rod on the previous picture is much too high, it must be lowered here's how you'll do it(so cut your eggcrate in order) Cut the lenght of 3 squares of eggcrate to plunge your stalactite underwater, see next picture.









You'll need thats spacing for the stalactite to be submerged.For now your stalactite is loose , good its easyer to work with and we'll leave it like that for now.

Now when all your rock are all in place, use Great StuFF foam, you can find this also at Home Depot in the pond and insulation area. Its safe for aqaurium and ponds .





At this point it would seem logical to cover the eggcrate at the top with the foam , but don't you need it free to put epoxy in those 3 eggcrate squares so leave them alone for now and continu with the rest.

 

That will look amazing covered with coral. Easy place to take out and glue frags on too.

 

that is really cool. very creative
is that foam safe for your tank or does it need to cured for a long while?

 

Now you have to apply resin,This epoxy can be a bit thick , so you can use some rubbing alcohol to dilute it.it has to be 99% alcohol, not the 70%; there's too much water in that one. Most drugstores cary it, some you have to ask for it , and they'll order it for you.I found this in a hobby shop; they use it on miniature planes styrofoam wings to render them impervious to water i think.


Normaly you just apply the resin, but upon this i add crush coral to make the foam more rock like. And guess what you get glued to it lol. Taking a break now. I can't explain how to work with resin and crush coral. You have to do it to see how it reacts. You have to mesure precisely equal parts of resin and hardener. If too much hardener you have a more rubber like texture, so they say on the box. I did my mesurement perfect. It dries in about 30 min so be fast!. Will update later with pics bye now.









Now you must drill hole in the stalactite so you can put plugs of corals you want later caus its not easy to glue or attached something to it trust me. so make those hole before.



Then you must apply more resin in the holes oh yes

The use of cuttips for it is perfect.

 

Now to anchor the hole thing; You can see here the damage done by the MH ; they burned the resin and i had to find a way to lowered the stalactite underwater, so now to do that and make sure it doesn't move and float( because it will the foam is boyant and act as a floater).












Make sure you chizel and sand properly




All the 4 sides






Use the hole tube of putty(epoxy) and cover and make sure the putty goes through the eggcrate squares.




Let dry for 48 hours no less






Now what you see here is the stalactite floating and swinging to the left; to stop that we need to brace it using another rod.





The new rod goes perpendicular to the other one and under the rim of the tank like so










You install it like so; the same scratch and sanding






Accrylic cement then 1 hole tube of epoxy again let dry for 48 hours.

 

The finish look
















For more about this project and the one beside it go to

http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-off-your-fish-tanks/biocube-65-g-underwater-sculptures-76259.html

 

The foam is cured in 24 hours, but you need more for the resin and the other steps afterwards.

 

thats a cool idea. Could would get a FTS ?

 

Very different. Cool little build.

 

For more about this project and the one beside it go to
http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-off-your-fish-tanks/biocube-65-g-underwater-sculptures-76259.html