# where to buy foam for bg's



## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

i know this must have been asked a hundred or more times, but when i was at home depot the thickest foam they had was about 1/4 inch maybe slightly thicker, and that seems like it's way too thin and that i would have to stack wat too many layers, where else can i find the right foam? maybe shipping stores?


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

HD lists SUPER TUFF-R 2 In. 4 x 8 Polyisocyanurate Rigid Foam Insulation which is two inches thick. I've seen it four inches thick (nominal, actual thickness 3.5") at Home Depots I've been in.

You can also order Poret foam which is an open cell foam and more flexible. It can double as both a background and a filter.


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

I was looking at Home Depot and Lowe's online and it said they didn't stock the thick stuff in the stores here in my town :roll: I have to verify that though.

How would one use the Poret foam as a background? You mean cut it like styrofoam and seal it with drylok or something?


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

scrubjay said:


> ....
> How would one use the Poret foam as a background? You mean cut it like styrofoam and seal it with drylok or something?


 I guess you could cut it and seal it, but I let it double as a filter so I leave it smooth and let Java moss grow on it. In non-cichlid tanks there are lots of other plants to choose from that will also attach to the Poret, but in a cichlid tank, unless it's an apistogramma tank, you are pretty much limited to the various aquatic mosses and ferns since they apparently taste bad. In my tanks, a few strands of Java moss show up on the Poret and before you know it, it's a jungle. Great hiding place for cichlid fry. I even have it in with my Jack Dempsey pair that produces one fourth electric blue fry. Once in a while it looks totally rearranged in with those monsters, but unlike other plants the moss ignores being ripped into little pieces and just keeps growing.


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

Ah, I get it. And the black wouldn't be too much different from a painted black background. I'm assuming you mean that it just adds backup for filtration and you have additional filtration? Or do you pull water from behind it? I've been really wanting to order some of the Poret and try some sponge filters. I was considering trying to duplicate one of the back-to-nature modules that doubles as a filter, sort of have a corner "background" structure that is filled with foam and the water pulled from there. But maybe just having a corner Poret foam filter covered with Java moss would be just as good. fun ideas, thanks


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

Do you think the wall of moss acts almost like an algal turf-scrubber, with the plants taking up nitrates and nutrients?


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

scrubjay said:


> Do you think the wall of moss acts almost like an algal turf-scrubber, with the plants taking up nitrates and nutrients?


 Yes and no. It does not grow fast enough to be effective as an algal turf scrubber. It's not a fast growing plant like you would need for a scrubber. You can peel some moss off once in a while and remove it from the tank when it gets overgrown, which is how an algal filter "exports" nutrients from the system. A good thick algal mat may be harvested several times a week from a well running algal filter. With Java moss, it would be closer to a few times a year. It does help keep the filter running longer between needed cleanings because the moss captures some of the particles that would clog up the sponge.


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

Ah yes, you are right. I wonder if its possible to get any plants to grow in it. Something to play with anyway.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

scrubjay said:


> Ah, I get it. And the black wouldn't be too much different from a painted black background. I'm assuming you mean that it just adds backup for filtration and you have additional filtration? Or do you pull water from behind it? I've been really wanting to order some of the Poret and try some sponge filters. I was considering trying to duplicate one of the back-to-nature modules that doubles as a filter, sort of have a corner "background" structure that is filled with foam and the water pulled from there. But maybe just having a corner Poret foam filter covered with Java moss would be just as good. fun ideas, thanks


I put a pump behind it and make a hole for the nose of the pump to shoot water into the tank. Most pumps need a short piece of tubing to go all the way through the foam. I have other filtration but I'd say the Poret is so effective that it is the main filter, not the back up. A cool way to use it is as a tank divider.


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## scrubjay (Oct 25, 2009)

I get the feeling that this is all many tanks really need.


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## daowner (May 4, 2009)

don't even bother looking for it online i looked online for Styrofoam and both at home depot and lowes said they don't carry it but they do lowes has 8x4ft x2in thick sheets of white Styrofoam with one side covered in a paper type stuff that can easily be removed with a head gun.

home depot sells pink and blue Styrofoam here they didn't have the white kind.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Don't forget. If you buy a new TV or anything big, you get free chunks of styrofoam in the corners of the box. They are perfect for 3-D effects. You jumble them together like rocks and carve or cut them so the duplication is not evident. Instant caves and ledges without as much carving.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

also just got fish shipped to me, so it occured to look at shipping supply store for styrofoam box liners, but i think i found that the local lowes does sell a 8'x4'x2" styro


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I am eagerly awaiting the garbage day after Christmas as an opportunity to wonder through the neighborhood and pick up some free styrofoam waiting for me curbside... I have a couple of projects on hold waiting for this opportunity...


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Toby_H said:


> I am eagerly awaiting the garbage day after Christmas as an opportunity to wonder through the neighborhood and pick up some free styrofoam waiting for me curbside... I have a couple of projects on hold waiting for this opportunity...


Wandering Detroit neighborhoods looking for styrofoam..... There are some I'd tell you to avoid. OT, how is that campaign to reopen Detroit's public aquarium going?


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## BangMx (Jul 27, 2009)

lowes


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## Sav505 (Apr 26, 2005)

I found a place in my area that makes trim and moulding for the outside of buildings. They carve it out of foam and cover it with stucco or whatever the customer wants. I called them and asked if I could get a 6'x2'x6" piece, and a few days later I had the perfect piece of foam for my background. I want to say I paid about $30 for it, but it was years ago. Heres the website for the place I got it from. http://www.johnsoncountyfoam.com/index.htm
Maybe they can send you a piece.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Sav505 said:


> I found a place in my area that makes trim and moulding for the outside of buildings. They carve it out of foam and cover it with stucco or whatever the customer wants. I called them and asked if I could get a 6'x2'x6" piece, and a few days later I had the perfect piece of foam for my background. I want to say I paid about $30 for it, but it was years ago. Heres the website for the place I got it from. http://www.johnsoncountyfoam.com/index.htm
> Maybe they can send you a piece.


 Boat places have it even thicker. I've seen it about a foot thick for creating flotation devices under bench seats in the boat. You could have some extreme caves and texture with that.


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

Sorry for the late post but I had the best of luck on Craigs List.

Just post a few " wanted, Styrofoam " adds and you would be surprised how many people are concerned enough about the environment to reply and give you some.

I made the cheapest BG ever using free foam and other free left over items found on CL.

The only thing I paid for with once was the pigment for the concrete mix.


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