expanded foam

HI guys
is expanded foam toxic to fish when dried? . I got inspired my some tanks i recently sore . I have a large 1000L tank standing around that i am planning on making interesting and lots of expanded foam will be needed.
thanks
Antony

 

Cured foam should not be toxic but check the label or contact the manufacturer if you have doubts.

 

thanks f-fish

 

i wouldnt take the chance, it smells strong once dried so im sure its gonna be putting out toxins

 

I also wouldn't trust it? I can't say for sure that it is toxic, but having used the stuff for other purposes, I'd strictly advise caution!

The stuff is deadly when 'wet', so I would think that if kept under water perminantly, it would leach toxins into the water?

maybe someone like Zoom would be able to advise better here?

Cheers
G!

 

Sorry. Expandible foam is only use by builder's who can't build level or straight. It's a "quick fix" to what is commonly known as a "f-up"

 

I have used Expandable foam as a background for a 3m Tank in Pretoria.
It was possible to make caves etc and hide the built-in filter.
I used colour pigment of red, brown and yellow to create the rock-look and sealed it with several coats of clear non-toxic resin. It took me a month to drain the water every weekend and refill it! It looked great with brown volcanic rock as substrate and my Oscars spawned in it, after 2 months!
I'm sure there must be a product of it now, that's not Toxic!
give us feedback if you find such a product.

Gert

 

Pop in at the guys that do flotation for boats.I got some from them.It is the liquid foam and the activator.Quite expensive but well worth it.No smell at all and smaller "bubbles" than the expanded foam from hardware stores.

No i do not use it in my tanks, i do flotation for Baitboats.Losing a 5 Grand Baitboat is not pleasant.

P.S. Please let them show you how to use it ,otherwise you will make a mess of yourself,and getting it off your hands is no sinecure!

 

thanks for all the info guys , i will keep you guys posted on what my plans are

 

I watch these guys on youtube allot and they use foam for all there ponds with no problems http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePondDigger#p/u/5/yUg4QwvY52s

 

i am planning on building a Paludarium and from what i have seen alot of people use it to create rocks and islands but i am still not sure .

 

If you are not sure then try an experiment .. .make a small mix ... have a bucket ready with some fish water. Add the small molding to the test tank .. leave for a few days with an air pump running ... add some guppies or other live breeders that you have around observer and see if they survive for a few weeks.

I would let is cure very well before adding it to any tank. I think most people do several water changes as part of flush and cycle if they have done some hard scaping with this stuff.

 

i have been doing alot of research on it. i have found that u get a pond safe version of the foam.

not to sure if its available in SA though

 

@Reafer What news do you have about using the Polyurethane Foam? When I did research I was told by the manufacturers that it is not safe to use in a fish tank. (I used to do spoilers for cars made from fibreglass as well as body boards for surfing) Apparently it also starts to melt after time? As for sealing it with resin...? It has a lot of really tiny holes and all that I think will happen is that the resin will go into the little holes and maybe not seal it properly.
You also mention a product that is safe for use in water, have you found it and are we able to get it here?

 

I have seen guys use "filler foam " and it is safe. Mate also used it in his Dart Frog tank and came out awesomely.

 

@byronb, What brand is it? Because I did trials with various sorts of expandable foam for the body boards that I used to make and I spoke to the experts regarding this stuff and they were adamant that it was not to come into contact with water. I was also looking at doing backgrounds for my tanks with this stuff and was strongly advised against it... But that's just what I researched into it about 6 years ago, things may have changed since then...:dontknow:

 

@Skye01 I will try find out the brand my mate used . I know guys use the stuff in marine tanks as well to stick coral etc together . The thing is once you have shaped your backround etc , then you can either paint and then seal that , or go the cement route . If you just want to do the polystyrene and cement route it works well and is really easy..
here is a link where the guy uses filler foam and polystyrene .
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_aquarium_background.php

 

@byronb, Thanks I would really appreciate the name, and thanks for the link, I'll check it out.:smile1:

 

ey guys... any updates on this???