# DIY aquarium decoration with acoustic foam - charcoal foam ? is it safe ?



## Youmakemesohappy

Hi,

I would like to make an aquarium decoration with acoustic foam, also called charcoal foam.
It's an open cell foam, very firm and dark like the fluval edge pre-filters.
I don't know if it's the same foam used for pre-filters and I couldn't find any confirmation online.
I have some samples of acoustic foam at home and they really look like the same material...

Here is what Wikipedia says about acoustic foam - Acoustic foam - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
_"Acoustic foam is a lightweight material made from polyurethane foam either polyether or polyester, and also extruded melamine foam."_

Does anyone know if it is the same material ?
If acoustic foam isn't safe, what type of foam should I use ? 
I am looking for something neutral grey or dark grey color.

Thank you!

Nicolas


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## macframalama

thats funny im building a sandfountain for my tank and i just went thorugh this whole foam thing myself, acoustic foam I have no info on , but "great stuff" when completely cured is NON TOXIC and will cause no harm, is what it says on the can, so im going to encase my sand fountain in this foam , but allow double the standard cure time, gonna do a test run in a tote for a bit and do big water changes iun the tote for a few days and see, 

I have been watchin diy vids on you tube for the past 4 days and one lady had some stuff made by tetra and it was "pond foam" safe and non toxic to fish and also BLACK

i should have put before i read a big write up on monster fishkeepers about "krylon fusion " paint be aquarium safe after it has CURED 
so my plan was to blast a coat or 2 of the camoflauge series of krylon fusion and then seal with fiberglass resin painted on lightly


hope this helps and if you do go acoustic foam please let me know if you have any issues because it should be the same stuff right? and i would much prefer to not have to paint... also that great stuff sticks to slate like stink on a monkey hope that helps....

and another cool thing i have figured out to do with the foam is to have a bunch of straws handy and immediately after you spray in you can put a straw in and blow to make bulges and what not but you go through alot of straws, alot..
good luck


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## macframalama

thats funny im building a sandfountain for my tank and i just went thorugh this whole foam thing myself, acoustic foam I have no info on , but "great stuff" when completely cured is NON TOXIC and will cause no harm, is what it says on the can, so im going to encase my sand fountain in this foam , but allow double the standard cure time, gonna do a test run in a tote for a bit and do big water changes iun the tote for a few days and see, 

I have been watchin diy vids on you tube for the past 4 days and one lady had some stuff made by tetra and it was "pond foam" safe and non toxic to fish and also BLACK

i should have put before i read a big write up on monster fishkeepers about "krylon fusion " paint be aquarium safe after it has CURED 
so my plan was to blast a coat or 2 of the camoflauge series of krylon fusion and then seal with fiberglass resin painted on lightly


hope this helps and if you do go acoustic foam please let me know if you have any issues because it should be the same stuff right? and i would much prefer to not have to paint... also that great stuff sticks to slate like stink on a monkey hope that helps....

and another cool thing i have figured out to do with the foam is to have a bunch of straws handy and immediately after you spray in you can put a straw in and blow to make bulges and what not but you go through alot of straws, alot..
good luck


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## Youmakemesohappy

Hey, thanks for the info! Just checked that "GREAT STUFF", and the Krylon Fusion paint, 
I was looking for paint and expanding foam as well so thats perfect!

I am going to keep searching on acoustic foam, grey foam etc and if I find anything worth sharing I'll post it here!


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## Youmakemesohappy

Hi again,

I kept searching about foams and what types to use for aquariums decorations, so I'll share what I have found.
It may be common knowledge for many already and it is probably incomplete, but here it is:

The best foams for aquariums seem to be *open-cell polyether polyurethane foam or reticulated polyether polyurethane foam* (they might be both the same)
These are the foams used for sponge filters, which leads me to think that they would work fine as decorations.
Polyether foam seem to last much longer under water than polyester foam, which degrades quickly under water.

