Styrofoam/Cement Background

[ejmeier]

Well, I got this idea from another site, and decided that this would be a good idea for a background for me too.

Here's what I did:
Bought a 8' x 4' x 2" piece of styrofoam for like 7 - 8 dollars at HD. Had to cut it into three pieces to fit it into my car.:rolleyes: This was WAY more than I will ever need.

I also bought a 94 lb. bag of Type I Portland Cement. (Again, WAY too much, I probably only used like .01% of the whole bag.):eek: It only cost around $7 and it was the smallest - and only bag that they carried at HD.

I cut the styrofoam to the right size to fit my background (a 33g long that is 48" x 12" on the back). Then I just started gouging away the styrofoam with a long knife until I got something that I thought looked natural. I was going for a rock-cliff type of a look, and hopefully it turns out semi-realistic.

I really do not consider myself artistic at all, (seriously, I have no artistic talent AT ALL!) but from all of my half-planned/half-spontaneous gouging I came out with something that looks pretty decent. :) If you are considering doing something like this, but doubt your artistic abilities, don't worry, a monkey could do this! I say go for it. :p

After this, I mixed some water with the portland cement until it was a gel-like consistency. I then used a paintbrush and painted the cement on.

It is drying, or "curing" as we speak.:D

My question is: I've never used this cement stuff before, and I think I mixed it wrong.:( Are you supposed to add sand into the mix as well as water? Does anyone know the effect of using just cement and water will be?

Also, is there any way to preserve the cement mix for future uses? I have heard that it hardens in the bag once it is opened. Just wondering how long I have, and if I should store it in something other than the bag - a 5 gal bucket w/ lid perhaps?

[vidrar]

First off your cement should have told you how to mix it, what other ingredients are needed, different cemets need different ingredients, some require just water and some need sand aswell, you should check to see what the bag says.

You'll need to let the cement cure and then soak it in water for a few weeks to get any contaminants out of it that will bleed into the water. the best way to do this is to put the cement on your peice, allow it to sit for 24 hours and then place it in clean fresh water for 3 weeks , changing the water every few days. cement cures harder when it is done underwater.

as far as hardaning while the bag is open, this i've never heard of, but it doesn't hurt to put the rest of your cement in a sealed container if you have one available.

[ejmeier]

Thanks for the reply, but:
1. The cement mix didn't say anything at all on how to mix it.
2. This entire thread is actually located in the general discussion forum at: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15457
:D