sealing the substrate???

[jlcoop277]

Question, I have a certain look in mind for my upcoming tank renovation, but i dont pretend to ignor the ease of a bare bottom tank. So i'm thinking of sealing the substrate after i get my decor where i want it. My question is what kind of sealer would be best and safe for the fish. That way i get the best of both worlds. i get the substrate look i want with the simplicity of bare bottom.
Thanks!

[DonMD]

I can't even imagine what substrate you think you can seal. It doesn't sound feasible to me.

[jlcoop277]

Seal by covering in epoxy. I've read of people sealing driftwood and such with it. Just cant remember what they used.

[Skip]

no kidding.. how would you apply it to substrate.. LOL.. mix it up like cement and pour it in?

[jlcoop277]

I haven't worked all that out yet. I was hoping someone has done it and could give me tips on how they did it. If not then it might be worth the cost of a ten gallon and give it a try. That is one option I thought about mixing it all together and putting it in.

[Skip]

LOL>> the way i look at it.. when i use the SEARCH function on SD.. and i can't find it.. then it can't be done.. LOL

ps.. there is a thread where someone seal SAND on the underside of the tank..

but i would Leary of adding some kind of chemical into the tank other then GLASS or 100% Aquarium Safe Silicon... it could be disastrous..

[nwehrman]

Love trial and error! But have no clue-

Nicole

[Skip]

now that i think about it.. Mixing substrate and pouring it in.. probably would not seal correctly.. it could be porous.. like a rice krispie treat.. but if you poured it over the substrate... it would have to be pretty think..

either option.. if not done correctly.. would cause issues if water gets into the substrate and stagnates.. not sure if you would want that..

[Sean Buehrle]

What I have seen done is spreading silicone on the bottom an dumping sand on it, then removing the rest that doesn't stick.

Seems to me a painted bottom would give the same affect and be easier to clean.

[dpete9]

An aquatics store in Netherlands here has a roll-out pond liner thing that has the fine aquarium gravel pre-glued right on it. They told me it
was inert and obviously fish safe. But our concern was that with the pieces of gravel glued in place like that it would have jagged non-moving
edges that the discus could scratch themselves on. Anyways I think if they sold it here it should be available somewhere in the US as well. and if someone was daring it could be silicone glued down to the bottom of the tank??

[DonMD]

But why not just use silica sand? It basically works as a bare bottom tank, in that it's very easy to vacuum and clean, and it provides an excellent surface. What's to be gained by trying to seal sand? I just vacuum my sand, then it settles, and it's as if nothing ever happened.

[roclement]

You can seal it with a spray clear coat but you do need to affix the substrate to the tank first with something like super glue, think gluing the gravel to the bottom with super glue or silicone, both inert, then clear coat the gravel with a spray and you are done. The only crux is finding a inert clear coat spray but I am 100% that they are available.

An easier and maybe safer solution would be just to clean your substrate often.

Rodrigo

[nc0gnet0]

the product you are looking for is envirotex light two part epoxy. Works great and is fish safe after it cures. I have used it to adhere white gravel to a black acrylic tank back to make it white. Reefers use it as well. Your going to want to mix it together add the sand, stir well, then pour into the tank. There is a realitively long thread over at reef central here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=392144&pp=25

[joanstone]

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f76/diy-epoxy-sand-bottom-66246.html

I have been considering doing what you propose in my big FOWLR tank and came across the above link.

[joanstone]

Anyone know what the stuff is that they use on Tanked to clear coat all the crazy stuff that they put in their aquariums?

[Skip]

give them a call :)

[Darrell Ward]

Envirotex Lite works great. Just make sure your sand is completely dry, mix it in the resin, and pour in the tank. Keep the sand layer thin, about 1/4" thick. You can find this stuff in gal. kits online.

[joanstone]

Now that's thinking! I sent them an email, let's see if they get back to me.

[jlcoop277]

the product you are looking for is envirotex light two part epoxy. Works great and is fish safe after it cures. I have used it to adhere white gravel to a black acrylic tank back to make it white. Reefers use it as well. Your going to want to mix it together add the sand, stir well, then pour into the tank. There is a realitively long thread over at reef central here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=392144&pp=25

This is exactly what i had in mind. Thank you! I will read all 25 pages when i have a free moment.

[MightyEvil]

I have done it with sand, I use styrofoam and shape it, make dunes and stuff. Then I would pour silicone on the styrofoam and spread it with my hands (use latex gloves). Then I pour the sand on top of it and let it cure, once cured you will have a nice sandbed, hit the styro from the bottom side to let any loose sand fall off. If you have many spots where you can see the styro, repeat and silicone over the sand this time. The more you do it the better the sand will look. Then, just silicone the whole thing to the tank bottom.

Then, you have the epoxy way which is more expensive but probably a better way of doing it, dont know cause I have never used epoxy before...

[jlcoop277]

According to the link a few post back it's pretty cheap, i think i'm going to try it on a ten and see how it looks. if it turns out good i might use it on the big tank. I like the ease of cleaning from BB, but i dont like the look.

[joanstone]

The people at the show Tanked did get back to me. They use a 2 part epoxy clear coat called 1319 ultra by Polygem. It can be found at polygem.com

[jlcoop277]

cool. I'll have to check into that as well.

[joanstone]

Yeah, it looks like that company makes a lot of interesting stuff.

[nc0gnet0]

Basically the same stuff, just a different brand.

[ddr1981]

Hate to resurrect this old of a thread, but very curious if anyone ended up sealing their substrate and if they’d do it again.