I have based my observations on 2 websites that are supplying foam for aquarium sponge filters:
one in Switzerland Welcome to Swiss Tropicals go to the poret foam section if you want to read some info.
one in the US Sponge Filters for aquariums
*I am not trying to advertise for these websites, these are just 2 websites where I gathered some info.*

Apparently the use of large sponge filters can be very efficient since it provides lots of space for beneficial bacteria to grow on.
it's also an economic alternative, but in terms of aesthetics it might not suit the tastes of everyone.
The videos at the bottom of the 2nd website show DIY setups of large sponge filters made with a water pump + a large piece of foam.
These DIY looking filters are used to keep lots of angelfish, so they are probably pretty efficient filters.

My original project was to make a decoration with foam, but now I am thinking that it could be good to turn the decoration into a filter as well.
Of course it will get a bit dirty but so far the tank I want to setup would be very small with only some shrimps and maybe one or two small fish + some plants that would help with filtration.

As for acoustic foam, I believe it is an open-cell polyurethane foam, so it should be safe *BUT*
I am going to keep searching on that and call a few foam suppliers to confirm it.


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## macframalama

well ima tell ya this , my simple sand fountain went from being quite small for a tester to now it is a monster, but turned out super cool, my internet sucks right now so i cant post pics however i will do a full diy journal of what i have built , still not finished, however i went with 
MONO spray foam and i painted it with krylon fusion, once im finished painting my plan is to fiberglass resin the entire fountain to both "seal" it and also to add some strength to it ,i can say if this works without any catastrophe's i will be doing another already have plans for a bigger and better model


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## Tiwaz

If you are still looking for foam Great Stuff has "Pond" foam that is already black. so you don't need to paint it.


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## macframalama

yeah , but the lame hardware stores around here dont carry it, and krylon fushion should be totally safe, and im going the extra step by using fiberglass resin on top, for added strength too

thanks though


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## Tiwaz

Yep, your good to go with the Krylon and just make sure that the resin is fully cured before adding it to your tank.


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## macframalama

oh yeah well i went from a small sand fountain to actually making a king kong sized one lol so i have no choice but to use it in my big tank however, i am really cautios about what i put in there so it will be well cured and a test run in a kiddie pool with some "feeders" will be my proving ground


as soon as im not stuck with my god awful internet i will post my whole diy pics of the build , i gotta say im actually pretty impressed with this one , im a little choked that i went sumo sized lol makes testing it all out alot less fun but when i finally get that thing in the big tank it should be a beauty

the foam when painted up looks pretty demonic , like cooled down lava flow very neat look , , if this one is a worker then i already have a new plan to ramp it up a bit , lol but your all gonna have to wait and see, and before i go any further i wanna make sure the first one is gonna work


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## sarcastickitten

'King Kong sized' ?!?!?! what happened?? lol

I showed my dad that video n youtube that you sent me, trying to 'coheres' him into making me an acrylic frame fr mine... not too sure yet if he will, he liked it a lot, I have a feeling I just got him back int the hobby lol, guess he might have a sandfall before me... 



macframalama said:


> oh yeah well i went from a small sand fountain to actually making a king kong sized one lol so i have no choice but to use it in my big tank however, i am really cautios about what i put in there so it will be well cured and a test run in a kiddie pool with some "feeders" will be my proving ground
> 
> as soon as im not stuck with my god awful internet i will post my whole diy pics of the build , i gotta say im actually pretty impressed with this one , im a little choked that i went sumo sized lol makes testing it all out alot less fun but when i finally get that thing in the big tank it should be a beauty
> 
> the foam when painted up looks pretty demonic , like cooled down lava flow very neat look , , if this one is a worker then i already have a new plan to ramp it up a bit , lol but your all gonna have to wait and see, and before i go any further i wanna make sure the first one is gonna work


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## Aufdrey

I don't think it's safe to use that.


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## macframalama

yes it is...


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## Youmakemesohappy

I am finally about to experiment with charcoal foam decoration (just basically a block of foam in the aquarium)
I still have to meet my foam supplier to see if he can help or confirm the foam I have is safe.
I will post an update once Im done, and if it works out I guess the decoration can be turned into a sponge filter as well...


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## spit.fire

Laguna makes an expanding foam that is fish safe


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